McKinsey: CEOs of century-old companies explain how they are reinventing themselves with AI to stay competitive

By McKinsey & Company · October 25, 2026.

The email is an editorial selection from McKinsey on how companies that have been in business for decades, or even centuries, reinvent themselves to stay competitive. Its central idea is that lasting isn't only about withstanding the passage of time but about knowing when and how to reinvent. AI appears in several of the pieces as one of the levers of that reinvention.

Lloyds Banking Group, with more than 250 years of history, is the first case. Its CEO, Charlie Nunn, argues that staying relevant requires keeping customers' trust while also looking "to the future to reinvent ourselves." In a conversation with Tunde Olanrewaju, a senior partner at McKinsey, Nunn explains that the bank uses AI to improve customer service, provide financial insights and widen access to financial advice. The email sums up the conversation with the idea that trust, curiosity and optimism help leaders rethink their institutions in the AI era.

The second case is Siemens, which has more than 175 years of history. Cedrik Neike, CEO of Digital Industries, spoke with Asutosh Padhi, a senior partner at McKinsey. Neike sees AI as central to the company's next reinvention and envisions "AI-native" factories that can adapt to changes in the supply chain and in customer demand. He adds that getting there requires setting clear priorities: "We focus on doing fewer things, but better than anyone else."

The third section focuses on founder CEOs in Asia. In an episode of the Future of Asia podcast, Joydeep Sengupta, a senior partner at McKinsey, describes how they balance the short and long term through a commitment to continuous improvement. He puts it this way: it's not only about high-impact innovations but about "getting up every day and striving to be better than the day before." The accompanying link discusses the "owner's mindset" and how the blend of Eastern philosophy and Western management culture gives these CEOs a particular edge.

The email also lists other interviews. One is with the CEO of Boerse Stuttgart Group, which has 160 years of experience and is Europe's sixth-largest exchange group. It is presented as a player helping position Europe for the future through digital and blockchain innovation and financial infrastructure. Another is with Daisy Veerasingham, CEO of Associated Press, a 180-year-old news institution. She discusses AI, the economics of trusted content and why preserving editorial independence matters more than preserving any particular business structure. The last is with Stephan Seifert, president of Körber, which over ten years went from being a machinery-only company to offering a full technology stack. According to the email, that shift enabled growth of almost 100 percent.

The email closes with an invitation to a McKinsey Live event on November 12. Andy West, Whitney Zimmerman and Tim Koller will present ideas from their upcoming book, "Strategy and Value: The Four Foundations That Drive Long-Term Performance." They will cover how to drive growth and returns, manage for the long term, capitalize on market attractiveness and build competitive advantage. It also points readers to McKinsey Themes and the McKinsey Insights app.

As industry context, the email offers no figures or technical details about the AI implementations. It is limited to headlines and interview excerpts, so what is set out here is what the body of the message supports.