Latest Interviews
Showing 226–240 of 342 transcripts.
Clear all filters- Goldman Sachs45 min
Tim Brown and Joey Zwillinger: Making Footwear Sustainable, Comfortable and Cool
Tim Brown, Joey Zwillinger, Kathy Elsesser
Founded in 2016 by Tim Brown and Joey Zwillinger, Allbirds operates as a certified B Corp that disrupts the footwear industry by prioritizing sustainable material science through its direct-to-consumer model. The company leverages a co-CEO leadership structure and a rigorous "one product at a time" philosophy to rapidly iterate designs based on direct customer feedback, successfully launching innovations like the Wool Runner and eucalyptus fiber while maintaining a flat price point. With plans to expand internationally and open physical retail locations for tactile testing, Allbirds aims to normalize sustainable manufacturing standards across the fashion sector.
- Goldman Sachs1h 1m
Danny Meyer: Shaking it Up: Stories of Success from a Disruptor
Danny Meyer, Tim O'Neill, John F.W. Rogers, Kevin McCarthy, Tyler Perry, Sarah Kauss, Wilbur L. Ross, Sara Blakely, Michael Bloomberg, Gina Raimondo, Rick Snyder, Marco Rubio, Lloyd Blankfein, Richard Branson, Warren Buffett
Danny Meyer launched Union Square Cafe in 1985 by applying an "enlightened hospitality" philosophy that prioritizes employee well-being over profit, a strategy that transformed a struggling neighborhood eatery into a cultural icon following a pivotal New York Times review. This approach evolved into the Union Square Hospitality Group, which expanded to include Shake Shack and over 100 locations globally by institutionalizing a culture where leaders act as "culture carriers" and growth is driven by a specific stakeholder hierarchy. Meyer's career demonstrates how maintaining core values while aggressively pruning non-performing assets allows an organization to scale without losing its soul or financial stability.
- Goldman Sachs36 min
A Creative Empire: Tyler Perry's Life Lessons
Tyler Perry, Harvey Schwartz, John F.W. Rogers, Kevin McCarthy, Danny Meyer, Sarah Kauss, Wilbur L. Ross, Sara Blakely, Michael Bloomberg, Gina Raimondo, Rick Snyder, Marco Rubio, Lloyd Blankfein, Richard Branson, Warren Buffett
Tyler Perry leveraged a childhood desire to escape poverty to transition from a struggling playwright with only forty-five acquaintances to the founder of a 330-acre studio empire that rivals Universal and hosts major productions like *Black Panther*. Through seven years of personal reinvestment and the early cultivation of a two-million-person email list, he scaled his work to financial independence before constructing a workplace culture defined by optional prayer and deep respect for his 400 direct staff. Currently, Perry uses the revenue from his commercial "Madea" franchise to fund ambitious artistic visions while maintaining a leadership philosophy centered on faith and the belief that his success serves as a testament to limitless possibilities for future generations.
- Goldman Sachs15 min
Rep. Kevin McCarthy: Standing Up for Small Businesses
Kevin McCarthy, John F.W. Rogers, Tyler Perry, Danny Meyer, Sarah Kauss, Wilbur L. Ross, Sara Blakely, Michael Bloomberg, Gina Raimondo, Rick Snyder, Marco Rubio, Lloyd Blankfein, Richard Branson, Warren Buffett
House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, a California Republican with deep roots in the state's energy and agricultural sectors, outlines his journey from early entrepreneurial ventures to crafting bipartisan legislation like the Jobs Act. He argues that small businesses are the nation's primary job creators and urges owners to build direct, sustained relationships with lawmakers to overcome capital and training hurdles. Drawing on historical symbolism from the Gettysburg Address and Washington Crossing the Delaware, McCarthy concludes by calling for cross-party collaboration to address long-term challenges and forge a more perfect union.
