Latest Interviews
Showing 46–60 of 1,418 transcripts.
Clear all filters- a16z12 min
Is Defense the Next Trillion-Dollar Category? | a16z American Dynamism Summit
Erin Price-Wright, Michael Duffey, Dino Mavrookas
Saronix is reshaping maritime defense by pivoting to software-driven autonomy that slashes labor requirements from millions to mere fractions while deploying an "IKEA" manufacturing model at its new Louisiana Port Alpha facility. This industrial strategy integrates commercial vessel production to ensure economic sustainability and rapid scaling, directly addressing Pentagon constraints on manufacturing capacity through private capital investment and streamlined acquisition policies. By fostering a robust public-private partnership, the initiative aims to establish a century-long national industrial base capable of supporting both defense needs and global energy dominance.
- Milken Institute59 min
Private Equity: Value Creation Under New Rate Regimes | Global Conference 2026
Hugh MacArthur, Joe Baratta, Martín Escobari, Raoul Hughes, Meredith Jenkins, Pete Stavros
Leading private equity firms like KKR and Blackstone are pivoting from speculative AI experimentation to targeted operational efficiency, achieving modest EBITDA improvements while redefining software investment criteria to prioritize durable infrastructure over vulnerable point solutions. As the industry confronts extended holding periods and a capital stack constrained by high entry multiples, firms are shifting focus from financial engineering to deep operational value creation, leveraging specialized sourcing and geographic diversification in markets like Japan and Germany. Looking ahead, the sector anticipates a surge in liquidity driven by a wave of maturing assets and a strategic expansion of retail capital access, provided that new vehicles maintain structural parity with institutional standards to avoid conflict-of-interest pitfalls.
- Milken Institute59 min
Global Economic Outlook: Navigating Growth, Risk, and Opportunity | Global Conference 2026
Conrad Kiechel, Zanny Minton Beddoes, Kristalina Georgieva, Mohamed Kande, Ariel Szarfsztejn, Mike Wirth
A two-month closure of the Strait of Hormuz has removed 14 million barrels daily from the global market, driving Brent crude near $115 while depleting strategic reserves and forcing the IMF to adopt adverse economic scenarios. Simultaneously, the AI sector has pivoted from generative tools to agentic automation, eliminating entry-level roles and triggering an international cyberarms race. These converging crises create a volatile environment where Europe faces energy and innovation lag, whereas nations securing reliable power and flexible capital markets are positioned to dominate the coming decades.
- Goldman Sachs21 min
McLaren Racing's Lando Norris and Zak Brown: Building a High-Performance Team
Lando Norris, Zak Brown, Anthony Gutman
McLaren driver Lando Norris secured the 2025 Formula One World Drivers' Championship following a dramatic mid-season comeback, yet he recently missed a race start due to unprecedented power unit battery failures. As the team navigates 2026 regulatory changes that have widened the performance gap and altered vehicle dynamics, Norris and team principal Zak Brown are leveraging a collaborative "Papaya Rules" culture to translate driver feedback into rapid technical adaptations. This strategy aims to restore competitiveness against the "big four" constructors while ensuring the 900-person ecosystem maintains resilience against the complex, sophisticated nature of modern racing.
- a16z24 min
The Founders Who Left Tesla to Rebuild America | a16z
Erin Price-Wright, Turner Caldwell, Drew Baglino
Led by former Tesla executives Turner Caldwell and Drew Baglino, Mariana Minerals and Heron Power are building a vertically integrated domestic supply chain for critical minerals and solid-state power infrastructure to close a fifty-year capability gap with China. The companies deploy proprietary autonomous operating systems to accelerate refinery ramp-ups and modernize the grid, aiming to secure over 500 jobs while establishing a new industrial model that prioritizes physical assets over software algorithms. By co-locating manufacturing with energy generation and leveraging silicon carbide semiconductors, the initiative seeks to re-industrialize the U.S. economy through a "minerals mandate" that mobilizes private capital to rebuild the foundational infrastructure of AI dominance.
