Harry Langstaff passed away on September 2, aged 86. Harry was the heart and soul of McKinsey’s Introductory Training Program for an unbelievable 30 years, helping to form generation after generation of new consultants in the values of client service and One Firm. Harry was born in India, served in the Royal Artillery, where he rose to the rank of Brigadier, and then joined McKinsey in 1964.
Ian Davis, managing director of McKinsey:
Harry was the first person I met at McKinsey. The impact he made then on me (and I know on so many others for whom he was also their first McKinsey interaction) was remarkable. The searching questions, the clever exploration of your profile and achievements and the probing twinkling eyes that radiated his innate sense of humour and humanity, made a deep impression, both of the man and of the Firm he represented. That initial impression was confirmed over and over and over in the subsequent twenty-seven years that I got to know Harry – the Brigadier – as a colleague, mentor and friend.
May he rest in peace.