Latest Interviews
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Clear all filters- Milken Institute20 min
A Conversation With Kathy Hochul, Governor of New York
Kathy Hochul, Michael Piwowar, Richard Ravitch
Governor Hochul is fortifying New York State's fiscal reserves against potential crises while rejecting tax hikes to stem the out-migration of high-net-worth individuals. Simultaneously, she is collaborating with New York City Mayor Adams on subway safety initiatives and advancing the delayed congestion pricing plan to secure MTA funding. Her administration also prioritized keeping schools open during the Omicron surge through widespread testing and is incentivizing the construction of 100,000 affordable housing units to address long-term economic stability.
- Milken Institute1h 31m
The Post-COVID Recovery: California's Lagging Employment Rate
Grace Gedye, Julian Cañete, Reign Free, Manuel Pastor, Somjita Mitra, David Lesher, Matt Horton
California's Department of Finance, labor experts, and business leaders analyze the state's persistent 7.3% unemployment rate and structural labor shortages driven by childcare gaps, early retirements, and workforce migration to inland regions. Panelists project a 3.9% to 4% employment growth rate for the coming year, contingent on federal investments in the care economy and housing affordability while addressing risks from inflation and potential political shifts. The discussion highlights a fundamental recalibration of work where demand is shifting toward non-automatable sectors like elder care and cooperative business models rather than returning to pre-pandemic norms.
- Milken Institute1h 26m
Equity in Infrastructure Development: The Digital Divide
Jackie Botts, Michael P. Anderson, Carolyn McIntyre, Sunne McPeak, Alexandra Rosen, David Lesher, Matt Horton
Co-hosted by CalMatters and the Milken Institute, a recent forum examined the critical role of high-speed broadband in addressing California's digital divide and promoting workforce equity. The discussion highlighted that while the state approved a $6 billion investment package to fund middle-mile infrastructure and last-mile expansion, significant barriers including high costs, digital literacy gaps, and inefficient permitting processes continue to hinder access for 2 million disadvantaged households. Experts emphasized that achieving true connectivity requires a hybrid approach combining fiber and wireless solutions, alongside public-private partnerships and targeted outreach to communities skeptical of traditional internet service providers.
- Milken Institute1h 32m
Accelerating Securitization in Africa to Finance the SDGs
Alison Harwood, Lade Araba, Samuel Chasia, Juan Pablo de Mollein, John Schellhaus, Sam Chasia
The Milken Institute has launched the African Securitization Alliance, bringing together regulatory bodies from Kenya, Ghana, Uganda, and Côte d'Ivoire to mobilize private capital for Sustainable Development Goals. Participants will utilize a framework of internal and external credit enhancement mechanisms, such as tranching and third-party guarantees from entities like GARANTCo, to mitigate risk and improve market access. Upcoming activities include a specialized workshop in Ghana and a strategic shift toward replicable structures in renewable energy and affordable housing to overcome data gaps and legal barriers.
- Milken Institute1h 31m
Small Business Community: What Happened to Mom and Pop?
Nigel Duara, Lenore Estrada, Isabella Casillas Guzman, Eugene Cornelius, Jr., Carolina Martinez, Mark J. Robertson, Sr., David Lesher
Co-hosted by CalMatters and the Milken Institute, this strategic discussion examined the critical recovery challenges facing California's four million small businesses with special attention to the stark disparities affecting communities of color and women-owned enterprises. Featuring newly appointed SBA Director Isabella Casillas Guzman, the event analyzed how the agency's portfolio expansion to over $1 trillion was initially skewed by banking biases, prompting a pivot toward a "Five C's" framework that prioritizes coaching, diverse capital, and community navigation to address exclusion. Looking forward, the SBA is repositioning to connect small businesses with the $500 billion federal infrastructure marketplace while implementing a $100 million Community Navigator pilot to streamline access for underserved entrepreneurs.
- Milken Institute1h 30m
California: The Post-COVID Future of Work
Jackie Botts, Sarah Bohn, Rob Lapsley, David Lesher, Matt Horton, Aleida Ramirez, Lorena Gonzalez
Co-hosted by CalMatters and the Milken Institute's California Center, this panel examined how California's post-pandemic economic recovery is exacerbating racial and income inequalities despite a $75.7 billion budget surplus. Moderator Jackie Botts facilitated discussions among policymakers like Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez, who advocated for treating child care as public infrastructure, reforming the EDD to prevent fraud, and prioritizing trade apprenticeships over traditional college degrees. The event concluded with a consensus on structural reforms for 2030, including unionized service-sector wages, expanded safety nets, and legislative changes to support remote work and essential workers who cannot telecommute.
- Milken Institute1h 2m
The Future of Everything: How Technology is Changing the World
Staci Warden, Michael Milken, Rajeev Misra, Drhuv Saxena, Yakir Gola
Hosted by Stacey Worden, this session features Milken Institute Chairman Mike Milken alongside SoftBank CEO Rajiv Misra and CEOs Drew Saxena and Yakir Gola to analyze how the pandemic accelerated global technological transformation in supply chains, healthcare, and finance. The discussion details significant operational shifts, such as ShipBob's infrastructure for small e-commerce businesses and GoPuff's micro-fulfillment network, while highlighting how reduced costs of capital and AI integration are lowering barriers for new market entrants. Panelists conclude that digital adoption and remote work trends are permanent, creating enduring value in life sciences and human capital despite emerging supply chain congestion.
