Latest Interviews

Browser/Computer Automation

Following demonstrations by OpenAI's "Operator" and Anthropic, AI agents now possess the capability to browse the web and operate desktop applications, effectively treating all digital interfaces as programmable APIs. This technological leap, supported by emerging open-source tools, enables the full automation of human-executable workflows and is estimated to expand the addressable use cases for AI agents by a factor of ten. Industry observers predict this shift will catalyze significant innovation across applications built upon these newly accessible agent capabilities.

America’s First Civil Supersonic Jet to Break the Sound Barrier

Blake Scholl

Boom Supersonic's XB1 aircraft successfully broke the sound barrier, marking the first time an independently developed supersonic jet has achieved this critical milestone. Founder Blake Scholl led the initiative to validate the safety and operational lessons necessary for scaling future commercial supersonic passenger travel. This achievement demonstrates how pursuing ambitious technological challenges can drive breakthrough solutions while navigating the emotional extremes inherent in high-stakes aviation startups.

Digital Media and Youth Mental Health | Global Conference 2024

Jacob Ward, Kenneth Cole, Bill Ready, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, Ashwin Vasan, Sherrie Westin

Experts and tech leaders are calling for federal regulation to address the digital toxin threatening adolescent mental health, noting that current industry incentives favor engagement over safety while parents struggle to act as the sole bulwark against online harm. With significant data linking increased screen time to rising anxiety and depression, proposed solutions include the Kids Online Safety Act, California's Age-Appropriate Design Code, and voluntary industry pledges like Pinterest's safety-first model that prioritizes well-being metrics over engagement. Although business leaders acknowledge the necessity of a regulatory floor to align financial interests with public health, the consensus remains that structural safeguards must be established to protect the developing brains of children before self-regulation or bans alone can solve the crisis.

2024: What Matters Most in Marketing | Global Conference 2024

Michelle Stevenson, Kathy Baird, Joe Gagliese, Ella Kieran, Kenny Mitchell, Raja Rajamannar, Amy Tunick

Key industry leaders from The Washington Post, MasterCard, and WPP emphasized that traditional brand loyalty is largely a myth, necessitating a shift toward daily earned trust and "stickiness" through consistent performance and immersive experiences. Concurrently, the convergence of the creator economy, sustainability mandates, and the historic 2024 election cycle has compelled brands to abandon polished advertising in favor of authentic, low-cost content and behavioral change initiatives that prioritize human connection over intellectual cleverness. As audiences fragment across platforms like TikTok and cinema, organizations like Levi's and National Cinemedia are adapting by co-authoring narratives with consumers and leveraging non-partisan spaces to navigate a volatile information landscape while integrating AI as a co-pilot for strategic analysis.

The pace of innovation in biotech: Mirador’s Mark McKenna

Mark McKenna, Dan Dees

Former Prometheus Biosciences CEO Mark McKenna discusses the transformation of the biotech landscape from a pharma-dominated field to one driven by agile, high-risk companies like his current venture, Mirador Therapeutics, which recently secured $400 million in rapid fundraising. Drawing on his experience leading the $11 billion Merck acquisition of Prometheus, McKenna emphasizes that success now relies on leveraging generative AI for precision medicine, operating with a "speed as currency" philosophy to parallelize trials, and maintaining strategic secrecy to protect intellectual property against global competitors. The dialogue further outlines critical industry challenges, including the need to reform drug pricing models dominated by PBMs and to de-risk supply chains from over-reliance on Chinese manufacturing.

Sustaining Food for the Future | Global Conference 2024

Dana Cowin, Joanne Canady-Brown, Aaron Choi, Michael Cimarusti, Rose Previte

Moderated by Dana Cowan, a panel of food industry leaders redefined sustainability as a holistic practice encompassing microeconomic support, ecological resilience, and workforce development. Rose Prince detailed her initiatives to empower small-scale winemakers and communal restaurant spaces, while Michael Shayan Zangiri highlighted the collapse of wild fisheries and rejected lab-grown alternatives in favor of preserving coastal communities. Complementing these perspectives, Aaron Choi demonstrated water-efficient agricultural innovations at his San Diego farm, and Joanne Chang emphasized the necessity of converting transient service jobs into sustainable career pathways through her new training kitchen.

A Conversation with FIFA President Gianni Infantino | Global Conference 2024

Gianni Infantino, Jim Gray

FIFA President Gianni Infantino outlined a comprehensive strategy for the 2026 North America World Cup, targeting record-breaking attendance in NFL stadiums while urging a cultural shift in the United States to overcome terminology barriers and prioritize youth participation over pay-to-play models. He emphasized leveraging global connectivity to market the tournament, citing Lionel Messi's impact in Miami as a blueprint for attracting international fans and encouraging American colleges to redirect funds from traditional sports to soccer infrastructure. The presentation further detailed plans to expand the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup and accelerate women's soccer growth by addressing the disparity between the U.S. leading women's rankings and its current twenty-first position in men's global standings.

Ted Cruz: Trump's First Week, Texas vs. California, Immigration, DOGE, Greenland

Ted Cruz, Trump, Senator Ted Cruz, Chamath, Jason, Friedberg

Senator Ted Cruz joined the All In Podcast live from President Donald Trump's inauguration to detail the incoming administration's aggressive strategy of approximately 100 executive orders focused on border security, energy deregulation, and tax extensions. Cruz contrasted Texas's population growth and economic model driven by low regulation with California's fiscal struggles, while advocating for specific reforms such as the Department of Government Efficiency, term limits, and expedited FDA approvals. The discussion also highlighted the administration's national security objectives, including renegotiating the Panama Canal and potentially acquiring Greenland, alongside a critique of welfare incentives and socialized healthcare systems.

