As CEO of Merck, Ken Frazier gained the respect of his employees, shareholders, and the broader community - both through the company’s performance during his 11-year tenure and also through his handling of several tests of his leadership.

Now Merck’s former executive chairman, he recently shared how his experience growing up during the Civil Rights Movement shaped his career, how he ensured that science stayed at the core of Merck’s mission, and how he sees business’s role in society.

In this, the first of two new episodes Frazier recorded for our Voices of CEO Excellence series, he spoke with Vik Malhotra, former chairman of our Americas region and co-author of last year’s New York Times bestseller, CEO Excellence: The Six Mindsets That Distinguish the Best Leaders from the Rest and Steve Van Kuiken, a former leader in our Life Sciences Practice and global leader of McKinsey Technology. 

Listen to other episodes in our Voices of CEO Excellence series:

• Blackstone’s chairman, CEO, and cofounder, Stephen Schwarzman
• Morgan Stanley’s chairman and CEO, James Gorman

Join our LinkedIn community of nearly 90,000 members and follow us on Twitter at @McKStrategy.

Explore our collection of Inside the Strategy Room episode transcripts on McKinsey.com

Take a masterclass with 67 of the world’s highest-performing CEOs and order your copy of the New York Times bestseller, CEO Excellence: The Six Mindsets That Distinguish the Best Leaders from the Rest.

 

 

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