Latest Interviews
Showing 976–990 of 1,196 interview transcripts.
Clear all filters- Goldman Sachs22 min
Scott Harrison: Founder and CEO, charity: water
Scott Harrison, a former nightclub promoter who abandoned his vices after a personal health crisis, founded Charity Water to address the global water scarcity that forces millions to rely on contaminated sources. The organization distinguishes itself through a unique financial model where 100% of public donations directly fund water projects, while overhead costs are covered by a separate, audited private fund to ensure total transparency. Driven by a goal to eliminate the 663 million people currently lacking access to clean water, the nonprofit employs data-driven transparency tools and an innovative equity-based compensation structure to attract top talent while maintaining strict accountability to donors.
- Goldman Sachs22 min
Michael Oppenheimer: Nobel Prize-winning Climate Scientist
Michael Oppenheimer, Kyung-ho Park
Atmospheric scientist Dr. Oppenheimer outlines how attribution science has transformed climate risk assessment, revealing that global society is already operating outside the ±1°C stability range that defined the last 10,000 years. While the 2015 Paris Agreement secured universal participation, current pledges fall short of the 25–50% emissions cuts required to avoid the 1.5°C to 2°C danger zone, prompting a strategic shift toward mixed policy frameworks and a business sector that must prioritize long-term planetary viability over quarterly earnings. Dr. Oppenheimer contrasts this complex challenge with the successful Montreal Protocol, noting that climate mitigation is further complicated by its impact on one-third of the global economy, necessitating the integration of carbon pricing, regulatory standards, and substantial financial reallocation toward sustainable infrastructure.
- Goldman Sachs24 min
Rob Manfred: Commissioner, Major League Baseball
Rob Manfred, Robert Manfred, Dave Dassey
Commissioner Rob Manfred transformed Major League Baseball by ending decades of labor instability, enforcing a perpetual vigilance against performance-enhancing drugs, and pioneering the data analytics revolution that reshaped player valuation and front office operations. Under his leadership, the league successfully pivoted its media strategy to capture younger demographics through digital partnerships and BAMTech while strategically embracing sports betting to deepen fan engagement through official data licensing. These initiatives, grounded in a negotiation philosophy emphasizing deep preparation and strategic momentum, have redefined the league's financial infrastructure and operational integrity.
- Goldman Sachs25 min
POLITICO Playbook’s Anna Palmer and Jake Sherman - Co-Authors of "The Hill to Die On"
Anna Palmer, Jake Sherman, Jake Stewart
Jake Stewart modernized the Playbook newsletter to serve as a twice-daily insider resource for Washington elites while avoiding broad commercial expansion. In parallel, the analysis of "The Hill to Die On" details how Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell navigated the Trump presidency, noting how healthcare repeal failures inadvertently enabled the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Looking toward the 2020 election, the discussion highlights a fragmented Democratic field lacking a clear frontrunner other than Bernie Sanders, alongside media adaptations to better cover Rust Belt constituencies and the administration's use of social media to compress the news cycle.
- Goldman Sachs37 min
David W. Blight: Author, "Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom"
David W. Blight, Erica Irish-Brown
Historian David Blight's definitive biography, *Frederick Douglass, Prophet of Freedom*, leverages the previously under-documented Evans Collection to reconstruct Douglass's life from his enslavement in Maryland to his transformation into a federal political insider. The narrative details Douglass's strategic break from William Lloyd Garrison, his pivotal advocacy for the Civil War, and his prophetic critique of American society that bridges 19th-century struggles with modern voter suppression and structural inequality. By framing Douglass as a moral prophet who warned of national collapse, Blight highlights how the former slave's vision for biracial equality remains a critical lens for contemporary democratic challenges.
- Goldman Sachs21 min
Dame Ellen MacArthur: World Record-Breaking Sailor
Dame Ellen MacArthur broke the world record for solo non-stop circumnavigation after overcoming early financial and logistical barriers to become a top competitive sailor. Following her 2010 retirement, she launched the Ellen MacArthur Foundation to replace the unsustainable linear economic model with a circular system that decouples growth from resource consumption. The organization now advocates for systemic design changes to ensure materials remain in use and to address critical global challenges like soil degradation and volatile raw material costs.
- Goldman Sachs20 min
Anya Hindmarch: Fashion Designer
Anya Hindmarch, Niharika Kabyalaveta
Ania Hindmarsh transformed her kitchen startup into a global luxury brand by pioneering a direct-to-consumer model that bypasses traditional retail gatekeepers to address the fashion industry's outdated six-month lead times. Her current strategy replaces physical expansion with immersive digital experiences and bespoke craftsmanship, exemplified by the 2024 "Weave Project" and a sustainability ethos that rejects disposable culture. Hindmarsh champions a leadership philosophy that reframes fear as innovation catalyst and positions emotion as a competitive advantage while leveraging technology to foster direct global storytelling.
