Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Make a sustaining gift today to support local journalism!

WATCH: Buttigieg Calls On McKinsey, His Former Employer, To Release Client List

Dan Tuohy / NHPR

South Bend, Ind. Mayor Pete Buttigieg called on the consulting firm McKinsey and Co. Friday to release its client list from his time at the company, a response to criticism that he hasn't been transparent about his nearly three years there.

When Buttigieg talks about his resume on the campaign trail, he usually focuses on his military service or his tenure as mayor, not his time as a consultant.

The mayor says this is in part because he’s under a non disclosure agreement that he signed when he started his job at McKinsey.

But in an interview with NHPR Friday, Buttigieg said McKinsey needs to release that information.

“Maybe they’re not used to doing that, but they’re not used to having somebody who used to work there be seriously considered for the American presidency. This information should come out and I’m happy to speak to it when it does,” Buttigieg said.

A McKinsey spokesperson has not yet responded to calls for comment. In a statement Friday night, Buttigieg said his campaign asked McKinsey last month to release him from the confidentiality agreement, but that the firm has not agreed to do so.

Buttigieg's campaign Friday offered a summary of his work for McKinsey. According to the summary, his work included stints in Toronto, Michigan, Connecticut, Washington and Chicago, from 2007 t0 2010. Among the clients Buttigieg worked for were a "nonprofit health insurance provider," "a grocery and retail chain," "a consumer goods retail chain," "a logistics and shipping provider," "an environmental nonprofit group," and a "U.S. government department" on a project focused on the economies of Iraq and Afghanistan.

"To the best of my recollection, these are all of my client engagements during my time with the firm," Buttigieg said in the statement, "but a full release from McKinsey will allow the American public to see the full scope of my work."

For the full conversation with NHPR, click here, or watch the exchange on Buttigieg's time with McKinsey below:

Lauren is a Senior Reporter/Producer for NHPR's narrative news unit, Document.
Related Content

You make NHPR possible.

NHPR is nonprofit and independent. We rely on readers like you to support the local, national, and international coverage on this website. Your support makes this news available to everyone.

Give today. A monthly donation of $5 makes a real difference.