Latest Interviews

ESG Passes the Stress Test

John Goldstein, Liz

During the 2020 market downturn, ESG funds demonstrated exceptional resilience and attracted $120 billion in net inflows while non-ESG alternatives saw outflows, proving sustainable finance is a fundamental economic driver rather than a market luxury. Goldman Sachs and other industry leaders now prioritize "Inclusive Growth" alongside environmental goals, urging investors and corporations to move beyond ideological labels toward tangible execution in risk mitigation, talent retention, and supply chain mandates. Looking ahead to 2021, the strategic focus shifts to standardizing data, accelerating decarbonization in hard-to-abate sectors like steel and energy, and integrating these real-economy drivers directly into core business purposes.

Dennis Lynch, Head of Counterpoint Global at Morgan Stanley Investment Management

Dennis Lynch, Katie

Dennis Lynch, who oversees over $100 billion in assets at Morgan Stanley's CounterPoint Global, discusses how the pandemic accelerated e-commerce and digital infrastructure trends while reinforcing a fundamental investment approach centered on internet advertising, streaming, and healthcare technology. Lynch emphasizes that strict position sizing for capital-intensive businesses and a culturally diverse, long-tenured team are critical for navigating systemic crises and drawdowns. He further advises emerging investors to cultivate broad perspective over narrow specialization to ensure long-term relevance as industry landscapes shift over decades.

Tristan Harris, President of the Center for Humane Technology

Tristan Harris, Jessica

Tristan Harris, a former Google design ethicist and founder of the Center for Humane Technology, argues that Silicon Valley business models exploit human psychological weaknesses through algorithms that prioritize engagement over wellbeing. He contends that these systems fracture shared reality, drive societal polarization, and undermine collective action on existential threats like climate change by treating users as domesticated livestock rather than citizens. Harris proposes regulating these underlying attention economies to restore executive control and build a nonpartisan foundation for democratic resilience.

Misan Harriman, Photographer

Misan Harriman

British Vogue Editor-in-Chief Edward Enninfield selected photographer Anne Harriman to shoot the historic September cover, marking the first time in the publication's 104-year history that a Black photographer has held the role. This decision followed the viral spread of Harriman's civil rights imagery from the 2020 London protests, which highlighted her self-taught background and dual Nigerian-English cultural influences. Looking toward the future, Harriman aims to scale her media business "We See" to drive institutional change while advocating for prison education reform and expanding into documentary filmmaking to emulate the legacies of artists like Gordon Parks.

How to learn and master a new skill

The speaker advocates for a mastery philosophy rooted in daily discipline rather than fleeting motivation, asserting that a minimum of two hours of practice for one year is necessary to establish a lasting learning habit. Over a five-year timeline, this intensive regimen can be scaled down to a single hour or even ten minutes of daily maintenance, relying on the cumulative effect of skill acquisition and the inevitability of passion returning through persistent effort. By reframing struggle as a positive indicator of neural "locking in" and prioritizing consistency over rest, the approach aims to transition learners from conscious effort into a state of flow where the art itself becomes a source of deep meaning and enjoyment.

Dr. Tony Coles, President, CEO and Chairperson of Cerevel Therapeutics

Dr. Tony Coles, Ross

Dr. Tony Coles, President and CEO of Cerevel Therapeutics, leverages his dual leadership of the company and the Black Economic Alliance to articulate how the biopharmaceutical sector's scientific "platinum age" must align with urgent socio-economic imperatives. He outlines how breakthroughs in vaccine development and shifting consumer demands, evidenced by Edelman research, compel businesses to prioritize diversity, wage equity, and moral stewardship to mitigate revenue risks in a polarized climate. Ultimately, Coles argues that organizational success now depends on leadership courage to address systemic racism and economic displacement, moving beyond traditional analytics to drive reskilling initiatives and inclusive policies.

How Technology is Disrupting the Insurance Industry

Kelly Galanis, Liz

Valued at approximately $5 trillion, the global insurance market is undergoing significant technological disruption driven by $7 billion in recent venture capital, strategic M&A activity, and the adoption of AI, IoT, and cloud-based core systems. While incumbents leverage minority investments and distribution partnerships to maintain relevance, emerging insurtechs are utilizing full-stack direct models and advanced underwriting automation to optimize customer acquisition and retention across life, auto, and commercial lines. This dynamic fosters a non-winner-takes-all environment where collaboration between established carriers and innovative entrants focuses on re-bundling offerings and utilizing alternative data for precise risk assessment.

