Latest Interviews
Showing 4651–4665 of 4,766 transcripts.
Clear all filters- Milken Institute1h 1m
A Conversation with Cherie Blair: Empowering Women, Driving Growth
Cherie Blair, the first woman from her family to attend university and a former Queen's Counsel, leads the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women to empower female entrepreneurs in Africa, South Asia, and the Middle East through business training and mentoring. By addressing the critical "mid-range capital gap" that hinders women's access to $10,000–$100,000 in funding, the Foundation has already supported over 100,000 women across 50 countries, with partnerships including Google and Bank of America enhancing professional growth and job creation. Blair advocates for structural political and cultural shifts to overcome systemic barriers, citing Rwanda's high female parliamentary representation as a model for improving global economic inclusion.
- Milken Institute1h 5m
Look, Ma, No Hands! The Future of Cars
John Cassessa, Chris Gerdes, Raj Nair, Chris Urmson, Kevin Vincent, Eric Schmidt, Eric Schwartzmann, Eric Schuartzmond, Carl Harris, Joe Greener
Led by John Cassessa, a panel of industry and government leaders including executives from Ford, Google, and Stanford, along with NHTSA officials, confirmed that the automotive sector has reached a critical inflection point for autonomous vehicle adoption. The group outlined a roadmap where rapid technological progress in sensor integration and Vehicle-to-Vehicle communication will soon drive significant safety gains, fuel efficiency through platooning, and reduced traffic congestion. While timelines for widespread consumer availability vary between Google's near-term deployment and Ford's two-decade horizon, the panel emphasized that successful implementation depends on resolving regulatory mandates, ethical programming dilemmas, and shifting consumer trust levels.
- Milken Institute57 min
Redefining the Middle East: A Game-Changing Energy Alternative from the Eastern Mediterranean
Glenn Yago, Senator Landrieu, Lawson Freeman, Ron Prosser, Mehmet Sadam
A Milken Institute panel led by Senator Mary Landrieu and Ambassador Ron Prosor redefined the Eastern Mediterranean as a strategic energy hub, leveraging massive Tamar and Leviathan gas discoveries to transform Israel from an importer into a net exporter. The discussion detailed how a $3 billion Tamar project and emerging reserves in Cyprus and Lebanon are fostering regional integration through export deals with Jordan and the Palestinian Authority while establishing a sovereign wealth fund to diversify Israel's economy. Experts concluded that ensuring fiscal regime stability and transferring US Gulf Coast technology are critical to overcoming political barriers and securing a stable, energy-independent Eastern Mediterranean against Russian influence.
- Milken Institute1h 3m
Africa's Energy Landscape
Paul Hinks, Raj Shah, Jay Island, Kola Karim, President Kagame, Tony Elumelu
Launched by President Obama in 2013, the Power Africa initiative seeks to electrify the African continent by leveraging U.S. transactional advocacy to de-risk private sector investments aimed at closing a critical $50 billion to $100 billion energy gap. While the program faces significant hurdles including political instability, payment delays, and lengthy project timelines, it has already attracted substantial capital from global firms like General Electric and enabled local financial institutions to fund major infrastructure projects in priority nations such as Nigeria and Tanzania. By promoting an all-of-the-above energy strategy and accelerating regulatory reforms, the initiative targets the provision of reliable power to 600 million off-grid citizens to support the economic growth of a demographic with 60% of the population under age 25.
- Milken Institute1h 2m
A Conversation with Ken Griffin and Steve Schwarzman
Ken Griffin, Steve Schwarzman, Mike Milken, Kenneth Griffin, Stephen Schwarzman
Ken Fisher, Steve Schwarzman, and Ken Griffin identify educational deficiencies, excessive regulation, and a mismatch between workforce skills and modern economic demands as primary threats to U.S. competitiveness. These leaders advocate for structural reforms in public schooling, support initiatives like the Schwarzman Scholars Program to bridge global talent gaps, and call for deregulation and energy independence to stimulate small business growth. Furthermore, they contrast the U.S. reliance on capital markets with Europe's bank-centric model, urging immediate action on entitlement reform and fiscal policy to restore long-term human capital and drive job creation.
- Milken Institute1h 0m
Speed to Market: The Evolution of Trading
Chris Brummer, Seth Marin, Jamil Nazarali, Joe Ratterman, Fred Tomczyk, Greg Toussart, Adni DePaulo
A panel of industry leaders debated the dual impact of high-frequency trading, highlighting record-low commissions and faster execution for retail investors against the significant execution challenges and information leakage faced by institutional buyers. While participants agreed that automation and regulatory measures like Limit Up/Limit Down have improved market efficiency, they disagreed on whether the current "arms race" for speed creates a fair environment or merely favors those who can afford co-location infrastructure. The discussion underscored a fundamental tension between the benefits of price discovery for small investors and the need for new liquidity obligations to protect large-scale market participants.
- Milken Institute1h 1m
The Upside of Aging: A Conversation in the Pavilion
David, Henry, Mark Friedman, Frida, Hasi, Perry, Barry
Facing a global demographic shift where the over-65 population will double and Alzheimer's cases triple, experts are calling for a systemic transition from a linear life model to one that leverages older adults as a generative resource. The event outlines critical strategies to bridge workforce shortages and health disparities through personalized medical interventions, financial reforms, and policies that integrate "encore careers" while addressing social infrastructure gaps. By reframing aging as a period of increased natural resource potential rather than decline, the discussion emphasizes democratizing extended health spans and creating structures that support meaningful contribution across diverse economic and geographic regions.
