Latest Interviews
Showing 766–780 of 822 transcripts.
Clear all filters- Milken Institute1h 26m
MI Forum: Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose
Former Link Exchange co-founder Tony Hsieh scaled Zappos into a billion-dollar enterprise by prioritizing "delivering happiness" over traditional retail metrics, a strategy that secured a 2009 Amazon acquisition while preserving operational independence. The company distinguishes itself through radical customer service tactics, such as a 365-day return window and unscripted phone support, which drive a 75% repeat customer rate by treating the business as a service provider rather than a merchandise vendor. Furthermore, Hsieh enforces a culture-first management model where core values dictate hiring and firing, using financial incentives like the "offer to quit" to filter employees who align with the organization's mission to generate long-term value through emotional connection.
- Milken Institute1h 8m
MI Forum: Sustainable Excellence: The Future of Business in a Fast-Changing World
Authors argue that "Sustainable Excellence" has evolved from a moral preference into a critical business imperative, compelling corporations to integrate environmental and social factors into core strategies to survive resource constraints. Major companies like Nike, Ford, and Unilever demonstrate this shift by reimagining products and forming strategic alliances with NGOs, moving sustainability from peripheral reporting to central boardroom decisions. Despite persistent challenges such as consumer behavior gaps and geopolitical risks, the convergence of regulatory mandates and market efficiency suggests that sustainable practices are becoming synonymous with fundamental business excellence.
- Milken Institute1h 15m
MI Forum: The Grace of Silence
Journalist Michele Norris presented her book *The Grace of Silence* at a KCRW forum, recounting how her family's unspoken trauma regarding her grandmother's "Aunt Jemima" performances and her father's 1946 police shooting in Birmingham revealed the protective function of silence in Black American history. Norris contrasted these personal narratives with systemic racial disparities and the "post-racial" myth, arguing that unaddressed historical trauma continues to shape contemporary inequities in employment and education. The event concluded with Norris advocating for a "National Day of Listening" to preserve such family oral histories, emphasizing that acknowledging these specific stories is essential for understanding national strength rather than dwelling in pain.
- Milken Institute1h 0m
MI Forum: Creating a World Without Poverty
Muhammad Yunus, Mike Milken, James McGowan, Betsy Zyman, Ross Duvall, Steve Barth
Founded by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus to democratize access to capital, the Grameen Bank operates a unique microfinance model where 7.3 million borrowers, 97% of whom are women, own the institution itself. This structure inverts traditional banking by eliminating collateral and legal enforcement while utilizing social pressure to maintain repayment rates exceeding 98%, thereby extending credit to the world's poorest populations. Building on this foundation, Yunus has expanded into social business ventures like Grameen Danone and Grameen Shakti, which deliver essential services ranging from nutrition to solar energy without relying on external dividends.
- Milken Institute1h 24m
Where Is the Economy Headed? A View From the Presidential Campaigns
Michael J. Boskin, Leo Hindery, Jr., John McCain, Barack Obama, Mike Clouden, Peter Purcell
Economic advisors Leo Hendry for the Obama campaign and Michael Boskin for the McCain campaign engaged in a moderated policy dialogue at a Milken Institute event, debating critical issues including income inequality, the causes of the financial crisis, and the efficacy of global trade agreements. The participants presented divergent views on taxation, where Hendry advocated for repealing tax cuts for high earners to reduce deficits, while Boskin argued that such measures would harm the U.S. standard of living and cited technology rather than policy as the primary driver of inequality. Through structured opening statements and rebuttals, the forum highlighted deep disagreements on regulatory approaches to the mortgage crisis and the role of government intervention in stimulating the economy.
- Milken Institute1h 13m
Revolution of Hope: The Life, Faith and Dreams of a Mexican President
Vicente Fox, Mike Milken, Governor Davis
Former Mexican President Vicente Fox joined Milken Institute Chairman Mike Milken for an exclusive dialogue on U.S.-Mexico strategic partnerships, highlighting Mexico's demographic surge, trade achievements under NAFTA, and the economic impact of the region's growing workforce. Fox detailed his administration's record of stabilizing inflation and boosting the stock market while advocating for comprehensive immigration reform and contrasting his cooperative leadership style with isolationist or force-based policies. Looking toward the future, the discussion projected Mexico's rise to become a top-five global economy by 2040 and urged deeper binational integration to counterbalance emerging Asian powers while addressing ongoing security challenges.
- Milken Institute1h 28m
Sam Wyly: 1,000 Dollars & an Idea
Sam Wyly, Milken, Mike Clouden
The Milken Institute hosts a December series of private breakfasts featuring former White House Chief of Staff Mac McLarty and new Los Angeles Times editor Russ Stanton, while scheduling a January forum on stem cell research with Allen Tronson. Concurrently, the organization promotes its 2009 Global Conference for April 27–29, noting that capped attendance is expected to sell out. These upcoming events follow a broader narrative highlighted by Sam Wiley's extensive business history, ranging from his tenure at IBM and the founding of Sterling Software to his recent leadership of Green Mountain Energy.
- Milken Institute1h 21m
MI Forum: Safe At Home With Joe Torre
Joe Torre, Jocelyn Toner, Jeff Klewer, Judith Lynn
The Milken Institute hosted an invitation-only forum where legendary baseball manager Joe Torre and his wife Allie announced the expansion of their Joe Torre Safe at Home Foundation to address domestic violence through new school-based "Margaret's Place" safe rooms in Los Angeles. Leveraging a golf tournament fundraiser and an upcoming honorary event for Torre and Sandy Koufax, the initiative aims to scale its peer-support model nationally following a decade of work in New York. The session also featured Torre's reflection on the cultural shift toward media scrutiny in modern sports and his advocacy for accountability regarding the steroid era as he transitions his legacy from four World Series championships to social advocacy.
