Joanna Barsh is a Director in McKinsey & Company's New York office. Since joining the firm in 1980, Joanna has served a broad range of consumer-facing clients. Her client experience spans mergers and acquisitions, development of corporate growth strategy, and performance and operations transformation. She also spearheads the Centered Leadership Project and co-authored the book, How Remarkable Women Lead, published by Crown Business.

Joanna is a strong advocate for women at McKinsey and beyond. She has been a New York City Commissioner on Women’s Issues since 2002, appointed by Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Joanna created The McKinsey Centered Leadership Project, an effort to accelerate the development of women leader. The project includes a video archive of more than 100 in-depth interviews with women leaders from around the world.

A dedicated contributor to the New York community, Joanna has served the Partnership for New York City, the NYC Economic Development Corporation, the American Museum of Natural History, and the Manhattan Theatre Club, as well as St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and the Alaska Conservation Foundation. She is a trustee of Sesame Workshop.

Prior to joining McKinsey, Joanna held positions at Macy’s and at Bloomingdale’s. She holds degrees from the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Chicago, and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School, where she was a Baker Scholar.

Joanna is passionate about many things, but at the top of her list is women’s leadership. She has two wonderful daughters, Gaby and Jetta, and a husband (David) of 18 years.