- Milken Institute34 min
Conversation with BlackRock CEO Larry Fink & Brookfield Corp CEO Bruce Flatt | Global Conference '26
Larry Fink, Bruce Flatt, Laurence D. Fink, Michael Milken
Bruce Flint of Brookfield and Larry Fink of BlackRock refuted private credit liquidity concerns while projecting a $10 trillion global infrastructure expansion driven by urgent shortages in power, compute, and defense-grade facilities. The executives detailed how hyperscalers are shifting from self-funding to external financing models, facilitating a massive capital transition where private credit and long-term asset managers fund AI data centers and autonomous security infrastructure. Furthermore, these leaders highlighted a structural evolution in retirement investing and asset consolidation, noting that consistent 12% annual returns and bespoke 50-year lock-up periods are essential to support this new "K-economy" where massive capital blocks outcompete traditional public equities.
- Milken Institute58 min
AI and Humanity: Evolution or Revolution? | Global Conference 2026
Erik Schatzker, Suzanne Dibianca, Tristan Harris, Amy Webb, will.i.am
Strategic foresight expert Amy Webb, ASU professor Will Iacovelli, and ethics founder Tristan Harris convened to argue that the current AI "arms race" threatens an "anti-human future" characterized by mass unemployment and social destabilization unless proactive governance is established. While panelists cited massive productivity gains and new job creation in sectors like Salesforce, they warned that without a modernized economic framework akin to a new Bretton Woods conference, the intelligence curse could drive 60–70% of GDP to machines while incentivizing the replacement of human labor. The group concluded that immediate implementation of dynamic incentive systems, such as contribution credits to fund social safety nets and a licensing framework for developer ethics, is essential to prevent a descent into fascism and ensure AI coexists constructively with humanity.
- Milken Institute1h 0m
Global Capital Markets | Global Conference 2026
David Faber, Waleed Al Mokarrab Al Muhairi, Jon Gray, Jenny Johnson, Robin Vince, James Zelter, Robin Wright
Mubadala CEO Waleed Al-Saad outlines a resilient investment strategy that leverages the UAE's strong domestic cohesion to drive a global V-shaped recovery focused on long-term themes like AI, energy, and healthcare. While the US economy remains insulated by energy independence, unprecedented capital expenditure totaling trillions is reshaping asset markets through a shift from asset-light to heavy models, supported by a record $1.1 trillion in investment-grade issuance. The discussion further projects a labor market surge in blue-collar sectors due to physical AI infrastructure demands, while warning that US debt sustainability and European energy fragility necessitate a multi-faceted, open-architecture approach to funding future growth.
- Milken Institute44 min
A Conversation with Tom Brady & Shaquille O'Neal | Global Conference 2026
Tom Brady, Shaquille O'Neal, Jim Gray, Michael Ferro, Jamie Salter, Mike Milken
Hosted by Jim Lampley to honor Mike Milken, a panel featuring Tom Brady and Shaquille O'Neal alongside business partners Jamie Salter and Michael Farrow explored the critical necessity of transitioning from sports to entrepreneurship. The athletes emphasized that enduring success requires obsessive preparation, resilience in the face of failure, and strategic partnerships that protect a legacy while addressing health and family values. Their dialogue extended to specific industry insights, including Brady's ownership strategies for the Las Vegas Raiders and O'Neal's championship predictions for the Spurs, all framed within the shared mission of the upcoming Hall of Excellence initiative.
- Milken Institute51 min
Bending the Cost Curve: Understanding the GLP-1 Era | Global Conference 2025
Josh Barro, Michael Ferro, Simon Johnson, Lisa Stevens
A panel of industry leaders and medical experts analyzed GLP-1 drugs as a transformative treatment that significantly improves cardiovascular health and reduces long-term healthcare costs, provided patients adhere to therapy. The discussion highlighted a critical adherence gap where global discontinuation rates reach 50%, contrasting with a UK pilot program that achieved 98% retention through AI-driven telehealth and mandatory screening. While facing challenges like high initial costs, supply chain fraud, and societal stigma, successful employer-led programs are emerging as essential mechanisms to manage access, ensure safety, and align financial incentives for sustained workforce productivity.
