Leadership Through Change: Alex Singla Shares His Journey

From Chicago to London and Hyde Park to McKinsey, Alex Singla, MBA ‘00, has carried with him one takeaway that defined his journey to high-level leadership: take bold leaps, and prioritize understanding people at all levels of a business ecosystem—especially those working on the frontlines.

A 25-year McKinsey veteran, Singla has spent the past five years leading QuantumBlack, the firm’s artificial intelligence and data division, where he guides its strategy, technical community, and growth. Though much of his work focuses on transforming organizations through AI, Singla centers the human experience behind the tech integration. Relationship building, he emphasizes, must remain at the core of any project or company strategy. Without strong interpersonal connections, even the smartest innovative technology cannot effectively drive lasting change.

Chicago to London and Back: Embracing Change and Opportunity

Having journeyed across countries and business disciplines, learning to lead people-centered work is one skill Singla honed firsthand. Raised in Chicago, he retained his Midwestern roots and earned his Bachelor’s in finance and accounting at the University of Illinois. Upon graduation, he started his career as a consultant at Arthur Andersen, a major accounting firm, but soon found himself seeking broader opportunities within the firm. Unexpectedly, Singla was offered an opportunity across the Atlantic, landing in London. Having spent the entirety of his foundational years in Illinois, the shift was transformative: it broadened his worldview, shaped his academic trajectory, made lifelong friendships, and even led him to meet his wife. 

With his sights set on graduate school, Singla looked overseas to Chicago. He was drawn to Chicago Booth for its strong international community and the opportunity to expand his professional circles. “I wanted to meet more people outside of my typical world and expose myself to different ways of thinking,” he recalled. 

Booth delivered on both accounts. The MBA program not only opened doors to new industries like banking, asset management, and other areas of finance—it also offered second-to-none preparation for management consulting interviews. In a time before online resources or repositories of business case studies, Booth provided a structure for Singla to understand and excel in the industry. “Problem-solving at McKinsey is rooted in fact-based reasoning,” he explains. “Booth instilled that logic in me from the get-go.” 

A Career in Chapters

A quarter century later, Singla breaks his extensive McKinsey career into distinct phases. He began as a generalist, rotating through projects in various industries until finding a home in the insurance sector, an area he had not anticipated, but grew to appreciate. “Finding meaning in my work is less centered around a specific sector, and more about the topics you learn and people you get to know throughout the process,” he said.

Following his stint in the insurance world, Singla embraced a global leadership role, taking charge of nearly 40% of McKinsey’s operations practice worldwide. That work impressed upon him a critical truth: real change starts at the operational ground zero. “You can write endless strategy documents and investment theses, but none will come to fruition without understanding the implications for people on the frontline.” For Singla, centering the experiences of people who carry out transformational change on the ground is the key to meaningful progress.

The importance of those relationships and an appreciation of AI deepened during a project seven years ago with a large engine manufacturer. Working side-by-side with QuantumBlack, Singla’s team built predictive models that could flag engines at risk of failure with more than 90% accuracy, allowing for preventative measures that saved the company from costly breakdowns. 

The experience convinced Singla of the transformative power of machine learning and AI. Mental cogs turning with new possibilities, he observed an opportunity to improve client service at McKinsey. Powerful AI solutions were readily available, but there was a gap in how clients were deploying and scaling them to meet industrial-sized needs. With a keen eye for driving on-the-ground change and a zeal to unleash AI’s potential, Singla was asked to take the lead of QuantumBlack. 

Now, Singla focuses on harnessing generative AI across sectors, including healthcare and pharmaceuticals. Traditionally, sales representatives in these industries take five to seven years to fully understand market dynamics and customer needs. Under Singla’s leadership, his team set out to cut that time in half by developing a generative model that accelerates learning and readiness. By codifying the best practices of top representatives and mapping client decision-making structures, the model helps new sales teams prepare more effectively and confidently. Just six months in, the project is already improving onboarding speed and enhancing the quality of customer engagement. 

A Human-Centered Approach

In his spare hours, Singla serves on the board of the Shedd Aquarium and contributes to the Creative Destruction Lab, an AI incubator at the University of Wisconsin. At the Center for Applied Artificial Intelligence, Singla provides valuable industry insights as an Advisory Council member. By staying grounded in real community impact, Singla recenters his focus on the power of transformative technology to make lasting change. 

Reflecting on his journey, Singla emphasizes the importance of bold leaps: moving across the pond, pursuing higher education, and embracing AI’s possibilities early. But fiercely bold action must remain grounded. For those early on in their management careers, he offers: “There is no better formula than spending some time with those on the frontline to get to know the nuances of what change looks like on an individual level in order to drive responsible, inclusive, and effective transformation.” 

Singla continues to shape the future of AI at Booth through his leadership as a member of the Center for Applied AI Advisory Council.