Latest Interviews
Showing 511–525 of 809 transcripts.
Clear all filters- Goldman Sachs36 min
Barbara Humpton, CEO of Siemens USA
Siemens U.S. President Barbara Humpton outlines a strategic pivot toward "glocal" manufacturing that prioritizes regional supply chain resilience and digital transformation over traditional labor arbitrage. Her leadership focuses on rebuilding anti-fragile operations through strategic digital twins, aggressive workforce development in STEM, and navigating complex geopolitical dynamics between the U.S. and China. These initiatives aim to address semiconductor shortages, modernize infrastructure, and diversify leadership while maintaining a dual-market presence.
- Goldman Sachs27 min
Where Are Family Offices Seeking Higher Returns?
Allison Nathan, Sarah Nason-Tarahano, Mina Flynn, Tony Pasquarello, Ken Hirsch
Leading family offices are evolving into nimble, multi-disciplinary institutions that balance wealth preservation with mission-driven investment strategies, allocating significant capital to alternatives and real estate to hedge against inflation and currency debasement. Driven by long-term horizons and lean governance structures, these entities increasingly deploy flexible capital for direct deals while integrating emerging themes like ESG and digital assets to capture outsized returns. Their unique ability to navigate market volatility with 100% deal certainty and a focus on generational growth positions them as a distinct and influential force in global capital markets.
- a16z21 min
Social Tokens for Creators Explained
Chris Dixon, Kevin Chou, Ariana
Rally is an Ethereum-based open network that enables approximately 120 creators, including bands like Portugal. The Man, to tokenize their identities using a cohesive economy of fungible and non-fungible tokens. By prioritizing decentralized governance and simplified "template" tools, the platform allows communities of 1,000 to 10,000 fans to transition from passive consumption to active economic participation through social tokens. This infrastructure supports diverse use cases ranging from virtual concert access and peer-to-peer gaming assets to community-governed artist funds, all driven by a native token that accrues value through network effects rather than traditional corporate revenue.
- a16z21 min
NBA Top Shot and the Flow Blockchain
Founded by Dapper Labs co-founder Dieter Shirley, the Flow blockchain was engineered to solve the scalability and usability barriers that limited consumer adoption on Ethereum, specifically by enabling frictionless onboarding for mass-market applications. This architecture successfully powered the launch of NBA Top Shot, a flagship platform that integrates iconic NBA moments as limited-edition NFTs while prioritizing seamless fiat integration and non-custodial user experiences over immediate interoperability. Despite facing ongoing challenges regarding ecosystem fragmentation and long-term standardization, Flow continues to focus on sustainable, utility-driven consumer assets rather than speculative trading.
- a16z21 min
NFTs and the Creator Economy
Foundation, a decentralized platform on the Ethereum blockchain, recently facilitated $60 million in artist sales and $250 million in bids by enabling non-custodial NFT minting and transparent global auctions. The event highlighted transformative market shifts through high-profile milestones, such as the $7.5 million Snowden collaborative auction won by a DAO and significant earnings for creators like Raphael Rosendahl and Ethiopian artist collectives. By leveraging immutable on-chain provenance and royalty standards, the platform is establishing a new ecosystem where creators bypass traditional gatekeepers while fostering collective investment and cross-platform interoperability.
- Goldman Sachs22 min
Dr. Dambisa Moyo, Economist and Author of "How Boards Work"
Dr. Dambisa Moyo, John Waldron
Dr. Dambisa Moyo warns that the global economy faces a precarious rebound rather than a true recovery, driven by structural threats such as human capital shortages, inequality, and a credibility crisis for the Western capitalist model compared to China's strategic approach. To address these challenges, she proposes radical governance reforms inspired by Singapore, including extended public terms with performance-based penalties, alongside a shift toward data-driven investment in infrastructure and social outcomes by institutional asset owners. Her advocacy further emphasizes that diverse leadership and initiatives like the "One Million Black Women" program are essential to unlocking capital access and correcting the market failures that currently threaten long-term growth.
- Goldman Sachs29 min
John F. Crowley, Chairman and CEO of Amicus Therapeutics
Amicus Therapeutics Chairman John F. Crowley leveraged his military background and personal family history with Pompe disease to guide the company through a strategic pivot that led to FDA-aligned pivotal trials for its candidate ATGAA. The therapy demonstrates significant clinical benefits in muscle strength and respiratory function, positioning the firm for a global launch to treat this underserved patient population. Building on lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic, Amicus aims to expand its portfolio of rare disease treatments by replicating the accelerated collaboration and regulatory agility established during that crisis.
- Milken Institute45 min
Leading Companies Through the New Digital Reality
Caroline Fairchild, Kevin Jones, Asha Keddy, Jason Maynard, Andrew Paradise
Tech leaders from Oracle, Intel, Rackspace Technology, and Skills convened to detail how pandemic lockdowns catalyzed a permanent shift toward remote-first strategies, multi-cloud infrastructure, and zero-trust security models. Despite economic volatility, these organizations achieved significant milestones including Rackspace's public listing, Skills' 35% growth, and Intel's infrastructure modernization while implementing innovative wellness programs and virtual hiring practices to maintain culture and diversity. Looking forward, executives predict a distributed computing future powered by 5G and AI that will further decentralize office operations and expand global talent acquisition.
