Latest Interviews
Showing 4681–4695 of 4,765 transcripts.
Clear all filters- Milken Institute1h 14m
Innovate Like IDEO: Meet the Dynasts of Design
David Kelley, Tom Kelley, Patrick Adams, Mike Clouton
IDEO co-founders David and Tom Kelly argue that creative confidence, a universal trait combining ideation with the courage to act, can be rebuilt through guided mastery to overcome societal fear of failure. Their framework emphasizes radical collaboration, empathy-driven problem reframing, and strategic prototyping, exemplified by innovations like the low-cost Embrace incubator and the redesign of the computer mouse. By shifting focus from innate talent to disciplined practice and rapid iteration, the authors demonstrate how individuals and organizations can systematically unlock breakthrough solutions across diverse fields.
- Y Combinator38 min
Ron Conway at Startup School 2012
Ron Conway, the largest limited partner at SV Angel, leads an investment firm with a track record of funding roughly 650 internet startups including Google, Facebook, and Twitter by prioritizing founder character over traditional pattern recognition. His strategy relies on rapid assessment of entrepreneurial traits and exponential growth metrics, exemplified by his direct orchestration of Google's Series A funding and a "sight unseen" investment in Twitter driven by founder integrity. While acknowledging significant missed opportunities like Salesforce and Pandora, Conway predicts the internet remains in its infancy with vast potential for e-commerce integration, maintaining that the industry's focus must shift toward product quality and user satisfaction to capture future massive returns.
- Y Combinator32 min
Mark Zuckerberg at Startup School 2012
Launched in January 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg and Dustin Moskovitz, the service leveraged mandatory .edu email verification to establish high-quality identity networks within elite universities before scaling its infrastructure through immediate ad revenue. The team prioritized rigorous data integrity and biological social modeling over rapid expansion, resulting in explosive adoption rates that reached millions of users while maintaining a debt-free financial structure. This organic growth eventually forced a strategic pivot in the summer of 2004, as the founders relocated to Palo Alto and transitioned from a college project to a permanent enterprise after realizing part-time management could not sustain the scaling user base.
- Y Combinator26 min
Hiroshi Mikitani at Startup School 2012
Founded in 1997 by Hiroshi Mikitani with $200,000 in self-funded capital, Rakuten achieved profitability within two months and went public in 2000 by rejecting the traditional venture capital model. The company now commands 35–40% of the Japanese e-commerce market and operates 38 distinct businesses globally, expanding its ecosystem through strategic acquisitions like Kobo and a dedicated focus on shop-centric merchant services. Driven by a "merchant-first" philosophy and a recent mandate to adopt English as the official corporate language, Rakuten continues to pivot toward digital content sales and mobile commerce while maintaining strict cultural alignment across its international operations.
- Milken Institute1h 17m
Finerman's Rules: Secrets I'd Only Tell My Daughters About Business and Life (updated)
Finerman, Jody Miller, Mike Clowden
Karen Feinerman, CEO of Metropolitan Capital and author of *Feynman's Rules*, discussed her trajectory from Wall Street to CNBC while analyzing gender dynamics in finance and the impact of bias on career advancement. She outlined strategies for women to overcome systemic obstacles, including managing maternal leave perception, adopting confident leadership styles, and prioritizing workplace presence over remote work to foster mentorship. The discussion concluded with insights on financial literacy, the limitations of multitasking, and a prediction that the retiring baby boomer generation will necessitate the hiring of more qualified women into senior roles.
- Milken Institute1h 13m
Access to Global Capital Initiative: Corporate and Investor Roundtable
Tony Blair, Paul Kagame, Strive Masiyiwa, Seth Merrin, Mike Milken, Mindy Silverstein
At the Milken Institute's "Investing in Africa" working group, President Paul Kagame of Rwanda and Tony Blair outlined strategic partnerships with the Institute to accelerate capital flow into emerging markets through the new Access to Global Capital Initiative. The session highlighted Rwanda's 8% annual economic growth and regional integration efforts while presenting data indicating that emerging markets now hold a larger share of the global economy than the US, Europe, and Japan combined. With future plans to expand operations in Indonesia and convene international investors in East Africa, the group aims to leverage governance reforms and renewable energy projects to drive sustainable wealth creation across the continent.