- Goldman Sachs49 min
Rising Tide: How Small Businesses Boost Communities
Senator Chris Coons, Senator Tim Scott, Mike Allen, John F.W. Rogers, Rep. Kevin McCarthy, Tyler Perry, Danny Meyer, Sarah Kauss, Wilbur L. Ross, Sara Blakely, Michael Bloomberg, Gina Raimondo, Rick Snyder, Marco Rubio, Lloyd Blankfein, Richard Branson, Warren Buffett
Senator Chris Coons and Senator Tim Scott convened to discuss bipartisan legislative strategies addressing immigration reform, economic competitiveness against global rivals, and sentencing corrections. Drawing from their diverse backgrounds in small business and public service, the pair highlighted their "Investing in Opportunity Act" and a new coalition aimed at revitalizing distressed communities through tax incentives. Looking ahead, they emphasized a shift toward substantive policy negotiations on education and healthcare to improve congressional approval ratings while navigating a polarized political landscape.
- Goldman Sachs13 min
John F.W. Rogers: Opening Session Remarks
John F.W. Rogers, Kevin McCarthy, Tyler Perry, Danny Meyer, Sarah Kauss, Wilbur L. Ross, Sara Blakely, Michael Bloomberg, Gina Raimondo, Rick Snyder, Marco Rubio, Lloyd Blankfein, Richard Branson, Warren Buffett
Goldman Sachs is convening 10,000 Small Business Program alumni, including 2,200 current participants, to address critical operational hurdles such as hiring and financing while leveraging the sector's role in employing 60 million Americans. The summit features a strategic "Hill Day" that mobilizes this diverse network to meet with elected officials across all 50 states and nearly all congressional districts to advocate for legislative relief. By uniting these resource-constrained firms, the event aims to bridge the gap between current business expectations and future capabilities through actionable insights and direct policy engagement.
- Goldman Sachs16 min
Boyan Slat: Combatting Plastic Pollution in the World’s Oceans
Founder and CEO Boyan Slat's organization is advancing a fleet of 60 passive, U-shaped floating barriers designed to remove 50% of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch within five years by leveraging natural ocean currents rather than traditional active fishing methods. Following a rigorous development cycle marked by early prototype failures and a $40 million capital raise, the system has evolved from inflatable chambers to solid pipe structures and is currently undergoing assembly at a facility near San Francisco for a targeted July launch. This initiative addresses an annual economic cost of $13 billion and a threat to 800 marine species by simultaneously targeting legacy accumulation in the Pacific and intercepting the roughly 2 million tons of river-borne plastic entering the ocean each year.
- Goldman Sachs17 min
Daniel Schwartz: The Millennial CEO Changing the Fast Food Industry
Daniel Schwartz, Jennifer Coppola
Daniel Schwartz, CEO of Restaurant Brands International, leads Burger King, Tim Hortons, and Popeyes by applying 3G Capital’s meritocratic ownership model to revitalize operations and accelerate young leadership. This strategy includes mandatory frontline shifts for executives, streamlined menus to boost profitability, and equity incentives that replace tenure-based promotion with performance-driven advancement. Under Schwartz’s direction, the parent company has shifted its product focus toward authentic ingredients while leveraging a generational mindset to drive technological self-disruption across the global foodservice sector.
- Goldman Sachs25 min
Amy Chua: Political Tribalism and American Foreign Policy
Yale Law professor Amy Chua analyzes global and domestic group dynamics through her concept of the "supergroup," contrasting the United States' unique ability to balance national unity with subgroup flourishing against the assimilationist models of France and China. She attributes rising U.S. political polarization to demographic shifts that have created defensive tribalism between coastal elites and the white majority, a division she attributes to a rhetorical shift from universalism to identity politics. Chua concludes by proposing practical remedies such as a national service "gap year" to foster intergroup interaction and arguing that allowing controversial speech prevents extremism from festering in epistemological silos.
