Latest Interviews
Showing 946–960 of 1,076 transcripts.
Clear all filters- Milken Institute1h 2m
Institutional Investors: Where in the World Will Returns Come From? (audio/video update)
Janet Cowell, Joseph Dear, Michael Sabia, Mauricio Wanderley, Tom Finke, Joe Deere
Representatives from CalPERS, the North Carolina State Treasurer, the Canadian Caisse de Dépôt, and Brazil's Funcef convened to detail strategies for recovering from financial crises and targeting 6.7% to 7.5% annual returns in a low-yield environment. The panelists emphasized a decisive shift away from benchmark-relative mandates toward direct ownership of real economy assets, with significant capital redeployment into private equity, infrastructure, and emerging markets like China and Brazil to hedge against inflation and fill fixed-income gaps. While noting political and monetary risks in Europe, these leaders projected a moderately offensive posture for 2013, prioritizing internal management to reduce fees and enhance long-term growth despite the scarcity of high-quality investment vehicles.
- Milken Institute1h 18m
MI Forum: Silicon Rally: L.A.'s Thriving Tech Scene (SD)
Walter Driver, Susan Feldman, Michael Jones, Dana Settle, Mike Jones
The Los Angeles tech ecosystem, known as Silicon Beach, sustains approximately $1 billion in annual venture capital while differentiating itself from coastal hubs through an emphasis on immediate revenue generation over delayed monetization. Despite producing major exits like SpaceX and Riot Games, the region faces significant headwinds including a scarcity of local late-stage funding, a shortage of experienced angel investors, and reliance on external Series B capital. To mature into a sustainable platform for multibillion-dollar valuations, the panel advocates for entrepreneurs to leverage personal expertise and tap into underutilized capital pools within diverse community family offices.
- 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 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 22m
The Future of Biofuels: Can This Green Energy Pay Off - and Save the Planet?
Roger Conway, Daniel Gardenswartz, Richard Hamilton, Glenn Yago, Joel
The Milken Institute's Capital Studies program convened experts from the USDA and private sector to analyze the technical and economic realities of three biofuel generations, emphasizing advanced cellulosic and algal technologies. Panelists highlighted that while government programs like the Biomass Crop Assistance Program are addressing the critical funding gap between research and commercialization, economic parity with fossil fuels is projected within two to three years as yields improve and costs decline. The discussion concluded that a diversified energy portfolio is essential, countering concerns about food security by demonstrating how genetically enhanced crops can sequester carbon and utilize marginal land without displacing food production.
- Milken Institute59 min
Mid-Market Private Equity (updated)
Lauren Leichtman, Brian Reynolds, Ted Virtue, Barry Volpert, Kneeland Youngblood, Adam Sokoloff
Industry leaders including Lauren Leichman, Ted Virtue, and Barry Volpert convened to analyze the current middle-market landscape, highlighting a surge in refinancing activity and secondary buyouts driven by abundant capital and favorable credit conditions. While mega-funds compete on lower IRR mandates, mid-market firms leverage operational expertise and lower leverage to target distinct valuation gaps, particularly in the $200 million to $1 billion enterprise value range. The panel concluded that despite LP demands for concentration and compliance, the sector is poised for sustained growth through strategic carve-outs, cross-border expansion, and a predicted "harvesting wave" of exits over the next five years.
- Milken Institute1h 2m
Leaning In or Pushed Out: Where Are the Senior Women in Business?
Richard Ditizio, Margery Kraus, Sallie Krawcheck, Lauren Leichtman, Liz Claman, Marjorie Kraus, Michelle Kidley, Jeff, Manjuka Nariwala
Despite women comprising over half of college graduates, their representation in senior financial leadership remains stagnant at roughly 16%, a regression driven by systemic biases like the "intellectual honesty" trap and the double-bind of perceived aggression. Panelists highlighted that while diverse management teams generate over 30% higher returns, institutional inertia persists due to regressive maternity policies and a flexibility paradox that sidelines working mothers. To address this, experts recommend leveraging investor pressure through shareholder voting, utilizing regulatory CAMEL ratings to penalize homogenous boards, and fostering mandatory male inclusion to dismantle the status quo.
- Milken Institute57 min
Copy of In Tech We Trust? A Debate with Peter Thiel and Marc Andreessen
Peter Thiel argues that the US is experiencing a "computer rust belt" of stagnation in physical infrastructure and productivity despite massive R&D spending, attributing this decline to cultural risk aversion and excessive regulation. Mark Andreessen counters that innovation is actively progressing in sectors like social media, electric vehicles, and clean energy, viewing current skepticism as a recurring historical pattern where transformative technologies are initially dismissed. Both speakers agree that entrenched government monopolies and rigid regulatory frameworks are the primary barriers to accelerating living standards, though they differ on whether the decline is driven by a genuine lack of invention or merely a failure to recognize modern breakthroughs.
