Milken Institute
Showing 316–330 of 2093 transcripts.
- 33 min
Opportunity Zones 2.0 and Next Generation Public-Private Partnerships | Finance Forum 2025
Rachel Reilly, Simone Joy Friedman, Michael Novogradac, Toby Rittner, Ja'ron Smith, Simone Friedman, Mike Novogratik
Facing an impending 2025 expiration, policymakers and community leaders are rallying to reform Opportunity Zones through a "2.0" framework that prioritizes permanent status, mandatory impact reporting, and a shift from real estate speculation to operating businesses. Success stories in locations like Harrisonville, South Carolina, demonstrate that layering federal tax incentives with state conformity, workforce training, and technical assistance can generate substantial local employment and economic stability. As the program's future takes shape, experts advocate for an integrated toolbox approach that combines Opportunity Zone equity with tools like New Markets Tax Credits and CDFI lending to maximize capital deployment in underserved communities.
- 36 min
Incentivizing Investment in Innovative Technologies | Finance Forum 2025
Karen Kornbluh, Doug Arent, Jennifer Hankins, Jigar Shah, Maggie Switek
A panel of experts from the NREL Foundation, Tulsa Innovation Labs, and the Milken Institute discussed strategies to compress multi-decade innovation timelines into three-to-five-year cycles for clean energy and AI deployment. Speakers highlighted the critical need to shift from linear financial incentives to unconventional cross-sector partnerships, warning that failing to rapidly scale domestic manufacturing risks transferring intellectual property to competitors like China. The consensus emphasized that accelerating grid capacity through virtual power plants and regulatory agility is essential to unlocking private capital and ensuring U.S. economic growth.
- 37 min
Sovereign Wealth Funds: Lessons for the US | Finance Forum 2025
Caitlin MacLean, Victoria Barbary, Angela Rodell, Tarek Shoukri, Kaitlyn McLean
The U.S. Treasury Department is currently soliciting private sector input to design a national Sovereign Wealth Fund using a blank-slate approach for capitalization and investment mandates. Drawing on global best practices and case studies like the Alaska Permanent Fund, the proposed framework emphasizes independent governance to insulate decisions from political cycles while targeting strategic sectors such as critical minerals and AI. With further concept papers expected in the spring, the initiative aims to establish a bipartisan structure that catalyzes high-cost infrastructure deployment without crowding out private commercial activity.
- 40 min
New Pathways to Help Forgotten America | Finance Forum 2025
Rich Ditizio, Marla Blow, Van Jones
A panel at the Milken Institute, featuring Skoll Foundation's Marla Carter and Amazon Web Services' Dan Price, analyzes the structural retreat of the U.S. public sector and the subsequent necessity for private capital and technology to solve social challenges. The discussion details strategic pivots in philanthropy toward complex capital stacks, highlights specific tech interventions in criminal justice and infrastructure, and reframes diversity initiatives as economic imperatives rather than moral obligations. Looking forward, the speakers outline a new "Center for Advancing the American Dream" to document mentorship narratives while urging the integration of AI and community access to navigate a rapidly changing technological landscape.
- 29 min
Community Infrastructure Building Blocks: 10,000 Communities Initiative | Finance Forum 2025
Rachel Halfaker, Andreas Karelas, Jane Brady Knight, Amanda Li, Tony Pipa
High demand for rural economic revitalization faces significant deployment barriers, including insufficient project scale, limited local capacity, and traditional financing models that exclude non-profits lacking credit scores. To overcome these hurdles, successful strategies now employ blended capital stacks, direct pay provisions from the Inflation Reduction Act, and digital platforms that automate underwriting to reduce overhead on small-ticket clean energy investments. By shifting narratives toward rural agency and utilizing community financial institutions, stakeholders aim to establish a permanent, self-sustaining asset class that drives long-term wealth creation and strengthens national competitiveness.
