In establishing its global presence, Gupta explains, McKinsey has adopted a modus operandi to ensure that the all-important values of the organization - "a meritocracy dedicated to the highest standards of professionalism and integrity" - are maintained regardless of location. "A handful of senior consultants will go out and open a new office," he says. "They hire the best talent available in that country and train them to assume total responsibility from their mentors within five to ten years. We believe this approach gives us a competitive advantage in the host country."

The soft-spoken Gupta, a native of India and a 25-year veteran of McKinsey, reveals that the firm supports a research agenda worthy of the top tiers of academia, allocating some $200 million per year to shed light, for example, on how globalization affects the way companies do business. Other recent efforts have focused on topics such as the forces shaping the world economy, the nature of the corporation in the 21st century, and emerging-market opportunities. In addition, Gupta notes, the McKinsey Global Institute in Washington, D.C., a world-class think tank specializing in economic issues, has examined the comparative productivity of nations and completed numerous country studies.

Gupta acknowledges that he himself was anything but worldly when he received his undergraduate degree in engineering from the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology in 1971. His first plane trip brought him to HBS and the MBA Program, which served as his introduction not only to business but to the ways of the West.

After graduation, Gupta started as an associate in McKinsey's New York office, followed by assignments in Copenhagen and Chicago. Elected managing director (the first non-Westerner to hold that position) in 1994 at the age of 45, Gupta stresses that his duties bear little resemblance to those of a corporate CEO. "The partners in the field make most of the operational decisions and bear most of the financial responsibilities," he says. "My job is to sustain the firm's culture as well as to nurture its leadership by overseeing career development and appointing the heads of our offices and practice groups."

Looking ahead, Gupta observes that despite the current wave of megamergers, "We believe that more and more companies will concentrate on perfecting slivers of the value chain," he says. "Firms will then leverage that specialized expertise - in credit-card processing, for instance - in world markets." And inevitably, as business evolves and industries undergo fundamental change, companies will continue to seek insightful, professional advice and outside, objective analysis. For Rajat Gupta, that's where the action is, and he's clearly delighted to be part of it.

- James E. Aisner