- Milken Institute54 min
Inventing the Impossible
Nolan Bushnell, Pablos Holman, Salim Ismail, Marco Tempest, Ken Rutkowski
This event convenes leading experts to analyze how exponential technology trends are disrupting linear industries like education and healthcare while accelerating global innovation. Speakers detail Singularity University's strategy for training diverse cohorts to solve billion-person problems and showcase transformative solutions ranging from nuclear waste-fueled reactors to personalized AI-driven learning models. The proceedings further highlight how crowdfunding has democratized capital access, enabling rapid prototyping and shifting the focus of human space exploration toward robotics and bioengineering.
- Milken Institute1h 1m
Global Opportunities in Commercial Real Estate (mobile v2)
Peter Lowy, William McMorrow, Nicholas Schorsch, Barry Sternlicht, Sam Zell, Lewis Feldman, Lou Feldman, Bill McMorrow
Prominent industry figures including Sam Zell, Barry Sternlich, and Bill McMorrow analyze a global real estate landscape characterized by $320 billion in capital flows and a strategic shift away from high-leverage speculation toward stable, yield-focused asset classes. The discussion highlights distinct regional opportunities such as Irish and Latin American growth against European recession, while addressing operational challenges like rising security costs and the integration of physical retail with digital channels. Ultimately, the panel concludes that the United States offers the superior risk-adjusted returns for the coming year, driven by currency stability and disciplined underwriting in staple sectors like multi-family housing and net lease properties.
- Milken Institute1h 15m
Impact Investing in Israel Roundtable
Lorin Fife, Alan Hoffmann, Carl Kaplan, Yaron Neudorfer, Izzy Tapoohi, Davida Lachman-Messer, Shari Birenbach
This panel featured industry leaders including Didi Lachman, Lorraine Alexander, and Alan Hoffman, who advocated for impact investing as a necessary vehicle to scale social funding in Israel by leveraging the 95% of foundation assets not required for annual grants. Key speakers presented diverse financial instruments ranging from social impact bonds and social venture funds to earmarked Israel Bonds, projecting that these mechanisms could generate the required 7% returns while addressing inequalities among underserved populations. The discussion concluded with a roadmap for establishing a social investment bank and standardizing impact measurements to overcome institutional conservatism and mobilize public-private partnerships.
- 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 Institute54 min
Magic Johnson and David Ho: Winning the Battle Against AIDS (updated)
Magic Johnson, David Ho, Earvin (Magic) Johnson, Al Michaels
In 1938, President Roosevelt launched a campaign against polio that, following the 1955 introduction of the Salk vaccine and strategic public endorsements, reduced US cases by 99.9% and annual costs from $100 billion to $100 million by the turn of the millennium. Decades later, the HIV/AIDS epidemic reshaped global health through pivotal moments such as Magic Johnson's 1991 retirement announcement and Dr. David Ho's development of HAART therapy, which transformed the disease from a fatal diagnosis into a manageable chronic condition for many. Today, despite significant advances in treatment and the efforts of advocates like Bill Gates and Dr. Ho, the disease remains a critical global challenge affecting millions, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa and among specific US demographics, necessitating continued research for a vaccine and cure.
- Milken Institute1h 1m
Global Opportunities in Commercial Real Estate (mobile)
Lou Feldman, Peter Loewy, Bill McMorrow, Nicholas Gorsch, Barry Sternlich, Sam Zell
Prominent real estate executives including Sam Zell, Barry Sternlich, and Peter Loewy convened to analyze a global capital shift where $320 billion in direct real estate investment returned to 2013 levels, driven primarily by U.S. and secondary European markets. While investors pivoted toward risk-adjusted yields and debt structures in stable environments like the United States and Colombia, they identified significant headwinds in Brazil and Europe alongside evolving retail strategies that prioritize omnichannel integration and larger showroom formats. The discussion also highlighted critical security challenges and the impact of terrorism insurance expirations on capital flow, underscoring a broader trend of institutional consolidation amidst a fragmented regulatory landscape.
- Milken Institute1h 22m
Stopping Alzheimer's: Personal, Economic and Policy Imperatives
Neil de Crescenzo, Robert Hormats, Sue Siegel, George Vradenburg, Anne Whitaker, Cecilia Arradaza, Bob Hormats, Peggy Wallace, Michael Miller
With Alzheimer's disease imposing a global economic burden equivalent to an $18th-largest national economy and a 97% research failure rate, experts call for a strategic shift from viewing the condition as merely a health issue to addressing it as a sovereign economic crisis. Key figures and organizations, including the NIH, GE, and the BRAIN Initiative, are urging a tripling of funding to $2 billion annually alongside the development of validated biomarkers to overcome current diagnostic and regulatory barriers. To mitigate this fiscal threat and extend productive lifespans, stakeholders propose cross-sector collaboration to create new financial instruments and public awareness campaigns that mobilize caregivers and policymakers toward systemic reform.