Dominic Barton is new McKinsey Managing Director

In perhaps an acknowledgment of the importance of Asia McKinsey has chosen its Chairman of the Asia Region Dominic Barton to be its new Managing Director.

According to FT.com

McKinsey & Co, the management consultancy, will announce on Monday that Dominic Barton, its Shanghai-based Asia head, has been chosen by his peers to take over as managing director.

McKinsey’s 400 senior partners elected Mr Barton to serve a three-year term when Ian Davis retires in June. He will be able to stand for re-election for a second and final three-year term in 2012.

If McKinsey’s employees, clients and competitors wonder what change at the top will mean, a clue may be found in an article titled How to win in a financial crisisthat Mr Barton co-wrote in 2002: “For executives willing to make bold moves, a crisis can be a burning platform that creates an opportunity to change corporate culture and operations drastically,” it said.

“Things must change, and resistance melts away. For visionary leaders, this is the time to revamp the power structure, adjust the organisation’s size, create a stronger and more performance-driven culture, and throw out sacred cows.”

McKinsey’s new leader will shortly get the chance to practise what he has preached.