A Conversation with New York Governor Kathy Hochul | Global Conference 2024

Kathy Hochul, Jonathan Capehart

Governor Hochul directed New York State to launch the Empire AI Consortium and designate Upstate a semiconductor workforce hub to secure $400 billion in private and public investments while expanding paid leave and mental health support for workers. The initiative pairs $275 million in state funding for a centralized supercomputer with $100 billion in Micron expansion incentives to create 50,000 jobs and integrate STEM curricula in underrepresented communities. Simultaneously, the administration urged institutions to preserve graduation schedules and cultivate collaborative student environments to ensure the future workforce can navigate diverse, high-tech industries without the erosion of essential workplace skills.

The Emerging World of Opportunities: Insights from MI's Global Opportunity Index | Global Conference

Carole Biau, Jarred Glansbeek, Richard Jadulan, Leticia Jáuregui Casanueva, Toyin Sanni, Carol Beo, Jared Glanzbeck

The Milken Institute Global Opportunity Index panel evaluated investment landscapes across Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, and Asia, highlighting specific regional drivers such as Nigeria's administrative reforms, Mexico's nearshoring potential, and the Philippines' regulatory liberalization. Key speakers Jared Glanzbeck, Dr. Toyin Sani, and Leticia Haureyi-Casanueva emphasized that undervalued emerging markets offer significant equity entry points when investors overcome perception gaps through local partnerships and targeted focus on gender diversity and climate resilience. The discussion concluded that strategic capital allocation into human capital and sustainable infrastructure remains critical for capturing the substantial foreign direct investment inflows correlated with improved institutional frameworks.

Inclusive Capitalism: Unleashing Growth in the Global Economy | Global Conference 2024

Troy Duffie, Nisha Biswal, Roger Ferguson, Carla Harris, Martin Nesbitt

This event convened economic and financial leaders to analyze the U.S. job market, evolving inflation dynamics, and the strategic expansion of private credit and development finance in response to global supply chain shifts. Panelists redefined investment frameworks through "Capitalism 3.0," integrating ESG metrics and diversity initiatives into core risk management while addressing the Series A funding gap for entrepreneurs of color. Key outcomes included the U.S. Development Finance Corporation's doubled mandate to $60 billion and the launch of Morgan Stanley's Next Level Fund, which pairs capital with operational expertise to support inclusive growth and stable returns.

Conversation with His Excellency Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak | Middle East & Africa Summit 2024

Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak, His Excellency Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak, Michael Milken

Since its inception in 2004, Mubadala has expanded its assets under management from $50 million to $330 billion by evolving into a diversified global investor with a distinct strategic focus on direct private equity, third-party capital, and the newly launched AI-focused MGX platform. Driven by the UAE's consistent political stability and aggressive talent attraction policies, the institution aims to secure a top-three global economic position by 2025 while prioritizing high-growth sectors like artificial intelligence and life sciences in emerging markets. Looking ahead, Mubadala plans to fully integrate AI into all investment functions by late 2025 to outperform traditional sovereign benchmarks and maintain long-term returns comparable to leading global endowments.

Building Markets of Tomorrow | Middle East and Africa Summit 2024

Michael Milken, Jim Coulter

Jim outlines a paradigm shift where investment success depends on selecting differentiated business models with long-term tailwinds rather than relying on broad public indexing or predicting short-term economic transitions. As private markets expand to house 32,000 companies and capital flows converge with intellectual assets in regions like the GCC, the strategy must address evolving risks from interest rate volatility to the $120–150 trillion opportunity within the global energy transition. This approach emphasizes that future returns are determined by where investors begin and end, particularly as sovereign debt cycles and fragmentation drive a fundamental restructuring of global capital allocation.

Credit Investors Taking the Reins | Middle East and Africa Summit 2024

Michael Piwowar, Sandeep Chandak, Michael Gross, Zia Uddin, Orla Walsh, Mike Pivovar

A panel of industry leaders outlined the divergent trajectories of global private credit markets, noting Asia's rapid expansion into a mature source of alpha while the U.S. market faces yield compression and systemic stress from high leverage in the upper-middle sector. Speakers detailed strategic shifts toward labor-intensive origination, specialized financing for infrastructure gaps, and the regulatory necessity of robust legal frameworks to protect investor interests. The discussion concluded that future success depends on diversified, multi-strategy approaches capable of navigating retailization risks and generating equity-like returns as the industry transitions from a double-digit return era to a more normalized competitive landscape.

The Evolving Landscape of Private Markets | Middle East and Africa Summit 2024

Laura Merlini, Lauren Goodwin, Klaus Hommels, Scott Spielvogel, David Steinbach, Andrew Weinberg

The event examines how shifting macroeconomic trends, including lower interest rates and the $90 trillion generational wealth transfer, are driving capital into private markets while redefining exit strategies and liquidity structures. Speakers detailed critical convergence points where defense tech, AI implementation, and infrastructure real estate intersect with evolving regulatory frameworks in Europe and the US. These discussions project a resilient 2025 outlook where public and private market mechanisms merge to support middle-market growth and operational innovation.