Dominic Barton
The Strategist
The long view, patient, analytical, playing several moves ahead.
Dominic Barton fits The Strategist archetype, with a strong secondary pull toward The Diplomat. His career arc, from global managing partner of McKinsey to Canada's ambassador to China to the Rio Tinto chair, shows a leader who operates through long horizons, geopolitical fluency and institutional positioning rather than operational command.
“But that's where I think also finding people, like this is about teamwork, and that's another thing I learned at McKinsey, because I had a very difficult time advancing. I love the work, but I didn't proceed in a straight line. It was very difficult. It's a whole different story.”
“It's interesting because I didn't even know who McKinsey was. I was in finishing my graduate work. I actually wanted to work in the World Bank or the IMF. I was interested in development economics and I wrote letters of application. I didn't even get a response. It wasn't even you're rejected. It was nothing. Nothing.”
“And then actually it was the interview process that got me interesting, the presentation, and I say this being a former McKinsey person was terrible. I didn't understand what it was they were doing. They didn't look like people like me. I didn't relate.”
“I worked on a salmon fishing boat that was just with one person. I was sort of like the deckhand. And I learned a lot that this person was just passionate about fishing. It was commercial fishing.”
Pull up a Chair with Bina Mehta: “In conversation with Bina Mehta, Chair, KPMG UK”
LISTEN AT THE SOURCE ↗THE RECORD IS CHECKABLE