- Milken Institute1h 0m
Value and Values: Building a High-Performance Company (updated)
Marc Benioff, Ken Hicks, Jay Rasulo, Walter Robb, Tom Wyatt, Willow Bay
CEOs from Salesforce, Whole Foods, Disney, Foot Locker, and Knowledge Universe convened to outline strategies where integrating core values with business performance drives long-term success. The panel highlighted specific operational shifts, such as Salesforce's 1-1-1 philanthropy model, Whole Foods' rapid transparency on supply chain issues, and Foot Locker's move toward distributed decision-making, all designed to build trust with millennials and investors. Executives concluded that in an era of accelerated competition, organizational culture and ethical accountability have become the primary differentiators for attracting talent and sustaining growth.
- Milken Institute1h 0m
A Conversation with Barry Diller (updated)
Barry Diller outlines a strategic vision for the media industry that prioritizes disintermediation and open internet ecosystems to dismantle closed cable bundles and legacy publishing models. Through specific assessments of companies like Aereo, Netflix, and Google, he predicts that disruptive innovation will shift market power from incumbents resisting change to agile, consumer-centric platforms. Diller identifies critical leaders such as Rupert Murdoch and Jack Welch as exemplars of risk-taking and bureaucratic agility necessary to survive in this evolving landscape.
- Milken Institute1h 0m
A Conversation with Larry King and Carlos Slim (updated)
Mexican businessman Carlos Slim outlined his philosophy that wealth is a byproduct of solving problems rather than an end goal, while criticizing Western fiscal policies and obsolete education models for failing to address global underdevelopment. He advocated for privatizing public assets, extending retirement ages, and integrating technology into education to combat high youth unemployment in Latin America. Slim further detailed his foundation's targeted health and digital inclusion initiatives, defending his telecommunications empire against monopoly accusations as he prepares to leverage infrastructure partnerships for regional economic growth.
- Milken Institute58 min
The Role of Universities in Accelerating Bioscience Research
David Baltimore, Joel Burdick, James Economou, Michael Quick, Owen Witte, Stephen Mayo, Steve Mayo, Nick, Francis Collins, Remy, Joe Boistak, Charles, Eric Green, Ray Deshaies
A consortium of leading academic figures, including Nobel Laureate David Baltimore and experts from Caltech, UCLA, and USC, convened to evaluate the intersection of biological engineering and clinical translation in the face of funding constraints. The panel detailed successful strategies for "engineered immunity" projects, such as converting muscle cells into antibody producers and conducting early-stage human trials within university settings, while highlighting the critical need for interdisciplinary programs that bridge the gap between engineering PhDs and MDs. Despite progress, participants identified a persistent "valley of death" in early-stage financing and urged a cultural shift toward professional management and team-based funding mechanisms to sustain innovation.
- Milken Institute1h 2m
When Past Performance Is a Guide: Using History to Make Sense of the Post-Crisis World
Daniel Arbess, Ben Funnell, Mitchell Julis, Peter Thiel, Niall Ferguson, Mitch Julis
A panel of prominent investors including Peter Thiel, Mitch Julis, Ben Funnell, and Dan Arbus debates whether current post-crisis economic conditions mirror the 1930s or represent a unique divergence driven by a lack of technological innovation and demographic headwinds. The discussion highlights critical risks such as the "disappearance of the future" in the West, structural stagnation in Europe, and a complex trilemma where fiscal policy is blocked while monetary stimulus yields diminishing returns. Consequently, the experts advocate for an investment strategy focused on capital preservation, specific innovation clusters, and potential "overt monetary finance" to navigate a landscape defined by non-linear complexity rather than historical equilibrium.
- Milken Institute1h 4m
Is Gender Parity Possible in the 21st Century?
Molly Ashby, Geena Davis, Deborah DeHaas, Manju Ganeriwala, Ann McElaney-Johnson, Willow Bay, Kathleen Sullivan, Subha Barry, Dr. Nita Arindapol, Kelly McElhaney, Brenda Bates, Nancy, Chris McGrath
A recent panel featuring Geena Davis and industry leaders from academia, finance, and government exposed severe gender disparities in family media, corporate leadership, and political representation, projecting that parity could take centuries at current rates. Speakers argued that these gaps stem from early media conditioning, retention failures, and cultural narratives that limit women's career aspirations, necessitating structural solutions like Norway-style quotas, diverse talent databases, and intentional content rewriting. The group concluded that achieving Hillary Clinton's 2050 vision of 50% global female leadership requires a mandatory shift from voluntary goodwill to accountability models driven by the economic necessity of talent scarcity and Millennial consumer pressure.
- Milken Institute1h 2m
How Improved Health and Longer Lives Drive Global Prosperity
Thomas Frieden, Jonathan Gluck, Carole Roan Gresenz, Michael Harsh, Peter Margolis, Ceci Connolly
A panel of experts from the CDC, GE Health Care, and leading academic institutions demonstrated that shifting from fee-for-service models to accountable care systems can simultaneously improve population health and reduce long-term costs through specific innovations like immunizations and diagnostic imaging. By leveraging data standardization, prize challenges, and telehealth pilots, the session highlighted how eliminating clinical variation and preventing disease rather than treating it generates billions in annual societal savings. The discussion concluded that political and payment reforms, rather than technological limitations, remain the primary obstacles to fully realizing these economic benefits and fostering entrepreneurial growth through universal insurance access.