- Goldman Sachs27 min
Ajay Banga – President and CEO, Mastercard
Ajay Banga, Harit Talwar, Omar
Former CEO Ajay Banga led MasterCard's transformation from a $30 billion card processor to a $240 billion technology firm focused on financial inclusion, cybersecurity, and AI integration. His tenure prioritized a 100-day listening strategy to navigate post-recession cultural shifts while simultaneously launching initiatives to digitize 380 million unbanked individuals. Banga also championed a strategic rebranding to a dual-circle icon and advocated for policy reforms regarding skilled immigration and consumer data ownership to sustain global competitiveness.
- Goldman Sachs22 min
David Wallace-Wells: Author, "The Uninhabitable Earth: A Story of the Future"
New York Magazine Deputy Editor David Wallace-Wells argues that climate change must be framed through the realities of its unprecedented speed, scope, and severity, citing projections of $30 trillion in economic contraction and irreversible ice sheet melting that redefine the 2-degree warming threshold as a likely baseline. To address this existential threat, Wallace-Wells advocates for a World War II-scale global mobilization focused on systemic policy shifts and green technology innovation rather than individual lifestyle changes, emphasizing the rising influence of China and youth-led movements in driving the necessary geopolitical transformation. This approach challenges the outdated consensus that climate action hinders economic growth, presenting data that rapid decarbonization could instead generate $26 trillion in new economic value by 2030 while preventing billions from becoming climate refugees.
- Goldman Sachs32 min
Dr. Zeke Emanuel: Oncologist and Bioethicist
Zeke Emanuel, Rob Mass, Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel
Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel critiques the US healthcare system for a "perfect storm" of over-utilization and ethically flawed resource rationing that drives excessive costs while undermining other societal needs like education. He highlights the Affordable Care Act's success in cost containment and predicts a legislative shift toward Medicare for America alongside federal regulation of drug pricing to ensure value-based models. Drawing from his dual MD/PhD background, Emanuel argues that current spending levels on treatments like million-dollar drugs are unsustainable and calls for a transparent approach to aligning healthcare investment with disposable income.
- Goldman Sachs16 min
Brig. Gen. Jeannie M. Leavitt: Commander, Air Force Recruiting Service
Jeannie M. Leavitt, Brig. Gen. Jeannie M. Leavitt, Asahi Pompei
Brigadier General Jeanne Levitt, the first female fighter pilot and current Commander of Air Force Recruiting Services, transitioned from aerospace engineering to flying over 3,000 combat hours while navigating significant institutional barriers. Her leadership now drives diversity initiatives within the Air Force that emphasize inclusive team dynamics and leverage the film *Captain Marvel* to correct public misconceptions about women in combat aviation. Through these strategic efforts, the Air Force aims to foster a culture of dignity and respect while expanding recruitment pipelines for underrepresented demographics.
- Goldman Sachs24 min
US Sen. Doug Jones: Author, "Bending Toward Justice"
Former federal prosecutor and Senator Doug Jones secured the conviction of the last surviving bombers for the 1963 16th Street Baptist Church tragedy by leveraging new federal subpoena powers and historical FBI wiretaps. In his 2017 Alabama Senate campaign, Jones defeated Roy Moore by centering the race on core working-class values and addressing personal scandals only in a final closing argument. He now applies lessons from these legal and political victories to advocate for a "radical middle" governance model that rejects extremism while addressing the modern resurgence of domestic white supremacy.
- Goldman Sachs14 min
Sarah Casanova: Chief Executive Officer, McDonald’s Holdings (Japan)
McDonald's Japan CEO Sarah Casanova, a 28-year veteran of the company, spearheaded a strategic turnaround that modernized 92% of its 2,900 locations to restore customer trust and drive revenue in the world's second-largest McDonald's market. Her leadership model explicitly connects diversity initiatives to business performance, leveraging the fact that women control half of consumer spending decisions while challenging female employees to overcome confidence barriers to secure promotions. Casanova further advocates for an inclusive management style that prioritizes continuous improvement and mentorship, asserting that effective leadership in her global industry requires adaptability rather than adherence to traditional masculine personas.
- Goldman Sachs22 min
Jean Case: Author, "Be Fearless"
Gene Case, Chairman of the National Geographic Society and CEO of the Case Foundation, recounts her career trajectory from a scholarship student to a pivotal figure in the early internet sector who secured a critical $3 million settlement to launch America Online. Critiquing the current lack of venture capital diversity and startup consolidation in the United States, she advocates for a risk-tolerant philanthropic approach that funds "people and ideas that can change the world." Drawing on her book *Be Fearless*, Case emphasizes five principles for navigating change, urging leaders to prioritize bold, disruptive action over the protection of endowments to address pressing social challenges.
- Goldman Sachs19 min
Weijian Shan: Group Chairman and CEO, PAG Group
Wei-Jian Shan's memoir, *Out of the Gobi*, chronicles his survival of the Cultural Revolution through self-directed learning in the Gobi Desert and his subsequent selection as a top-ranking scholar to enter the United States educational system. Leveraging the economic collapse of the pre-reform era as a catalyst, Shan later analyzed how China's market transition achieved over 60% private GDP contribution despite persistent US-China political friction driven by democratic expectations. His overarching philosophy rejects fatalism, asserting that professional success depends entirely on perpetual preparation rather than external availability.