Tom Lister, Co-Managing Partner of Permira

Tom Lister

Primera Capital navigated the early pandemic's valuation gap by fortifying its existing healthcare and technology portfolios before resuming aggressive investment in resilient marketplaces. The firm’s current strategy prioritizes securing exceptional assets despite intense competition, relying on rigorous primary-source verification and a disciplined approach to monetization timing rather than model-dependent assumptions. Looking ahead, investors are advised to maintain resilience against market pushback while preparing for a higher S&P 500 trajectory, even as geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and China remain politically driven.

Douglas Parker, Chairman and CEO of American Airlines

Douglas Parker, Doug

American Airlines Chairman and CEO Doug Parker outlined a crisis management strategy focused on transparency, maintaining 100% employee work hours via CARES Act support, and prioritizing full cash refunds over competitor voucher practices to preserve corporate character. The airline has accelerated the retirement of roughly 150 aircraft and reduced daily cash burn to $25–30 million while projecting 2021 capacity to remain 10% below 2019 levels to align with demand constraints. Additionally, American leveraged its youngest global fleet to enforce strict safety protocols and invest in sustainable aviation fuels, aiming for profitability recovery by 2022 as leisure travel drives the market.

What’s Next for the U.S. Dollar

Ricardo Mora, Liz

Goldman Sachs analysts project a 6.1% global growth surge for 2021, anticipating a weakening U.S. dollar that benefits emerging markets and G10 currencies despite the dollar retaining its primary safe-haven status. The firm forecasts significant opportunities in equities and commodities, noting that gold and digital assets like Bitcoin are increasingly viewed as essential portfolio hedges as traditional bond yields decline. While competing jurisdictions such as China and the EU advance their financial integration, the resilience of U.S. institutions ensures the dollar remains dominant even as divergent emerging market policies create uneven recovery patterns.

Carbonomics: The Green Engine of Economic Recovery

Michele Della Vigna, Liz

Mark Carney opened a high-level conference for 30 CEOs to frame decarbonization as a financial efficiency opportunity capable of mobilizing $16 trillion in infrastructure and creating 20 million global jobs. Major oil firms including BP, Total, and ENI are transitioning into broader energy entities by leveraging their operational expertise to integrate renewables, clean hydrogen, and carbon capture technologies. This strategic shift, underpinned by data showing top-quintile ESG companies outperformed peers by 320 basis points, reflects a global policy consensus moving from European leadership toward widespread adoption by the U.S., China, and Japan.

General James Mattis (USMC, Ret.)

James Mattis, John

General Mattis argues that effective global crisis management requires the United States to resume diplomatic leadership and rebuild trust with allies, contrasting this approach with the dangers of unilateralism and the internal vulnerabilities of rivals like China, Russia, and North Korea. He emphasizes that pandemic recovery and vaccine distribution must rely on scientific consensus and multinational cooperation rather than political isolation, warning that fear and cultural ignorance can inflict greater damage than the virus or military conflict. Ultimately, the discussion asserts that restoring U.S. credibility through respectful partnerships is essential for navigating future geopolitical threats and ensuring long-term economic stability.

Arvind Krishna, CEO of IBM

Arvind Krishna, David

IBM CEO Arvind Krishna, who has led the company since 2020, is driving a strategic pivot toward hybrid cloud and artificial intelligence through the recent spin-off of IBM's technology services business. Krishna advocates for quantum-resistant encryption and proposed leveraging supercomputing and AI to accelerate pandemic recovery efforts, including vaccine development and remote education. Looking forward, he predicts the pandemic will compress five to ten years of digital transformation into just two years while emphasizing that human creativity will remain essential alongside these technological advances.

November QuickPoll Survey: Views on the Market Rally, Fiscal Stimulus and Vaccine

Oscar Ostlund, Oskar, Liz

A broadening equity rally driven by cyclical sectors and optimistic vaccine timelines is reshaping investor expectations for a return to normal economic activity. Survey data indicates that 61% of participants anticipate vaccine approval this year, while 45% predict a $1 trillion fiscal package, creating a binary path that has reduced political uncertainty despite a potentially split Congress. This confidence is further bolstered by 40% of investors favoring developed market equities as a long position, even as 29% short developed bonds in anticipation of rising yields and central banks moving away from zero rates.

Chris Ailman, Chief Investment Officer of CalSTRS

Chris Ailman

CalSTRS maintains a 7% long-term return target amidst expensive equity valuations and a prolonged health crisis hangover by pivoting toward physical assets like real estate and infrastructure while integrating mandatory environmental factors into a unified sustainability framework. The pension fund emphasizes cultural due diligence through on-site verification to identify decaying alpha-generation capabilities in external managers and advises immediate divestment when governance shifts from performance to lifestyle focus. Looking forward, CalSTRS expects investment analysis to evolve from traditional spreadsheets to machine learning-driven risk assessments, prioritizing consistent incremental outperformance over outlier bets while navigating a "just transition" away from legacy industries.