- 30 min
MacArthur Genius Raj Chetty Talks Economic Opportunity Creation | Global Conference 2024
Using anonymized tax data and social network analysis, researchers have identified that high-opportunity neighborhoods and "economic connectedness" between income groups are the primary drivers of upward mobility, contrasting sharply with the national decline where only 50% of children born in the mid-1980s now earn more than their parents. A randomized Seattle trial demonstrated that adding brokerage services to housing vouchers successfully moved over half of low-income families to these high-mobility areas, yielding an estimated $200,000 lifetime earnings increase per child for a mere 2% cost increase. While place-based investments and private sector partnerships in cities like Charlotte show promise, future policy efforts are expanding the voucher model to nine additional cities to systematically address the loss of talent and inequality affecting both social equity and innovation.
- 1h 3m
The Business of Wellness | Global Conference 2024
Alexia Brue, Dave Asprey, Katie Kaps, David Ko, Nanea Reeves, Zak Williams
The global wellness economy surged to $6.3 trillion in 2023, driven by biological concerns, mental health accessibility, and a convergence of beauty and technology. Key figures like Dave Asprey, Katie Capps, and David Koh are leveraging AI, biohacking, and gamified platforms to address a $122 million access gap in mental health services while challenging traditional medical gatekeeping. This market expansion, which outpaces GDP growth, is fueled by strategic shifts toward personalized data sovereignty, female longevity solutions, and the integration of mental health tools into corporate wellness programs.
- 1h 1m
Where Is the Next Cure? | Global Conference 2024
Alice Park, Noubar Afeyan, Aloe Blacc, Daphne Koller, Samarth Kulkarni, Pablo Legorreta
Leading biotech executives and researchers are redefining the industry by shifting from chronic small-molecule management to precise, curative systems-based therapies like CRISPR and mRNA platforms. This transition, fueled by artificial intelligence and a "reverse translation" innovation model, has accelerated clinical timelines while projecting a $100 billion market for GLP-1 drugs and new organ-editing solutions. Despite regulatory hurdles and high initial costs for treatments like sickle cell gene editing, stakeholders anticipate that maturing technologies and scalable manufacturing will eventually democratize access to these transformative medical breakthroughs.
- 1h 0m
The Corporate Compass: Charting the Role of the CEO | Global Conference 2024
Andy Serwer, Carmine Di Sibio, Jessica Sibley, Raj Subramaniam, David Zaslav
CEOs from EY, Time Inc., FedEx, and Warner Bros. Discovery convened to address the intensifying challenges of stakeholder capitalism, geopolitical instability, and rapid technological disruption. The leaders detailed transformative shifts in their respective business models, such as FedEx's pivot to supply-chain technology and Time Inc.'s strategic move to a B2B framework, while highlighting how artificial intelligence is driving efficiency and reshaping content distribution. Despite varying cultural and governance hurdles, including EY's abandoned audit split and labor negotiations across industries, the panel emphasized that aligning CEO compensation with performance and leveraging trusted brands will remain central to navigating a complex future.
- 1h 1m
Rewriting the Rules of Global Conservation | Global Conference 2024
Justin Worland, Eron Bloomgarden, Iván Duque Márquez, Jennifer Morris, Wendy Schmidt
The event convenes global leaders and financial experts to address the crisis of 70% global wildlife decline by examining the "30x30" pledge to protect land and oceans by 2030, highlighted by Colombia's successful expansion of protected areas. Through analysis of market mechanisms like carbon pricing, debt-for-nature swaps, and the LEAF Coalition, the discussion outlines strategies to mobilize the trillions of dollars required to transition from extraction to regenerative economic models. The proceedings emphasize that achieving these targets depends on integrating indigenous land rights, deploying technology for transparent data, and aligning political will with private capital to prevent the Amazon from reaching a critical tipping point.