- Milken Institute32 min
A Conversation with California Governor Gavin Newsom
California Governor Gavin Newsom addressed the state's unprecedented challenges, including the loss of 1.62 million jobs, historic wildfires, and a severe homelessness crisis, while defending its resilience as the world's fifth-largest economy. Despite admitting early reopening errors, his administration implemented aggressive testing expansions, waived environmental regulations for housing, and launched a $617 million homeless shelter initiative to stabilize demographics and infrastructure. Newsom concluded by advocating for direct democracy reforms and maintaining the state's global innovation leadership despite claims of business flight and political polarization.
- Milken Institute36 min
PRE record Marc Benioff 19 October 2020 V2
Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff champions a stakeholder capitalism model that prioritizes corporate trust and social impact over pure shareholder primacy, evidenced by the company's net-zero status and over $300 million in charitable grants. He introduces the pioneering 1-1-1 philanthropic framework, which has been adopted by more than 5,000 startups, and asserts that ESG factors must be actively priced into stock valuations to reflect true value creation. Benioff argues that leaders must leverage crises like the pandemic to redefine corporate purpose, moving beyond rhetoric to operationalize societal problem-solving through a dedicated "beginner's mind."
- Goldman Sachs20 min
Dr. Raphael Bostic, President and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta
Raphael Bostic, Dr. Rafael Bostic, John
During a recent address, Federal Reserve President Dr. Bostic outlined a distinct pandemic response strategy that leveraged real-time data and Fed infrastructure to stabilize markets while clarifying the separation between monetary and fiscal policy mandates. The presentation detailed significant long-term structural shifts, including permanent telehealth adoption and a necessary labor market restructuring, while explicitly addressing systemic racial inequities that have hindered wealth preservation and policy efficacy for marginalized communities. Looking forward, officials aim to guide the economy toward sustainable 2% inflation targets and an inclusive model that ensures systemic barriers are actively dismantled through coordinated efforts between policymakers and business leaders.
- Goldman Sachs26 min
Mike Tirico, NBC Sports Host
Over a 25-year tenure spanning ESPN and NBC, broadcaster Mike Tirico emphasizes storytelling as the core currency of sports media, a philosophy tested by the unique isolation of the pandemic and the geopolitical unity of the Pyeongchang Winter Games. He projects severe economic consequences for both professional and collegiate athletics, warning that prolonged revenue losses could force salary cap adjustments and even eliminate university sports programs reliant on football and basketball subsidies. While acknowledging that remote production technologies may permanently alter industry logistics, Tirico remains committed to preserving the emotional connection between athletes and audiences despite reduced access to players and the heightened platform for racial justice activism.
- Goldman Sachs28 min
"The Battle for Our Screens," Part 3: Social Media in the Social Distancing Age
Heather Bellini, Piyush Mubayi, Jane Dunlevie, Jake Siewert, Heath Terry, Jane Dunleavy
This event analyzed how the 2020 pandemic accelerated social media engagement, drove Zoom's user base to expand sixfold, and normalized short-form video usage in Asian markets while sparking VR/AR adoption. Speakers identified scaling infrastructure and content moderation as critical operational hurdles, noting that platforms like TikTok succeeded through superior UX and algorithmic efficiency. The discussion further projected a robust M&A landscape where acquirers prioritize video capabilities and social commerce, despite a divergence between declining revenue expectations and rising stock valuations.
- Goldman Sachs26 min
Tristan Walker, Founder and CEO of Walker & Company
Tristan Walker leverages his background as a former Wall Street trader and early tech employee to lead Walker & Company through the dual crises of the pandemic and systemic racism by anchoring decisions in historical trauma and core values. Under his guidance, the firm achieved record revenue by addressing a 150-year market gap in grooming products for men of color, a strategy that ultimately led to the company's acquisition by Procter & Gamble in 2018. Walker now advocates for an "investment mindset" regarding diversity and predicts that brands failing to respect demographic shifts and cultural influence will cease to exist within two decades.
- a16z34 min
From Unknown Title to Viral Game: 12 Growth Lessons From Spellbreak
Proletariat leveraged a high-risk, community-first strategy to grow *Spellbreak* from a 2018 pre-alpha concept to over 1.8 million sign-ups by prioritizing viral social channels like Imgur and Discord over traditional owned media. The studio built momentum through an exclusive NDA-gated ecosystem that utilized referral incentives, mandatory voice chat for social bonding, and a "cool kids club" dynamic to drive organic acquisition and retention without monetary rewards. This approach generated millions in free marketing value and a highly engaged global base, positioning the free-to-play Battle Royale for a cross-platform launch while acknowledging that the initial success relied heavily on executing authentic content cadence to overcome the studio's lack of initial brand traction.