Trevor Project CEO ousted amid questions over past McKinsey work

Amit Paley is out as CEO of the Trevor Project, the nonprofit providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services for LGBTQ youth, reportedly because of his previous work with consulting giant McKinsey & Co.

Before joining the Trevor Project, Paley worked for McKinsey as an associate partner for six years. In that time, he is said to have provided extensive counsel to Purdue Pharma, the manufacturer of OxyContin, a highly addictive opioid that many credit with the escalation of the opioid epidemic in America.

In July, HuffPost reported on Paley’s involvement with Purdue, including working to salvage its reputation by downplaying the dangerous effects of its drugs, and teaming with Purdue executives on strategies to boost the company’s product sales, including opioids.

In a statement to HuffPost at the time, Paley said that he regretted his role in the opioid crisis: “Seven years ago, when I was a consultant at McKinsey, I was assigned to a project for Purdue. If I knew then what I know now, I would not have agreed to do any consulting for that company, and I regret that I did.”

That segment of Paley’s career stands in contrast to the mission of the Trevor Project, recently named one of Fast Company’s Brands That Matter for its work as the world’s largest suicide prevention and mental health organization for LGBTQ youth. As the Trevor Project itself reported earlier this year, regular prescription drug misuse was associated with nearly three times greater odds of attempting suicide among LGBTQ youth.

With Paley’s career history brought to light, in combination with internal complaints at the nonprofit of overscaling with limited resources, he was removed from his executive position on November 2. Trevor Project cofounder Peggy Rajski has stepped in as interim CEO. 

Lately, McKinsey has taken a reputation hit. The firm has some 30,000 global employees, boasts a client base that includes 90 of the world’s 100 largest companies, and counts business leaders such as Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai and former Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg among its alumni. In recent years, investigative reporting like ProPublica’s “McKinsey Rules,” and the new book When McKinsey Comes to Town by Walt Bogdanich and Michael Forsythe, have exposed McKinsey’s work with opioid manufacturers, as well as cigarette makers, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and autocratic regimes.