- Goldman Sachs28 min
André Aciman: The Meaning and Message of 'Call Me By Your Name'
Author and distinguished CUNY professor Andre Aciman discusses the autobiographical origins of *Call Me By Your Name*, explaining how his fragmented Egyptian-Italian-American identity and childhood obsessions shaped the novel's exploration of ambiguous desire and the "San Clemente syndrome." He details the adaptation process by director Luca Guadagnino, noting how the film condensed written dialogue into improvisational screen time while preserving the story's core tension between articulation and the unspoken. Aciman further reflects on the work's emotional resonance, arguing that the text captures the universal human tendency to mourn a fabricated fantasy of what "might have happened" rather than accepting the reality of the present.
- Goldman Sachs17 min
Deborah DiSanzo: Solving the World’s Health Problems of the Future
Deborah DiSanzo, Christina Minnis
Former healthcare executive Deborah DeSanza leads IBM Watson Health's initiative to integrate artificial intelligence and cloud computing with clinical expertise, achieving tangible results such as reducing breast cancer trial matching times by 75% at the Mayo Clinic and accelerating drug discovery from 18 months to under 12 weeks. By partnering with major industry consortia to aggregate millions of patient records, the organization aims to alleviate physician burnout caused by electronic health record burdens while lowering costs through real-world evidence generation. Under the strategic direction of IBM Chairman Ginni Rometty, this approach shifts the technology firm from legacy hardware to a dominant position in AI-driven healthcare solutions that prioritize patient data ownership and life-saving outcomes.
- Goldman Sachs17 min
John Avlon: Covering the Intersection of Politics and Power
Former speechwriter and *Daily Beast* Editor-in-Chief John Avlon applies a legacy of 9/11-era resilience and a nonpartisan but morally accountable framework to steer the publication's growth to 1.1 million daily readers while targeting powerful bullies and bigots. He warns that contemporary journalism must actively counter hyper-partisanship and misinformation, drawing on George Washington's Farewell Address to advocate for national unity and fiscal responsibility amidst the challenges of the current political climate. Avlon maintains that holding power accountable requires a clear mission to follow facts regardless of political preference, a principle that guided the newsroom's diverse hiring strategy and its coverage of high-stakes investigations like the Mueller probe.
- Goldman Sachs23 min
Talks at GS – Bob Iger: Leading the Walt Disney Company Into The Future
Bob Iger transformed Disney from a legacy-bound corporation into a global powerhouse by executing a strategy that balanced respect for the company's 1923 heritage with aggressive innovation through major acquisitions of Pixar, Marvel, and Lucasfilm. As CEO for sixteen years, he prioritized high-quality intellectual property and diversity, most notably mandating the production of *Black Panther* to reflect modern values while navigating significant industry disruptions. Iger attributes his nearly half-century career evolution to a relentless work ethic and the belief that storytelling remains the most valuable asset regardless of technological shifts.
- Goldman Sachs15 min
Talks at GS - Arianna Huffington: Thriving in the “Attention Economy”
Entrepreneur and author Arianna Huffington discusses her transition from founding The Huffington Post to establishing Thrive Global, driven by her personal burnout and a mission to debunk the myth that success requires sacrificing well-being. Highlighting the dangers of the attention economy and the toxic Silicon Valley "brilliant jerk" culture, she details her tenure on the Uber board where she enforced strict accountability measures, leading to leadership changes and a zero-tolerance policy for unprofessional behavior. Ultimately, Huffington advocates for systemic shifts in how organizations value sleep, creativity, and human dignity over short-term metrics and relentless productivity.
- Goldman Sachs18 min
Talks at GS – Dara Khosrowshahi: Uber’s Roadmap to the Future
Dara Khosrowshahi joined Uber to stabilize a crisis-ridden company and transform it into the world's largest transportation provider by leveraging a marketplace strategy across rides, food delivery, and micromobility. Strategic moves including the SoftBank investment, a pivotal settlement with Waymo, and leadership hires like Tony West have secured capital, resolved governance conflicts, and restored operational focus. The company now aims to integrate multimodal transport and cover 80% of the global population by combining direct operations with equity stakes in key regional markets.