Matthews is a partner in McKinsey’s Johannesburg office. He leads the firm’s Social Sector, Healthcare, & Public Sector Entities Practice in Africa, as well as the Life Sciences Practice in Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EEMA).
He advises governments, multilateral organizations, philanthropies, development agencies, and multinational biopharmaceutical companies on critical public health and life sciences priorities, including vaccine access and deployment, epidemic and pandemic preparedness, biomanufacturing strategy, and large-scale health system transformation.
Over the course of his career, Matthews has built deep on-the-ground experience across more than 25 African countries, and also serves clients across the United States, Europe, and the Middle East. His published research spans topics such as healthcare ecosystem development, local manufacturing and innovation capacity, and fiscal system reforms to strengthen Africa’s economic resilience.
Examples of Matthews’s recent client work include the following:
- partnering with a leading African public health institution to define a strategy to scale regional vaccine manufacturing capacity
- leading a large-scale transformation to establish local biomanufacturing operations in Africa for a global biotech company
- designing a long-term vaccine access strategy, including strengthening local clinical trial and manufacturing capabilities
- supporting a European biotech in defining its growth strategy, including pathogen screening priorities and diagnostic capability gaps
- defining the clinical development strategy for a global vaccines program across Europe and the Middle East
- developing and supporting implementation of a strategic plan for a leading generics player in the Middle East
- creating a go-to-market model for a top-five biopharmaceutical company, covering priority markets, positioning, and entry requirements
He is also passionate about inclusion and holds two regional leadership roles in the Eastern Europe, Middle East, and Africa region: leader of Equal—LGBTQ+ and allies at McKinsey—and co-convenor of the McKinsey Black Network (MBN).
