Latest Interviews
Showing 46–60 of 98 interview transcripts.
Clear all filters- Goldman Sachs20 min
M&A in 2024: Navigating opportunities and challenges
Stephan Feldgoise, Mark Sorrell, Allison Nathan
Following a 2023 period defined by valuation misalignments and high interest rates, the M&A market is experiencing a surge in dialogue and specific sector activity driven by resilient natural resources, healthcare, and stable industrial performance. While private equity deal volume has contracted due to financing costs, corporate buyers have maintained robust activity and public-to-private transactions have reached record levels to address pressure on portfolio monetization. Looking ahead to 2024, experts anticipate a normalization of interest rates and reduced inflation will catalyze a rebound in technology deals and strategic spinoffs, with international activity expected to trail the US market by several months.
- Goldman Sachs23 min
Unlocking the AI M&A Supercycle
Jung Min, Matt Lucas, Allison Nathan
Goldman Sachs' latest analysis characterizes the current generative AI boom as a transformative, economy-wide shift driven by chat interfaces and algorithmic leaps, while noting that widespread enterprise adoption remains in a nascent phase. Investment capital is currently concentrated on infrastructure components like semiconductors and data centers, leading to a shift in public market valuations toward tangible results rather than speculation. Although acquisition activity is temporarily constrained by strategic uncertainty, future M&A waves and significant economic productivity gains are projected to emerge once regulatory frameworks stabilize and enterprise spending matures over the coming decade.
- Goldman Sachs25 min
Breaking Free: The rise of corporate separations
David Dubner, Sharath Sharma, Allison Nathan
Driven by an elevated cost of capital and a strategic pivot toward simplification, over 30 global corporate separations were announced in 2022 as companies in sectors like pharmaceuticals and industrials seek to unlock portfolio discounts through operational focus. These transactions, typically closing within 9 to 13 months with internal leaders assuming over 80% of NewCo CEO roles, historically generate mid-single-digit outperformance against the S&P 500 within two years. By optimizing capital allocation and enabling targeted M&A, these divestitures serve as a critical mechanism for "shrinking to grow," allowing both RemainCos and NewCos to accelerate executive cycles and achieve value creation previously unattainable within diversified conglomerates.
- Goldman Sachs31 min
Navigating the trillion dollar path to a more sustainable economy
Michele Della Vigna, Kara Mangone, Allison Nathan
Despite a challenging macroeconomic environment, global energy capital expenditure is rising by 15% annually, driven by a dual-investment strategy that balances legacy fossil fuel stability with accelerated clean technology deployment. Key policy frameworks like the US Inflation Reduction Act are catalyzing a trillion-dollar investment revolution, forcing European entities to adapt their regulatory models and prompting major corporations such as Chevron to pivot toward decarbonization. This shift redefines sustainability as a profitability driver while targeting inclusive growth initiatives in sectors ranging from Asian electrification to digital health, ultimately aiming to close the gap between current spending and the $6 trillion required annually to meet UN goals.
- Goldman Sachs28 min
Navigating the ‘perfect storm’ in commercial real estate
Lotfi Karoui, Jeffrey Fine, Allison Nathan, Jeff Fine
Commercial real estate confronts a convergence of record-high interest rates, $1 trillion in impending debt maturities, and a bifurcated asset landscape that is driving a projected "right-sizing" of the sector. Goldman Sachs analysts and industry experts forecast a slow-burn crisis lasting four to five years, characterized by significant equity destruction in office properties and a heavy reliance on distressed small banks, while private credit markets struggle to fill the gap left by a 75% drop in CMBS issuance. Although a systemic 2008-style collapse is deemed unlikely due to tighter underwriting standards, the lack of an organized public-private partnership raises concerns about a messy unwind of distressed assets that could further erode valuations over the next 24 months.
- Goldman Sachs21 min
What’s on the minds of the world’s largest investors?
Mike Siegel, Matt Armas, Allison Nathan
At the Goldman Sachs 12th Annual Insurer Survey, speakers Mike Siegel and Matt Armas analyzed the financial strategies of 343 global insurers managing over $13 trillion in assets. Respondents are navigating economic volatility by shifting allocations toward higher-quality long-dated fixed income while leveraging the sector's structural stability to fill lending gaps left by retreating banks. This strategic pivot aims to capitalize on rising interest rates for improved solvency and higher consumer returns despite lingering concerns over inflation and potential recessions.
- Goldman Sachs28 min
Navigating the new geopolitical and technology landscape
George Lee, Jared Cohen, Allison Nathan
High geopolitical uncertainty and the rise of "swing states" are forcing a shift from broad regional strategies to country-specific tactics as nations leverage distinct advantages in technology and supply chains. With geopolitical drivers now overpowering traditional economic interests, major powers are engaging in asymmetric competition over critical technologies like semiconductors and AI, creating an "impedance mismatch" between slow government regulation and rapid technological evolution. To navigate this landscape, leaders must integrate deep geopolitical analysis with commercial insights to mitigate risks and capitalize on the emerging "geocommercial" opportunities across these fragmented global markets.
- Goldman Sachs24 min
Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon on the economy, markets and the firm's performance
Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon and economists reassess the 2023 macroeconomic outlook as a soft landing becomes more probable, citing stickier inflation and cautious CEO sentiment amid geopolitical and cyber risks. The firm reported a 10.2% return on equity for 2022, driven by strategic reorganizations that merged banking and asset management divisions to enhance market share and target $10 billion in fees by 2024. Looking ahead, leadership emphasizes a shift toward multi-year resilience and long-term growth in artificial intelligence and clean energy, with key financial details slated for an investor day on February 28, 2023.