- Milken Institute1h 1m
Walking the Talk: Investing in the Future of Black Banks, Entrepreneurship, and Opportunity
Eugene Cornelius, Jr, Henry Childs II, Emanuel Friedman, Tracy Gray, Joseph Haskins, Jr., Aron Betru
This panel examines the systemic barriers preventing Black entrepreneurs from accessing capital and reveals that closing the racial wealth gap could unlock $1.6 trillion in US economic potential. Experts advocate for a strategic shift from traditional inclusion to innovation by leveraging $9 billion in government-funded preferred stock to mobilize $90 billion in community lending and aggregating pension capital for diverse asset managers. The discussion concludes with a call to build a self-sustaining minority economy driven by global export opportunities, artificial intelligence, and direct financing models rather than reliance on historically exclusionary systems.
- Milken Institute1h 0m
Finance as a Force for Good
Ben White, Kate Barton, Mark Machin, Jeffrey M. Solomon, Andrew Weinberg
Panelists discuss a widening divergence between ebullient financial markets and weak economic fundamentals, driven by $27 trillion in global fiscal stimulus that is largely diverting into asset reflation rather than immediate consumption. The discussion highlights how regulatory shifts toward revenue generation and carbon pricing, alongside the rise of family offices integrating sustainability values, aim to redirect capital toward real economy growth and climate innovation. Experts emphasize that future stability requires pivoting from financial engineering to investing in people and middle-market firms while consolidating fragmented ESG reporting to ensure long-term value creation.
- Milken Institute45 min
Leading Companies Through the New Digital Reality
Caroline Fairchild, Kevin Jones, Asha Keddy, Jason Maynard, Andrew Paradise
Tech leaders from Oracle, Intel, Rackspace Technology, and Skills convened to detail how pandemic lockdowns catalyzed a permanent shift toward remote-first strategies, multi-cloud infrastructure, and zero-trust security models. Despite economic volatility, these organizations achieved significant milestones including Rackspace's public listing, Skills' 35% growth, and Intel's infrastructure modernization while implementing innovative wellness programs and virtual hiring practices to maintain culture and diversity. Looking forward, executives predict a distributed computing future powered by 5G and AI that will further decentralize office operations and expand global talent acquisition.
- Milken Institute1h 2m
Bridge and Blend: The Role of DFIs in Scaling Sustainable Financing
Alison Harwood, Amit Bouri, Joan Larrea, Nancy Lee, Monish Mahurkar
With the annual financing gap for Sustainable Development Goals in emerging markets estimated at $2.5 trillion, development finance institutions face critical challenges in mobilizing the necessary private capital due to institutional constraints and a historical overconcentration in middle-income regions. To address this disparity, organizations like the International Finance Corporation are shifting strategies by targeting low-income countries with specialized "stretch funds" that absorb early-stage risks and harmonizing global impact metrics to streamline complex deals. Experts emphasize that achieving the 2030 deadlines requires immediate structural reform to transform concessional finance into scalable market infrastructure rather than relying solely on bespoke transactions.
- Milken Institute1h 0m
Beyond Financials: The Importance of ESG
Billy Nauman, Daniel Barclay, Pierre Breber, Lori Heinel, Lydie Hudson
Executives from Chevron, BMO Capital Markets, State Street, and Credit Suisse convened at the Milken Institute Global Conference to advocate for an "and" world where financial returns and ESG standards are mutually required. Participants argued that divestment is less effective than strategic engagement and incentive-based financing, with leaders like Pierre Breber defending high-return fossil fuel operations and Laurie Heinel emphasizing the materiality of ESG risks to long-term shareholder value. The panel concluded that despite global regulatory fragmentation and rating inconsistencies, the convergence of values and value is inevitable, positioning sustainable performance as a primary driver of capital allocation and cost of capital in a post-pandemic economy.
- Milken Institute58 min
Common Sense in Uncommon Times
Michael Milken, Afsaneh Beschloss, George G. Hicks, Jonathan Sokoloff, Neal Wilson
The Milken Institute Global Conference convened investors, policymakers, and corporate leaders to address the pandemic's economic disruption under the theme of "Common Sense for Uncommon Investors," emphasizing the integration of public health and social equity into financial strategy. Key figures including representatives from Leonard Green, Rock Creek, and Vardy Capital detailed adaptive measures such as liquidity tracking, shifts toward private distressed assets, and support for minority depository institutions to navigate volatile markets. The discussion concluded with projections of a K-shaped recovery, anticipated defaults in high-yield bonds, and a permanent acceleration in digital adoption and hybrid work models.
- Milken Institute1h 0m
Real Estate: In the Eye of the Storm
Carol Massar, Jonathan Goldstein, Richard Mack, David Warren, Xin Zhang
Industry leaders Jonathan Goldstein and David Warren, alongside regional experts, characterize the current real estate landscape as volatile with a projected recovery timeline extending to late 2022 or 2023. The panel identifies a sharp divergence across asset classes, noting residential and logistics sectors driven by supply shortages and e-commerce growth, while hospitality and retail face significant distress. To navigate this environment, participants highlight strategic opportunities in distressed commercial MBS, adaptive reuse of malls, and secondary city investments, while forecasting a permanent shift toward hybrid work models and emphasizing the urgent need for diversity reforms within the sector.
- Milken Institute1h 1m
Retirement Security: The COVID-19 Wake-Up Call
Rick Newman, Roger W. Ferguson, Jr., Penny Pennington
A comprehensive analysis reveals that pre-pandemic retirement insecurity was exacerbated by a $4 to $7 trillion savings shortfall and the COVID-19 crisis, which forced 11 million fewer Americans into employment and drained the nest eggs of 20% of workers. The crisis has exposed profound racial and gender disparities in wealth accumulation, prompting calls for legislative solutions such as the SECURE Act and Multiple Employer Plans to reduce administrative burdens for small businesses while addressing the projected 2033 depletion of the Social Security Trust Fund. Expert recommendations emphasize a shift toward guaranteed income streams through annuities and the adoption of automatic enrollment mechanisms to counteract longevity risks and behavioral market mistakes that threaten future financial stability.