- Milken Institute1h 2m
Entrepreneurial Leadership in the Corporate World
Betty Liu, Jeff Katzenberg, Greg Maffei, Barry Sternlich, Tom Wyatt
Leaders from DreamWorks, Liberty Media, Starwood Capital, and Knowledge Universe convened to discuss how large enterprises can navigate the tension between short-term public market pressures and the long-term innovation required for survival. These executives emphasized that fostering a culture of calculated risk, actively hiring non-traditional thinkers, and leveraging automation are essential strategies to avoid obsolescence in rapidly accelerating media and tech sectors. The panel further argued that true disruption arises not from internal strategy alone but from field-sourced ideas and global scalability, which enable organizations to pivot before competitors like Kodak fail to adapt.
- Milken Institute57 min
Lunch Program | Global Overview: Where Does Growth Come From?
Tony Blair, Paul Kagame, Scott Minard, Osamu Nakayama, Wilhelm Buter, David M.
Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Rwandan President Paul Kagame, and leading economists from Guggenheim Partners and Citicorp convened to analyze global challenges ranging from the Ukraine conflict and Middle East peace efforts to US interest rate projections and China's credit bubble risks. The panelists identified Sub-Saharan Africa as a critical long-term investment opportunity while warning that Japan's aging demographics and Europe's structural constraints require immediate policy adjustments to prevent stagnation. Ultimately, the discussion emphasized the necessity of structural reforms in Eastern Europe and the United States to sustain economic recovery amidst geopolitical instability and shifting market dynamics.
- Milken Institute1h 0m
Brand Battlefield: Mobile and Social Networks
Sean Amos, Josh Mandel, Bonin Bow, Jamie Goodfriend, David Rockefeller Jr., John McWhorter, Eric Schmidt, Josh Tenenbaum, Jimmy O., Kathleen King, Mike McDonald, Serena Rosso, Ron, Nick Smoot, Carolina Tolberti
The discussion highlights a decisive market shift where social media usage now surpasses television, driving 84% of purchasing decisions through peer influence while Millennials command $400 billion in projected spending. Brands like Mondelēz International are responding by realigning strategies toward mobile-first approaches and real-time engagement, exemplified by the Honey Maid campaign's rapid crisis-to-opportunity turnaround. This transformation is further fueled by organizational changes where executive sponsorship and machine learning empower sales teams to replace compliance silos with authentic relationship building.
- Milken Institute1h 12m
The Path to Awakening
Shamar Rinpoche, Marc Junkunc, Skip Reimer, Lori Milken, Dr. Mark Junkins
At the Milken Institute Forum, Shamar Rinpoche, the 14th Red Hat Lama of Tibet, presented his secular commentary *The Path to Awakening* to a panel including Dr. Mark Junkins, addressing Western anxiety through non-sectarian mind training methods. Rinpoche outlined specific practices such as Tonglen meditation and the "horse eating grass" technique designed to help practitioners manage thoughts and emerge from dualistic illusions without requiring strict guru-disciple commitments. The session concluded with an electronic Q&A that clarified the relationship between ancient Buddhist concepts like karma and modern challenges, including the impacts of urban life, technology, and brain science on spiritual development.
- Y Combinator18 min
Jessica Mah at Female Founders Conference 2014
Indonero CEO Jessica Ma pivoted her company from a failing software startup that masked $80,000 in annual revenue to a profitable accounting service by abandoning vanity metrics and personally acquiring an IRS Enrolled Agent license. Following a severe operational collapse that required her to terminate the entire staff and move operations to her apartment, the restructured business now employs 50 people and secured its first profitable month through a high-value service model. This transformation underscores Ma's shift from arrogant speculation grounded in a "Bernie Madoff" façade to a grounded strategy defined by unapologetic confidence and honest stakeholder management.
- Y Combinator19 min
Kathryn Minshew at Female Founders Conference 2014
Kathryn Minshew, Catherine Minshew
The Muse, a career discovery platform founded by CEO Catherine Minshew and co-founders Alex and Melissa, grew from a WordPress MVP to over one million monthly users by prioritizing product-market fit over perfection and securing Y Combinator funding after multiple rejections. The team achieved rapid distribution through zero-cost acquisition tactics, such as manual outreach to niche groups and frictionless referral tools, while maintaining a lean culture where leaders earn less than their employees to emphasize mission over profit. Their strategic shift from vanity metrics like video views to core indicators like job applications allowed them to validate demand with the target demographic and scale from a two-user beta to a sustainable global platform.
- Milken Institute1h 15m
Unleashing the Second American Century: Four Forces for Economic Dominance
Joel Kurtzman, Tom Nuttall, Skip Reimer
Joel Kurtzman presents a "Second American Century" thesis, asserting that advanced manufacturing, energy independence, and a robust innovation sector are reversing the narrative of U.S. decline. He highlights that $65 billion in new domestic plant investments and a surge in oil production have lowered costs while reducing geopolitical reliance on the Middle East, even as CO2 emissions drop to 1993 levels. To sustain this momentum, Kurtzman advocates for automatic green cards for foreign university graduates and urges policymakers to address wealth inequality through STEM education rather than redistribution, warning that political dysfunction remains the primary obstacle to realizing these economic potentials.
- Milken Institute54 min
The 2014 Atlanta Summit - - Lunch Program
Judith, Trevor, Mike, Carmen, Frida, Tom
This event examines the century-long strategic evolution of major philanthropies like the Rockefeller Foundation, detailing their pivot from medical cures to integrated public health systems and the resulting cross-disciplinary fields. It highlights modern innovations such as geospatial data integration for polio eradication and the rise of non-traditional partnerships between governments, pharmaceutical giants like Pfizer, and patient advocacy groups to address both infectious and non-communicable diseases. The discussion further underscores global health security challenges, including antimicrobial resistance and pandemic preparedness, while showcasing how mobile technology and crowdsourcing enable developing nations to leapfrog infrastructure barriers.