- 56 min
AI's Ethical Frontier: Responsible Regulation...by Whom? | Global Conference 2024
Jo Ling Kent, Rob Bonta, John B. Quinn, Rob Silvers, . will.i.am, Frankie Williams, Felicia
Undersecretary Rob Silvers and California Attorney General Rob Bonta outlined a dual strategy of federal oversight and state-level enforcement to secure critical infrastructure and curb AI harms, including the creation of a new DHS safety board and active litigation against major tech firms. The discussion highlighted growing legal concerns regarding data sovereignty, child safety, and algorithmic manipulation, while advocating for a shift toward risk-based, EU-style regulations that reverse the burden of proof for AI-caused injuries. Despite skepticism about comprehensive federal privacy laws, the panel emphasized that California will likely lead regulatory development through diverse stakeholder inclusion and strict consumer protection measures.
- 53 min
Africa's Youth is Using Technology to Solve Africa's Most Pressing Problems | Global Conference 2024
Dan Keeler, Ramadan Ameen, Maya Horgan Famodu, Yolanda Mabuto, Walter Pacheco, Fred Swaniker
A panel of industry leaders and investors analyzed Africa's transformative potential, driven by a young, mobile-connected population and surging venture capital flows that have facilitated significant fintech exits and the scaling of global talent pipelines. Discussions highlighted strategic shifts toward execution over intellectual property protection, the democratization of capital through digital asset tokenization, and the deployment of AI and drone technology to revolutionize healthcare infrastructure in nations like Rwanda. Experts concluded that bridging the skills gap through grassroots technical education and exporting digital labor are critical to unlocking economic sovereignty and ensuring sustainable growth for the continent's projected workforce.
- 1h 0m
Powering the Future: Energy Storage, Delivery, and a Modern Grid | Global Conference 2024
Gregory Zuckerman, Donnel Baird, Nardos Bekele-Thomas, Pedro Pizarro, Andrew Ponec, Karen Wayland
A pivotal panel discussion highlighted the accelerating global transition toward a modernized power grid driven by surging demand from AI, manufacturing repatriation, and electrification. Key figures outlined massive investment requirements, including a $370 billion California requirement and a $1.3 trillion need for African energy modernization, alongside technological shifts toward thermal batteries, extended nuclear lifespans, and SMRs. Experts concluded that overcoming regulatory bottlenecks and reforming market rules are essential to aligning infrastructure development with the urgent goals of decarbonization and grid resilience.
- 1h 3m
Data-Driven Solutions to Advance the American Dream | Global Conference 2024
Rachel Goslins, Raj Chetty, Jon Clifton, Brian Hooks, Poppy MacDonald, John
Hosted by Rachel Goslins of the Milken Center, this panel featured experts Raj Chetty, Poppy Gentry, Brian Sheth, and John Pollack to analyze the decline in American economic mobility using large-scale data from tax records, government sources, and social networks. The discussion highlighted a sharp drop in intergenerational wealth transfer since the 1940s and exposed how geographic variance, low social capital, and gaps in wealth measurement contribute to the widening prosperity gap. By integrating public perception surveys with "customer-first" philanthropy models, the session concluded that improving mobility requires redefining the American Dream to prioritize freedom and opportunity while leveraging private financial data to guide targeted policy interventions.
- 1h 4m
Genes, Galaxies, & Discoveries: Engineering New Advances in Modern Science | Global Conference 2024
Susan Karlin, Steve Altemus, Cara Altimus, Josh Denny, Reed Jobs, Kathryn North, Sue Carlin, Cara Ultimates
A panel of experts analyzes a global paradigm shift where isolated research initiatives evolve into collaborative "moonshot" projects driven by commercial space markets and large-scale biomedical data sharing. Key figures discuss how fixed-price government contracts and risk-tolerant philanthropy have catalyzed private sector innovation in lunar economies, while the "All of Us" program and GA4GH work to standardize diverse genomic data for precision medicine. Looking forward, these converging sectors aim to reduce sequencing costs to $100, expand gene therapies to complex diseases, and implement "learning health systems" that integrate real-time data into clinical practice.