Latest Interviews
Showing 1096–1110 of 1,549 transcripts.
Clear all filters- Goldman Sachs23 min
Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds and Small Business Owner Jenny Steffensmeier
Kim Reynolds, Jenny Steffensmeier
Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds is prioritizing workforce development and rural economic empowerment through initiatives like the "Future Ready Iowa" plan, which targets 70% workforce educational attainment by 2025. Her administration has successfully attracted major technology investments by leveraging the state's renewable energy leadership and low operating costs, while supporting small businesses such as Steffensmeier Welding in their transition to solar power. Reynolds emphasizes bipartisan solutions for critical issues including ethanol policy, trade stability via the USMCA, and mental health reform to sustain Iowa's economic growth and attract new residents.
- Goldman Sachs28 min
J.J. Redick – NBA Player and Podcast Host
Former Duke standout and NBA veteran J.J. Reddick leverages a high-performance upbringing and a transformative sophomore crisis to redefine his professional work ethic through a disciplined, "OCD" training regimen that includes specific daily shot quotas. Currently serving as the primary leader for the New Orleans Pelicans to shield rookie Zion Williamson, he balances on-court mentorship with his podcast *The Vertical*, where he explores diverse fields driven by intellectual curiosity. Looking toward the future, Reddick plans a one-year hiatus to prioritize family while maintaining an open-minded approach to life after basketball, guided by the principle that success extends beyond individual achievement.
- Goldman Sachs24 min
Brad Katsuyama – CEO of IEX
Brad Katsuyama, Michael Lewis, Brian Levine
Brad Katsuyama established the Investor Exchange (IEX) in 2013 to counteract latency arbitrage and multi-tiered market structures that favored high-frequency traders by implementing a mandatory 350-microsecond speed bump to level the playing field. Despite facing intense industry hostility and public scrutiny following Michael Lewis's *Flash Boys* and subsequent congressional testimony, the exchange achieved profitability by 2015 while generating $15 billion in daily volume with a revenue model focused solely on trading fees rather than data sales. This strategy has driven the Securities and Exchange Commission to propose regulatory pilot programs eliminating payment for order flow, signaling a broader industry shift toward the execution quality and transparency principles pioneered by Katsuyama.
- Goldman Sachs21 min
Cecile Richards - Co-Founder of Supermajority
Former Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards and co-founders Alicia Garza and Ai-jen Poo launched the advocacy group Supermajority to drive gender equity through grassroots organizing that has already attracted 100,000 members. Drawing on her mother Ann Richards' political legacy and her tenure as Deputy Chief of Staff to Nancy Pelosi, Richards champions bottom-up strategies to expand the electorate and link reproductive rights to broader economic stability. The organization aims to mobilize the 55% of voters who are women by training them to host conversations on issues like equal pay and affordable child care across diverse communities.
- Goldman Sachs21 min
John Fallon – Chief Executive of Pearson
Seventy-five years after pivoting from construction to education, Pearson has transformed into a global learning technology firm by replacing costly textbook sales with affordable rental and digital access models while leveraging AI tools like the AIDA app to personalize calculus instruction. The company now partners with institutions such as Arizona State University and the BBC to deliver low-cost, industry-aligned degrees and is applying research on workforce adaptability to address stalled social mobility in underperforming regions. Through this integration of secure, AI-driven platforms and strategic alliances, Pearson aims to democratize learning outcomes by making education more accessible and adaptable to the changing demands of the 2030 workforce.
- Y Combinator24 min
Adora Cheung - How to Set KPIs and Goals
This framework defines Key Performance Indicators as quantitative feedback mechanisms where startups must select a single primary metric, such as monthly recurring revenue or active user growth, to validate product-market fit. Founders are advised to pair this core metric with three to five secondary indicators while aiming for a weekly growth rate of 5% to 10% to ensure exponential progress. By tracking these targets visually and treating weekly misses as diagnostic data rather than failures, entrepreneurs can rapidly iterate on their strategies to achieve sustainable scaling.
- Milken Institute31 min
A Conversation with Mark Bradford and Michael Govan
Art critic and curator Bradford discusses his evolution from abstract expressionism to politically charged installations that challenge institutional norms and address social inequities. The conversation highlights his co-founding of Art + Practice, a non-profit transforming a former beauty parlor into a hybrid gallery and foster youth center in Leimert Park to serve marginalized communities. Through strategic partnerships with LACMA and a rejection of the "colonizing model," Bradford advocates for an integrated approach where artistic practice drives systemic change and resource redistribution.
- Goldman Sachs32 min
Jim Hackett: President and CEO of Ford Motor Company
Ford CEO Jim Hackett outlines the company's strategic pivot toward a "propulsion portfolio" of electric and hybrid vehicles, leveraging a global alliance with Volkswagen to fund over $100 billion in capital commitments for autonomous technology. Hackett emphasizes an "S-curve shift" in the industry, arguing that survival requires abandoning internal combustion virtues while maintaining consumer vehicle ownership through software-defined ecosystems. Rooted in his leadership philosophy of integrity and clear point of view, Hackett predicts that Ford will achieve carbon neutrality within 12 years by blending technologies rather than mandating an immediate, total transition to electrification.
