Latest Interviews

Drew Houston : How to Build the Future

Drew Houston, Sam Altman, Drew Haust

Drew Houston co-founded Dropbox in 2007 after Y Combinator rejected his initial venture, forming a partnership with Arash Todd to build a file-syncing service that validated market demand through a viral referral program. The company evolved from a storage tool into a collaboration platform by strategically pruning unsuccessful products like Carousel and Mailbox to focus on its core value proposition. Houston subsequently shifted his leadership style from technical coding to strategic management, utilizing insights from literature and advisors to navigate scaling challenges while maintaining a private status to avoid public market volatility.

MIT 6.S094: Deep Learning for Human-Centered Semi-Autonomous Vehicles

Researchers are collecting billions of high-speed video frames from semi-autonomous Teslas to train deep learning models that detect critical driver metrics such as body pose, gaze direction, and cognitive load. By shifting from fully supervised to semi-supervised annotation strategies, the team achieves an 84-fold reduction in human effort while accurately identifying micro-saccades and emotional cues to overcome current privacy and trust barriers. This data-driven approach aims to replace static crash test assumptions with dynamic occupant monitoring, ultimately enabling vehicles to adapt passive safety systems based on real-time human behavior.

Pitch Practice with Paul Buchheit and Sam Altman at Startup School SV 2016

Paul Buchheit, Sam Altman, Jenna Brown, Kelli Thomas-Drake

Sam Altman evaluated two distinct startups, a shipping marketplace that reduced booking times from weeks to seconds and a healthcare aggregator unifying fragmented patient records, to demonstrate high-pressure pitch dynamics. He subsequently re-pitched each venture to highlight critical success factors, including ShipperMax's potential for a natural monopoly in a $150 billion market and My Purple Folder's urgent need for narrative clarity despite strong organic growth. The session underscored that founders must clearly articulate their specific exception to the "default no" investor rule within thirty seconds to secure meaningful follow-ups or funding.

The Revitalization of Detroit - Talks at GS

Mike Duggan, Dan Gilbert, Carla Walker-Miller

Following Detroit's historic 2013 bankruptcy, Mayor Mike Duggan and corporate investor Dan Gilbert spearheaded a recovery strategy combining metrics-driven municipal improvements with aggressive private-sector revitalization that generated nearly 17,000 jobs and eliminated downtown office vacancies. Their public-private partnership executed a phased demolition of vacant properties and the "Rehab and Ready" program to stabilize neighborhoods, resulting in property value increases of up to 50% while transforming the economy from an automotive monoculture to a hybrid of corporate anchors and small businesses. Despite these economic gains, leaders like Carla Walker-Miller emphasize the ongoing challenge of fostering an inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystem to ensure long-term residents benefit from the city's resurgence rather than facing displacement.

Investing in Emerging Markets: Out of the Rabbit Hole?

Jonathan Wheatley, Hedi Ben Mlouka, Scott Mackin, Arvind Rajan, Nicolas Rohatyn

A panel of investment experts analyzes the structural shift in emerging markets where domestic politics and capital flows now outweigh global macro factors, urging a move away from generic strategies toward country-specific analysis of debt evolution and political risk. Despite short-term market mismatches and liquidity constraints, the discussion highlights compelling valuations and high-growth potential in sectors like infrastructure, citing specific opportunities in Egypt, Vietnam, and Russia while warning of volatility in Turkey and China. By prioritizing long-term capital commitments and rigorous due diligence over quarterly reviews, investors can mitigate these risks to capture the 75% of global GDP growth projected to originate from these regions over the next decade.

Britain's EU Exit: What's Next for London?

Adrian Wooldridge, Nicholas Candy, Peter Flint, Howard Shore, Julian Skan, Carmen Zechner

A diverse panel of financial experts and housing strategists evaluates the impending "hard Brexit" and its potential to trigger regulatory restructuring within London's financial services sector, which relies heavily on global talent. While major banks plan minimal physical relocation, the discussion highlights that rising housing costs and immigration restrictions pose a more immediate threat to the city's competitiveness than the departure from the EU itself. The group concludes that a successful post-Brexit economic strategy requires accelerating modular construction, diversifying investment into regional hubs, and leveraging deregulation to support SMEs and FinTech innovation.

Immigration in Europe: Balancing Politics, Security and Compassion

David Goodhart, Percy Barnevik, Sir Paul Collier, Begüm Doğan Faralyali, Dominik Hangartner

Former ABB CEO Percy Barnevik, Turkish media magnate Begum Doğan, and Oxford professor Sir Paul Collier convened to debate solutions for the European immigration crisis, emphasizing a shift from humanitarian aid to economic autonomy and source-region development. Panelists criticized the failure of current asylum systems for causing skill atrophy and highlighted the "Jordan Model" as a viable alternative that links job creation in refugee-hosting nations with EU market access. The discussion further analyzed the political risks of uncontrolled migration, noting that integration failures in countries like Sweden and the erosion of Turkey's border controls necessitate a strategy prioritizing private sector investment over traditional government-to-government aid.

Will EU Departure Strengthen Ties Between the UK and India?

Simon Long, Jitesh Gadhia, Mohit Joshi, Rain Newton-Smith, Manish Singh, Richard Templar, Matt McGrath

UK Prime Minister Theresa May's post-Brexit trade mission to India focuses on leveraging financial services and infrastructure investment to overcome economic shocks and structural gaps in both nations' capital markets. Key figures including Liam Fox and Nirmal Sitharaman have initiated a trade audit to explore bilateral agreements, targeting sectors such as insurance, Masala bonds, and the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund while addressing regulatory harmonization for bankruptcy and solvency. Despite concerns over tightening UK visa policies, the dialogue emphasizes utilizing India's JAM financial inclusion framework and the UK's service-sector expertise to establish a strategic economic partnership that could potentially bypass stalled multilateral EU negotiations.

