Pung Speaker Series: How global changes are altering the future of business operations

On Sept. 22, the 2022–23 Roy S. Pung Executive Speaker Series kicked off its seventh year with Yogesh Malik (MBA ’03), senior partner at consulting firm McKinsey & Company. To an audience of Full-Time MBA students, Malik discussed the wave of disruptive global trends that are changing the landscape in operations.

Yogesh Malik (MBA ’03), senior partner, McKinsey & Company

“Even though the global shift is happening, the importance of supply chain professionals and business professionals that understand supply chain management is increasingly important,” Malik said.

Based out of McKinsey’s Washington, D.C., office, Malik leads the operations service line across the industrial and automotive sectors with a focus on using data and digital to drive innovation. He has gained diverse experience from advising clients within various industries such as pharmaceuticals, high technology, retail and consumer packaged goods.

Since joining the firm in 2003, his work has primarily served many large-scale transformations and growth strategy work. Malik also leads the company’s North America Operations 4.0, which focuses on innovations including application of advanced analytics, digital, Internet of Things and Industry 4.0. Prior to joining the firm, Malik worked at Tata Motors, FIAT, Cast New Holland and GE within operations.

As Malik discussed, and as many of us have noticed in our own lives, the world is rapidly changing around us. Today’s businesses are faced with the challenge of how to reconfigure their resiliency and lean into those changes. The new imperative of supply chain resiliency is all about the need to transform to be much more digital, integrated, transparent and agile. Malik’s interactive discussion on the “nine crucibles shaping the world” focused on various trends including climate change, increase in GDP, labor supply shortages and shifts toward AI technology and automation.

“Cost, quality, delivery. Those were the three things in supply chain that matter most. Those three have become six. As a supply chain professional, whenever I work with my clients it’s not only cost, quality, delivery but I also consider sustainability, resiliency, responsiveness,” Malik shared. “The supply chain has gone from just in time to just in case, from lowest cost to sustainable cost. The supply chain transition is already happening at a dramatic rate. How do you balance those six when it was already a challenge to balance those three?”

Malik mentioned that supply chain robots have the capabilities to perform better decision making through scenario planning and data analytics that may take a team of professionals substantial time to draw a consensus. Although technological advancements are incredibly beneficial, Malik calls attention to the role people play in creating an effective approach to the future of supply chain management. Effective leadership support to guide through transformation and collaborative team efforts are necessary for a firm to navigate ambiguity.

“Change management is something which will require people who not only understand the technical part of transformation but also understand how the people part of transformation is going to work,” he said.

One of Malik’s favorite aspects about his time in the MBA program at MSU was his ability to meet so many different people who came from a variety of backgrounds. During the discussion, he even took a live survey to find out where the students in the audience were from and was delighted to find out that students continue to come from all parts of the world. In his free time, Malik enjoys traveling the world to continue learning about other cultures, relaxing outdoors and cooking international cuisine such as mapo tofu for his family.

Launched in 2016, the Roy S. Pung Executive Speaker Series aims to engage Broad students with various MSU alumni speakers who share their expertise and professional experiences. The series has been made possible by an endowment from the Photo Marketing Association in Roy S. Pung’s name in honor of Glenn Omura, former associate dean for MBA and professional master’s programs and associate professor of marketing. Pung (B.A. Business and Distribution — Teacher Education ’61) spent more than 30 years as the Photo Marketing Association’s CEO and worked closely with Omura throughout his career. Two of Pung’s children, Mark Pung (B.A. Supply Chain Management ’85) and Lisa Pung Francisco (B.A. Elementary Education ’88), often attend the series events, including this year’s kickoff with Malik.

More information on the upcoming 2022–23 Pung Speaker Series, as well as information on past events, is available via the Full-Time MBA program.