Latest Interviews
Showing 5371–5385 of 5,623 transcripts.
Clear all filters- Milken Institute59 min
Abenomics in Japan: Are the Three Arrows on Target?
Mr. Honda, Paul Sher, John Kodonos, Ambassador Chen, Curtis, Madeline Antonsica, Alec Ellison, Wei-Ming Yuan, Alex von Furstenberg
Following two decades of stagnation driven by persistent deflation, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe launched the "Abenomics" framework in 2013, uniting aggressive monetary easing under Governor Haruhiko Kuroda, fiscal stimulus, and structural reforms. While these policies successfully shifted inflation expectations and expanded the central bank's balance sheet, the strategy faces significant headwinds including a consumption tax hike, a severe demographic decline, and skepticism regarding the depth of corporate governance changes. Although Japan retains unique advantages such as domestic debt currency and massive household savings, sustained economic recovery ultimately depends on the successful execution of long-term supply-side improvements to overcome bureaucratic barriers and low fertility rates.
- Milken Institute53 min
Global Risk
Jim Brooks, General Wesley Clark, Ambassador Hussein Haqqani, Ambassador Paul Wolfowitz
General Wesley Clark, Ambassador Paul Wolfowitz, Ambassador Hussein Haqqani, and Jim Brooks convened to analyze the global implications of Russian aggression in Ukraine, China's rising "China Dream," and instability in the Middle East and Latin America. The panelists collectively warned that U.S. reticence signals weakness to adversaries, urging an immediate shift from "leading from behind" to a strategy of robust defense for Ukraine, accelerated energy independence, and active support for opposition forces in Syria. They concluded that American global leadership is contingent upon restoring domestic economic vitality and reasserting credible hard power to prevent a geopolitical shift toward a new century of conflict.
- Milken Institute1h 12m
The Global Economy: Hoping for Momentum amid Tepid Times
Skip Reimer, Jim McCoggan, Terry Duffy, Alex Friedman, Joshua Harris, Alan Howard, Min Zhu
The 17th annual Milken Institute Global Conference convened 650 speakers, including Jim McCoggan, Joshua Harris, and IMF Deputy Managing Director Min Zhu, to analyze diverging global monetary policies and tepid economic growth. Panelists debated U.S. GDP forecasts of 2.7% to 3% against risks from elevated valuations and potential recession, while highlighting Europe's banking deleveraging and emerging market vulnerabilities driven by China's credit boom. The discussion concluded with warnings that geopolitical tail events from the Russia-Ukraine crisis and regulatory fragmentation could disrupt market stability despite current low volatility.
- Milken Institute1h 49m
A Conversation With Financial Innovators
Lewis Ranieri, Richard Sandor, Myron Scholes, Michael Milken, Stacey Ward, Sri
The Milken Center for Financial Markets convened a panel of experts including Richard Thaler, Lou Sabino, and Mike Milken to critique the misalignment of regulatory structures with market realities, citing specific failures in housing, insurance, and climate policy. Speakers highlighted severe systemic issues ranging from the erosion of personal responsibility and inefficient government mandates to a $7 trillion outsourcing dilemma in mortgage servicing that threatens domestic job stability. The discussion concluded with a call for market-based solutions, such as pricing externalities and reforming complex legislation like Dodd-Frank, to restore structural strength and foster sustainable economic growth.
- Milken Institute7 min
2013GC Cyber Illusionist
Marco, self-described as a cyber illusionist, leverages magic to prototype future technologies by presenting "illusion glasses" that simulate augmented reality concepts independent of Google's Project Glass. He grounds his digital demonstrations in the esoteric symbolism of a standard 52-card deck, meticulously mapping suits to seasons, cards to lunar phases, and spot counts to the days of the year. After discussing the mathematical odds of skilled card handling, the performance culminated in a tangible trick revealing a real card to distinguish physical reality from simulated elements.
- Milken Institute1h 12m
The Path to Awakening
Shamar Rinpoche, Marc Junkunc, Skip Reimer, Lori Milken, Dr. Mark Junkins
At the Milken Institute Forum, Shamar Rinpoche, the 14th Red Hat Lama of Tibet, presented his secular commentary *The Path to Awakening* to a panel including Dr. Mark Junkins, addressing Western anxiety through non-sectarian mind training methods. Rinpoche outlined specific practices such as Tonglen meditation and the "horse eating grass" technique designed to help practitioners manage thoughts and emerge from dualistic illusions without requiring strict guru-disciple commitments. The session concluded with an electronic Q&A that clarified the relationship between ancient Buddhist concepts like karma and modern challenges, including the impacts of urban life, technology, and brain science on spiritual development.
- Y Combinator18 min
Jessica Mah at Female Founders Conference 2014
Indonero CEO Jessica Ma pivoted her company from a failing software startup that masked $80,000 in annual revenue to a profitable accounting service by abandoning vanity metrics and personally acquiring an IRS Enrolled Agent license. Following a severe operational collapse that required her to terminate the entire staff and move operations to her apartment, the restructured business now employs 50 people and secured its first profitable month through a high-value service model. This transformation underscores Ma's shift from arrogant speculation grounded in a "Bernie Madoff" façade to a grounded strategy defined by unapologetic confidence and honest stakeholder management.
