Management-consulting giant McKinsey & Co. said Dominic Barton, leader of its Asia practice, will take over as the firm's managing director in July.

Mr. Barton, 46 years old, will succeed Ian Davis, who has been managing director since 2003 and was barred from running for another term because of his age. Mr. Barton was chosen by McKinsey's 400 senior partners to be the firm's 11th managing director since its founding in 1926.

McKinsey has 16,000 employees, including more than 8,000 consultants, roughly 1,000 of whom are partners. The firm says it advises more than 90% of the world's 100 largest corporations.

Mr. Barton has been with McKinsey since 1986 and has spent the past eight years in Asia, including the past two in Shanghai.

In a statement, McKinsey said Mr. Barton has advised clients in banking, consumer goods, high-tech and industrial sectors. He has focused on financial-sector reform, governance in the public and private sectors and globalization. Before joining McKinsey, the Canadian-born Mr. Barton was a currency analyst for N.M. Rothschild's in London.

He will take over McKinsey at a time when consulting firms are feeling the pinch of the recession and global financial crisis.

Several firms have reduced partner pay or deferred bonus payments. German industrial conglomerate Siemens AG last month said it would stop using external management consultants.

Mr. Barton's selection was reported by the Financial Times.