U.S. Overview: Post-Election America and the World

Ross DeVol, Tony Fratto, Adam Hitchcock, William Lee, Richard Socarides, Ross Duvall, Tony Frada

This panel analysis dissects the 2016 electoral realignment driven by disaffected rural voters in the Upper Midwest and examines the resulting shifts in demographic coalitions and global economic trends. Experts evaluate the new administration's policy priorities, including projected tax reforms, potential deregulation through enforcement discretion, and the strategic use of trade negotiations to reshape global commerce. Furthermore, the discussion highlights critical challenges to long-term growth stemming from workforce constraints, automation, and the potential erosion of Federal Reserve independence under a president who views the central bank as a negotiating chip.

Trends Shaping Technology, Business and Society

Rory Cellan-Jones, Jo Bertram, Brent Hoberman, Colin le Duc, Ed Vaizey, Vojtek, Robert Jurkowski, Hania Sadat

Panelists at this event analyzed critical shifts in technology and policy, ranging from Uber's transition to integrated mobility and the ethical risks of semi-autonomous vehicles to the economic drivers pushing corporations toward renewable energy. Significant concerns were raised regarding automation's impact on employment, the structural disadvantages facing European startups, and the threat of Brexit to UK talent acquisition, prompting calls for inclusive growth initiatives like rural broadband expansion. Future outlooks focused on specific breakthroughs including the end of aging, the obsolescence of private car ownership, and the application of data analytics in healthcare, all while navigating a global regulatory environment demanding greater accountability from tech giants.

FinClusion: Connecting the Unconnected

Aron Betru, Bob Annibale, Tilman Ehrbeck, Daniel Gorfine, Susan Lund, Shamina Singh

A coalition of financial institutions and fintech leaders convened to address the $5 trillion economic gap caused by the 2 billion unbanked individuals lacking access to formal lending and savings systems. The discussion highlighted how digital infrastructure, alternative data underwriting, and regulatory sandboxes can reduce service costs by 90% while enabling mobile-first solutions like micro-leasing and automated savings. Participants emphasized that successful global inclusion depends on collaborative government policies establishing digital identities and interoperable payment rails to prevent predatory lending and ensure long-term economic stability.

Lunch Plenary: The Quest for Meaningful Lives

James Morgon, Michael Milken, Katie O'Reilly

The Milken Institute London Summit, featuring keynote remarks by Chairman Michael Milken, convened to address critical global challenges ranging from US wealth disparity and labor force exclusion to rapid industry disruption by automation and biotechnology. Amidst a backdrop of collapsing financial commissions, plummeting genomics costs, and significant geopolitical shifts in bioscience, the event highlighted how financial innovation and precise regulation can stimulate economic growth while mitigating social instability. Sponsors including WorldQuant and the Gates Foundation supported the forum as it urged stakeholders to leverage capital markets and emerging technologies to expand access, create jobs, and address the psychological needs of an increasingly isolated population.

Brexit: A Red Flag for Global Financial Harmonization?

Ross Westgate, Youssef Boutros-Ghali, Joe Cassidy, Colin Ellis, Dominic Lester, Sanjay Patel

Former Egyptian Finance Minister Youssef Boutros-Ghali, Moody's Colin Ellis, and other industry leaders convened to assess the resilience of post-2008 macroprudential regulations against rising political populism and Brexit. The panel concluded that while regulatory frameworks for systemic risk will likely persist, the Eurozone's structural deficits and China's asset bubbles present the most significant imminent threats to global financial stability. Furthermore, experts projected a divergence where Anglo-Saxon markets harmonize around flexible capital frameworks while Europe faces stagnation due to rigid labor laws and incomplete fiscal integration.

Can Terrorism in Europe Be Defeated?

Robert Fox, Lord Paddy Ashdown, Lily Caprani, Pippa Malmgren, Sir Richard Shirreff, DJ Peterson, Rupert Phelps, Joan Hoey, Phil Allison, Joan Pickersgill, Eric Deggans

A panel of security experts, including Lord Ashdown and General Sir Richard Shirreff, analyzes contemporary jihadist terrorism through historical parallels with 19th-century anarchism while emphasizing that effective counter-strategies must prioritize universal human rights over rigid national identities. The discussion identifies economic distress, unregulated commercial transactions, and the radicalization of alienated youth as key drivers, arguing that these factors necessitate a shift toward upstream security and integrated international cooperation rather than purely kinetic responses. Speakers conclude that reclaiming the moderate center against anti-establishment movements requires persistent democratic resilience and shared governance frameworks to isolate irreconcilable extremist elements from the broader population.

Diversity is a reality, but inclusion is a choice

Stephen Frost, Maria Cantillon, Richard Ditizio, Pierre Lagrange, Brenda Trenowden

Driven by geopolitical shifts that revealed the risks of homogeneity, the event redefines diversity and inclusion as a core profitability strategy that correlates with 15% higher financial outperformance. State Street's presentation details concrete operational changes, including mandatory gender-balanced shortlists, skills-based blind recruitment, and localized metrics across European markets to combat unconscious bias and the "merit trap." The discussion further highlights how leadership styles must shift from competition to cooperation while leveraging procurement demands and cultural programs to align internal practices with diverse global client bases.