- Goldman Sachs22 min
Rebecca Minkoff: Fashion Designer
Rebecca Minkoff transformed a $4-per-hour internship into a global lifestyle brand by pioneering the "Morning After" handbag and surviving the economic recession through strategic price adjustments that fueled 546% growth. Beyond product innovation, she established the Female Founders Collective to support over 5,000 women-owned businesses while leveraging RFID technology to revolutionize retail experiences and committing to zero-waste production models. The company now focuses on systemic industry change by targeting diverse representation, expanding into home and beauty sectors, and creating an educational platform to close the gender pay gap.
- Goldman Sachs23 min
Stacey Cunningham: President of the NYSE Group
Stacey Cunningham, Susie Scherr
Susie Scherr, the first woman to serve as NYSE president, traces her career from a 1994 trading floor intern to a 2020 leader who leveraged the ICE acquisition to modernize the 220-year-old exchange. Under her guidance, the NYSE has evolved to accommodate delayed IPOs by capturing 75% of technology proceeds in recent years while validating direct listing models for established firms. Her leadership now focuses on reducing regulatory barriers to encourage earlier public market participation and drawing new boundaries for diversity in senior financial roles.
- Goldman Sachs22 min
Kat Cole: COO and President of North America for Focus Brands
After rising from a single-parent household to serve as Vice President of Hooters and securing ten CEO endorsements for an MBA, the executive now leads Focus Brands and Rourke Capital over seven restaurant chains including Cinnabon and Auntie Anne's. She employs a proprietary "Hot Shot Rule" and private equity strategies to leverage consolidated resources for 2,000 franchise owners while navigating macro trends like the "death of the middle" in retail pricing and the shift toward health-conscious consumption. Her approach integrates startup agility and co-appetition tactics to drive growth through delivery technology and strategic partnerships, positioning her brands to compete effectively in an increasingly fragmented and digitally driven market.
- Goldman Sachs31 min
Andre Iguodala: NBA Champion
Andre Iguodala, Nicole Pullen-Ross
Andrew Iguodala reflects on a career defined by strategic sacrifices, including accepting a reduced salary to join the Golden State Warriors and transitioning to a sixth-man role under Steve Kerr to prioritize team success. He advocates for systemic changes in college athletics to compensate African-American student-athletes and emphasizes the psychological discipline instilled by his mother and early mentors to dismantle racial stereotypes. Iguodala further details his post-retirement focus on financial literacy and mental resilience, urging athletes to prepare for life after basketball by diversifying skills and managing wealth proactively.
- Goldman Sachs29 min
Ash Carter: Former US Secretary of Defense
Ash Carter, Sharmeen Mosavar-Rahmani
Former U.S. Secretary of Defense James "Ash" Carter discusses the unprecedented operational scale of the Pentagon, which rivals global corporations in budget and personnel, while emphasizing the critical need for a permanent leader to provide direction. Carter outlines a complex strategy for managing the United States' sustained competitive relationship with China, arguing that traditional containment or free trade models are insufficient and requiring a new playbook centered on multilateral rules rather than bilateral coercion. He further details his tenure's focus on combating ISIS as an existential threat and highlights the volatile risk of unintentional conflict with Iran due to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' operational autonomy and regional instability.
- Lex Fridman22 min
Arianna Huffington: Thrive Global and the Huffington Post | Take It Uneasy Podcast
Arianna Huffington, Lex Friedman
Arianna Huffington outlines a philosophy where life's meaning stems from spiritual evolution and resilience rather than legacy, citing her own near-bankruptcy and recovery as the catalyst for her "Thrive" methodology that prioritizes human energy laws over relentless work. Transitioning from Republican to Democrat due to the need for government action on inequality, she argues that political polarization requires a renewed reverence for objective facts and scientific literacy to heal societal divides. Looking toward the future, she posits that while artificial intelligence will replace technical tasks, uniquely human capacities like love will define economic success, necessitating a shift away from burnout and toward a balance of intense effort with dedicated recharging.
- Goldman Sachs25 min
George F. Will: Author of "The Conservative Sensibility"
George Will's new book, *The Conservative Sensibility*, argues that American conservatism has fundamentally shifted by prioritizing individual liberty over majority rule, a stance he applies to criticize the Republican Party's current uncritical support for Donald Trump's expansive executive power. Will contrasts the Madisonian system of checks and balances with Woodrow Wilson's advocacy for concentrated authority, contending that Congress has abdicated its legislative responsibilities to the executive branch through vague statutes while failing to defend true capitalism against what he terms a misleading socialist narrative. Having effectively severed ties with the GOP over its alignment with the current administration, the veteran columnist champions judicial review as essential for protecting minority rights and defends the virtues of market societies against both modern socialist misconceptions and government economic planning.