- Y Combinator16 min
Elizabeth Iorns at Female Founders Conference 2014
Elizabeth Iorns, Dr. Elizabeth Irons
Dr. Elizabeth Irons founded Science Exchange, a Y Combinator-backed global marketplace connecting researchers with over 800 pre-vetted labs to streamline academic experiment collaboration. Drawing from her personal experience as a former breast cancer researcher, Irons validated the platform's market fit by manually vetting thousands of institutions and adopting a "FORCE" cultural framework to guide operations and investor relations. The company successfully navigated early brand skepticism by pivoting its narrative to emphasize scientific credibility, ultimately establishing a scalable infrastructure that addresses the fragmentation of technical expertise in modern research.
- Y Combinator19 min
Kathryn Minshew at Female Founders Conference 2014
Kathryn Minshew, Catherine Minshew
The Muse, a career discovery platform founded by CEO Catherine Minshew and co-founders Alex and Melissa, grew from a WordPress MVP to over one million monthly users by prioritizing product-market fit over perfection and securing Y Combinator funding after multiple rejections. The team achieved rapid distribution through zero-cost acquisition tactics, such as manual outreach to niche groups and frictionless referral tools, while maintaining a lean culture where leaders earn less than their employees to emphasize mission over profit. Their strategic shift from vanity metrics like video views to core indicators like job applications allowed them to validate demand with the target demographic and scale from a two-user beta to a sustainable global platform.
- Y Combinator14 min
Elli Sharef at Female Founders Conference 2014
Elli Sharef, Kat Maniolak, Ellie Chareth
Ellie Chareth, founder of the Y Combinator-backed recruiting platform Higher Art, shares lessons on overcoming founder hesitation and navigating near-failure through relentless execution rather than waiting for perfect conditions. Drawing on personal fundraising struggles and Meg Whitman's political career, Chareth emphasizes that deep internal confidence and the willingness to pivot are essential for surviving the constant pressure of startup development. Her journey from securing only two initial users to expanding globally across 150 countries illustrates the necessity of persistence, urging founders to embrace the chaotic process of building a company while maintaining belief in their vision despite external rejection.
- Y Combinator22 min
Julia Hartz at Female Founders Conference 2014
Eventbrite, founded by Julia and Kevin Hartz in San Francisco in 2006, scaled to process over $1 billion in gross ticket sales by leveraging a strategic freemium model that utilizes free events to drive paid organizer growth. The company navigated early organizational challenges by refining its monetization to a 2.5% fee structure and evolving its leadership practices to prioritize aptitude over technical prowess during rapid expansion. Anchored by a culture of "relentless evolution" and a clear vision to unite the world through live experiences, the platform now operates as a global marketplace serving over one million annual events.
- Y Combinator23 min
Jessica Livingston at Female Founders Conference 2014
Y Combinator co-founder Jessica Livingston launched the organization's first exclusively female-founded conference at the Computer History Museum, reflecting a consistent rise in women-led startups that now comprise 25% of the current batch. The event highlights YC's evolution from an accidental batch-funded experiment into a powerhouse that has supported 632 companies worth over $20 billion, including Airbnb and Stripe. Livingston emphasizes that determination and strategic co-founder selection are critical for navigating early-stage challenges, particularly for non-technical founders facing difficulties in building technical teams.
- Milken Institute1h 15m
Unleashing the Second American Century: Four Forces for Economic Dominance
Joel Kurtzman, Tom Nuttall, Skip Reimer
Joel Kurtzman presents a "Second American Century" thesis, asserting that advanced manufacturing, energy independence, and a robust innovation sector are reversing the narrative of U.S. decline. He highlights that $65 billion in new domestic plant investments and a surge in oil production have lowered costs while reducing geopolitical reliance on the Middle East, even as CO2 emissions drop to 1993 levels. To sustain this momentum, Kurtzman advocates for automatic green cards for foreign university graduates and urges policymakers to address wealth inequality through STEM education rather than redistribution, warning that political dysfunction remains the primary obstacle to realizing these economic potentials.
- Milken Institute1h 30m
A Hollywood Exit: What California Must Do to Remain Competitive in Entertainment - and Keep Jobs
Fred Baron, Rajiv Dalal, Kathy Garmezy, Joseph Henchman, Kevin Klowden, Larry Mantle, David Rockefeller Jr.
Facing an 11% workforce decline and a 50% drop in feature film production since 2004, California officials and industry leaders are advocating for legislation to replace the state's capped lottery system with a non-tradable, expanded tax credit program. Proposed reforms aim to increase annual funding to $1 billion and extend incentives to large-budget films and visual effects to counter the migration of crews to states offering higher subsidies. While fiscal critics warn of unsustainable "race to the bottom" dynamics citing Michigan's failed 40% credit, panelists argue that preserving the state's dense infrastructure and middle-class jobs justifies the investment to stabilize a shrinking domestic market.
- Milken Institute57 min
The 2014 Atlanta Summit - - The Business Case for Public Health
Mike Milken, Mahmoud, Rajiv, Steve Byrd, Bob, Judy, Leisha Hancock, Tom
This event synthesizes perspectives from the CDC, PepsiCo, Fidelity, Safeway, and the pharmaceutical sector to highlight a systemic shift from isolated interventions to cross-sector collaboration for managing chronic disease and innovation. Participants detailed how major corporations are reducing health risks through data-driven strategies, such as PepsiCo's portfolio reformulation and Safeway's biometric incentives, while biotech investors address the funding gap for high-risk scientific breakthroughs. Ultimately, the discussion emphasizes that saving lives requires a unified ecosystem where government agencies, private industry, and academic centers align resources to tackle preventable mortality and unsustainable healthcare costs.