Hamid Samandari is a senior partner in our New York office, and the cofounder and former head of the firm’s Risk & Resilience Practice in America, and the chair of the firm’s Knowledge Council. The Council prioritizes and develops the major, next-generation, cross-cutting knowledge and capability areas the firm believes will be core to the performance and health of our clients. Hamid is also a member of the McKinsey Global Institute (MGI) council, which advises on MGI research for global economic, business, and technology trends.
Hamid joined the firm in 1997 and has served several leading financial institutions in the Americas, Europe, and Asia on a broad range of topics such as risk management, sustainability, strategy, operations, and technology. His areas of expertise include climate risk, environmental, social, and governance (ESG), operational risk and compliance, risk organization and governance, risk culture, and regulatory remediation.
Hamid’s recent work includes supporting a major US bank on climate risk, another major US bank on climate-related opportunities, and serving three US institutions on regulatory remediation programs. Hamid’s most recent research has focused on the key requirements for, and the economics of, the net-zero transition.
Published work
"Human capital at work: The value of experience," McKinsey & Company, June 2022
“The net-zero transition in the wake of the war in Ukraine: A detour, a derailment, or a different path?,” McKinsey Quarterly, May 2022
“The net-zero transition: What it would cost, what it could bring,” McKinsey & Company, January 2022
“Solving the net-zero equation: Nine requirements for a more orderly transition,” McKinsey & Company, October 2021
“Climate change and P&C insurance: The threat and opportunity,” McKinsey & Company, November 2020
“Will infrastructure bend or break under climate stress?,” McKinsey Global Institute, August 2020
“Could climate become the weak link in your supply chain?,” McKinsey Global Institute, August 2020
“Reduced dividends on natural capital?,” McKinsey Global Institute, June 2020
“A Mediterranean basin without a Mediterranean climate?,” McKinsey Global Institute, May 2020
“How will African farmers adjust to changing patterns of precipitation?,” McKinsey Global Institute, May 2020
“Will the world’s breadbaskets become less reliable?,” McKinsey Global Institute, May 2020
“Confronting climate risk,” McKinsey Quarterly, May 2020
“Will mortgages and markets stay afloat in Florida?,” McKinsey Global Institute, April 2020
“Can coastal cities turn the tide on rising flood risk?,” McKinsey Global Institute, April 2020
“Addressing climate change in a post-pandemic world,” McKinsey Quaterly, April 2020
“The future of operational-risk management in financial services,” McKinsey & Company, April 2020
“Leadership in the time of coronavirus: COVID-19 response and implications for banks,” McKinsey & Company, March 2020
“Climate risk and response: Physical hazards and socioeconomic impacts,” McKinsey Global Institute, January 2020
“Making a Step Change in Risk Efficiency and Effectiveness,” The European Financial Review, August 2019
“Confronting the risks of artificial intelligence,” McKinsey Quarterly, April 2019
“Transforming risk efficiency and effectiveness,” McKinsey & Company, April 2019
“The business logic in debiasing,” McKinsey & Company, May 2017
“The future of bank risk management”, McKinsey & Company, December 2015
“Managing third-party risk in a changing regulatory environment”, McKinsey & Company, May 2013
“Risk IT and operations: Strengthening capabilities”, Institute of International Finance and McKinsey & Company, June 2011
“Capital ratios and financial distress: Lessons from the crisis”, McKinsey & Company, December 2009
Past experience
Infotech AG
Software developer, forex decision-trading tools
Education
Stanford University
PhD, scientific computing and computational mathematics
University of Geneva
MS, mathematics