- Goldman Sachs31 min
Are we on the cusp of a generative AI revolution?
Eric Sheridan, Kash Rangan, Allison Nathan
Goldman Sachs experts predict a rapid 12 to 18-month acceleration in consumer-facing generative AI, shifting technology from predictive forecasting to autonomous content creation that drives enterprise productivity and labor market transformation. This evolution will consolidate market power among established cloud infrastructure giants while redefining search and software interfaces through conversational models and automated workflows across supply chain management and creative sectors. Although high development barriers and ethical safeguards will shape the landscape, the sector is projected to expand its global economic share by replacing traditional information retrieval with actionable, natural-language solutions that augment rather than solely replace human labor.
- Goldman Sachs25 min
Central bank tightening: what could break?
Allison Nathan, Jeremy Stein, Vítor Constâncio
Former Federal Reserve officials Jeremy Stein and Lyle Brainard, alongside ECB Vice President Vitor Constancio, assert that the Federal Reserve and European Central Bank must prioritize fighting inflation over preemptive financial stability measures while navigating Quantitative Tightening risks. These experts warn that structural fragilities, including sovereign bond liquidity shortages in the US and complex energy-driven inflation in Europe, could trigger market instability if central banks fail to adapt tools like standing repo facilities or manage open-end fund vulnerabilities. Despite acknowledging that tightening cycles are expected to peak at 5% for the Fed and 3% for the ECB, the panelists caution that the absence of 2020-era fiscal backstops may amplify the impact of future credit events.
- Goldman Sachs23 min
Amid rising inflation and slowing growth, how is the U.S. consumer faring?
David Mericle, Kate McShane, Eric Sheridan, Allison Nathan
Goldman Sachs economists project U.S. consumption growth will stabilize near 1% in late 2022 and 2023 as falling household wealth and the expiration of pandemic stimulus offset modest gains in real disposable income. While retail growth remains price-driven with consumers prioritizing essential goods over big-ticket items, the technology sector faces a shift toward lower single-digit growth rates focused on free cash flow visibility. Looking ahead, industry participants anticipate normalized supply chains and a balanced mix of unit and price growth in 2023, though retailers must manage elevated inventory levels through targeted promotions to offset slowing demand.
- Goldman Sachs23 min
Navigating Macro Headwinds: A Conversation With the Founders of Brex and Chief
Kim Posnett, Henrique Dubugras, Carolyn Childers, Allison Nathan
At Goldman Sachs' 11th Annual Builders and Innovators Summit, Allison Nathan moderated a dialogue between Carolyn Childers, CEO of the women's executive network CHIEF, and Enrique Dubagras, Co-CEO of fintech firm Brex, to discuss their strategic pivots during a macroeconomic downturn. Childers detailed CHIEF's billion-dollar valuation and UK expansion as a response to the "Great Resignation," while Dubagras outlined Brex's shift from long-term bets to immediate profitability and opportunistic M&A to navigate reduced corporate spend. The conversation concluded with actionable guidance for founders to balance high-trust cultures and scalable processes against the bureaucratic risks of extreme outlier management.
- Goldman Sachs25 min
China’s Congress: an inflection point?
Susan Shirk, David Li, Hui Shan, Allison Nathan
The 20th National Party Congress of the Chinese Communist Party is expected to solidify President Xi Jinping's third term as General Secretary, shifting China away from collective leadership toward a personalized concentration of authority. Expert analysis regarding the event's economic and geopolitical outcomes presents a divergence: while Goldman Sachs predicts the continuation of strict pandemic controls and structural policies that suppress long-term growth, Tsinghua Professor David Lee anticipates a necessary reprioritization of economic growth to ensure social stability. Concurrently, analysts warn that although Xi may harbor ambitions to resolve the Taiwan issue, the catastrophic risk to his leadership and the cautionary context of the Ukraine war currently act as significant deterrents to military action.
- Goldman Sachs28 min
How Inflation, Rates and Recession Are Reshaping the Real Estate Market
Jeff Fine, Nora Creedon, Allison Nathan
Goldman Sachs identifies a structural shift in real estate where post-pandemic inflation and tighter credit markets have dismantled the asset class's historical role as a universal hedge, necessitating a move toward selective investment in sectors like residential and logistics. While public market REITs face significant dislocations from rising rates and recession fears, the firm highlights opportunities in private distressed assets and evergreen capital structures that leverage specific regional inefficiencies. The outlook for the coming decade demands a departure from broad market exposure, favoring assets with strong pricing power and limited supply constraints over traditional growth cycles.
- Goldman Sachs22 min
Why We’re In a ‘Golden Age’ of Life Sciences Innovation
With the life sciences sector valued at over $2 trillion and projected to surpass $5 trillion through innovations like mRNA and cell therapy, analysts Allison Nathan and Amit Sinha characterize the current climate as a golden era driven by advanced genetic tools and supportive regulation. Despite a decade-long market correction caused by unsustainable capital surges and increased clinical trial failures, the industry is adapting by shifting toward private capital scaling and downstream investments in companies with experienced management. This structural evolution aims to sustain the development of critical breakthroughs, such as gene therapies for spinal muscular atrophy and immunotherapies for rectal cancer, while navigating complex supply chain and biological challenges.