- a16z58 min
Aaron Levie on AI Adoption and Enterprise Workflows | The a16z Show
Aaron Levie, Steven Sinofsky, Martin Casado
Organizations are pivoting from failed centralized AI mandates to integrating autonomous agents directly into legacy workflows, necessitating significant architectural shifts beyond traditional hybrid software models. While token-gaming and system integration bottlenecks currently stifle productivity gains, the resulting increase in infrastructure complexity and code volume is projected to drive sustained demand for engineering talent rather than reduce it. This transition requires years of organizational change management to modernize fragmented data environments, ultimately creating a multi-decade opportunity for system integrators to bridge the gap between probabilistic machine users and rigid enterprise security protocols.
- Milken Institute57 min
Storytelling, Strategy, & Innovation: Shaping the Future of Filmed Entertainment | Global Conference
Julia Boorstin, Ravi Ahuja, Casey Bloys, Debora Cahn, Mike Hopkins, Pearlena Igbokwe
Industry leaders at a recent strategic summit discussed the global streaming market's shift from subscriber expansion to profitability amid geopolitical trade uncertainties and rising overseas production costs. Executives from HBO, NBCUniversal, Amazon, and Sony outlined distinct platform priorities, such as maintaining premium weekly releases, leveraging live sports for audience aggregation, and rebundling third-party channels, while collectively rejecting AI as a creative replacement and favoring data for marketing over content greenlighting. The event concluded with predictions that the industry will see further consolidation, a resurgence of mid-budget adult films on streaming platforms, and a renewed strategic focus on live events to drive cultural conversation.
- Milken Institute46 min
Time to Build: Accelerating & De-risking Israel's Economic Growth, Recovery | Global Conference 2025
Glenn Yago, Tilli Kalisky-Bannett, Eugene Kandel, Michael Kashani, Seffy Zinger
Organized by the Milken Innovation Center, the "Time to Build" panel convenes policymakers and financiers to detail Israel's strategy for accelerating economic recovery while de-risking the high-tech sector following the October 7 attacks. The session highlights resilience metrics such as the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange's outperformance during wartime, alongside new regulatory initiatives like Yozma 2 and blended finance models designed to mobilize domestic capital and diversify away from foreign dependency. By integrating underrepresented populations into the labor market and leveraging AI for reconstruction, the panel frames a generational opportunity to transform the national economy through a coordinated public-private-philanthropic approach.
- Goldman Sachs33 min
Holocaust Survivors on Hope, Survival, and the Responsibility to Remember
Bernie Schanzer, Sheara Fredman
Brothers Henry and Bernie Shanzer recount their survival of the Holocaust as hidden children in Belgium and France, relying on their mother and four French rescuers who sheltered them from arrest and deportation during World War II. Despite their father's death in Convoy 27 and initial betrayal by a caretaker, the boys were saved through a network of false documents and hidden on farms before reuniting with their family in 1945, earning posthumous "Righteous Among the Nations" recognition for their saviors. The speakers emphasize the ongoing relevance of their testimony by linking historical persecution to modern anti-Semitic violence, urging the audience to maintain active vigilance and moral courage to prevent future atrocities.
- Milken Institute1h 0m
Leading the Democratic Party into the Future | Global Conference 2025
Josh Barro, Jon Cowan, Jason Furman, Sarah Longwell, Chuck Rocha, Neera Tanden
Post-2024 election strategists including Neera Tanden, Jason Furman, and Sarah Longwell analyze the Democratic Party's defeat by highlighting a disconnect between popular policy platforms and voter perceptions of economic insecurity and cultural identity. The panel identifies critical failures in messaging regarding inflation and immigration, noting that the party's heavy spending on abortion rights and reliance on a "consultant class" alienated the white working-class coalition essential for winning swing states. To secure future victories, experts recommend a strategic pivot toward authentic working-class narratives, an "all-of-the-above" energy approach, and a departure from activist-driven constraints to re-engage moderate voters on issues of cost of living and national security.