- Milken Institute7 min
Is the US Gathering Steam: Remarks on the Government Shutdown
Driven by a fractured political deadlock between House Speaker Paul Ryan and Tea Party factions, the U.S. faces a projected two-week government shutdown and a looming October debt ceiling crisis that threatens to compromise the nation's credit rating. While these domestic governance failures stem from record-low official approval ratings and unsustainable monetary policies, the economic fallout manifests as frozen corporate capital spending and delayed major infrastructure projects. Concurrently, the economic outlook is further strained by a slowdown in Chinese and European markets that is causing U.S. exports to plummet, leaving the domestic economy vulnerable despite significant historical fiscal interventions.
- Milken Institute56 min
MI Summit 2013 - London: Access to Global Capital: Investing in Growth
Mindy Silverstein, Tony Blair, Strive Masiyiwa, Seth Merrin, Jane Rowe, Michael Milken
In partnership with LiquidNet and Tony Blair's Africa Governance Initiative, the Milken Institute launched the Access to Global Capital Initiative to direct foreign investment into emerging markets like Indonesia, Colombia, and Rwanda through improved governance frameworks. Major institutional investors, including Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, are increasing their emerging market exposure by leveraging rigorous risk management and specific country classifications to align fiduciary interests with stable regulatory environments. This collaborative effort aims to catalyze economic transformation by proving that human capital and predictable rules drive growth more effectively than natural resources, thereby incentivizing broader global adoption of these development strategies.
- Milken Institute7 min
MI Summit 2013 -London: Welcoming Remarks
Gerald Ronson, Michael Klowden, Mike Nolan
Hosted by Gerald Ronson at London's Heron Tower, the 2013 Milken Institute Summit assembled approximately 1,000 global leaders to address faltering economic recovery through the lens of finance, business, and philanthropy. Under the strategic guidance of CEO Mike Clowden and President Paul Irving, the non-partisan think tank focused on generating concrete policy solutions to tackle employment, environmental sustainability, and medical research. The event emphasized moving beyond theoretical debate to leverage capital markets as a catalyst for solving urgent social challenges while securing strategic partnerships for ongoing institutional operations.
- Milken Institute6 min
Najib Ghadbian on Syria
Following years of localized repression against the Damascus Spring and Damasco Declaration movements, the 2011 uprising in Daraa ignited a conflict that ultimately killed over 70,000 people and displaced nearly 4 million Syrians. To address this crisis, a 70-member opposition coalition recognized by 114 nations formed a mini-parliament to plan a transition government while General Salim Idris unified 80% of Free Syrian Army factions under the Supreme Military Council. These coordinated political and military structures now face the challenge of leading a nation where over one million citizens have fled abroad and the humanitarian toll continues to escalate.
- Milken Institute1h 0m
How Improved Health and Longer Lives Drive Global Prosperity (updated)
Thomas Frieden, Jonathan Gluck, Carole Roan Gresenz, Michael Harsh, Peter Margolis, Ceci Connolly, Mike Harsh
Six healthcare experts from institutions including the CDC, PwC, and Heritage Provider Network convened at Milk and Palooza to analyze how innovation drives economic growth while challenging myths about cost containment. The panel highlighted that targeted interventions like immunizations and telehealth generate substantial societal returns, contrasting these successes against a system where $2.8 trillion in annual spending is hindered by fee-for-service models that prioritize volume over outcomes. By advocating for data-driven "healthy defaults" and the industrialization of care, the discussion emphasized that political shifts toward value-based payment and preventive measures are essential to improving productivity and reducing unnecessary expenditures.
- Milken Institute7 min
Carlos Slim's Economic Advice
The speaker argues that Western economies face a structural crisis driven by demographic shifts and obsolete fiscal policies, necessitating a transition to a "new civilization" model. To address actuarially bankrupt pension systems and chronic deficits, the proposal advocates for privatizing state infrastructure through public-private partnerships and implementing a radical three-day, 11-hour workweek. This reform aims to expand labor participation, stimulate growth in service sectors, and ensure a sustainable transition where assets eventually revert to public ownership.
- Milken Institute51 min
Dinner Program - To Infinity and Beyond: Jeff Skoll Talks with Elon and Kimbal Musk (updated)
Jeff Skoll, Kimbal Musk, Elon Musk, Paul
At a panel introduced by Jeff Skoll, brothers Elon and Kimbal Musk detailed their divergent yet complementary ventures, ranging from early startups like Zip2 and PayPal to Elon's engineering firms SpaceX and Tesla and Kimbal's culinary and nonprofit initiatives. The discussion highlighted specific milestones such as the sale of PayPal to eBay for $1.5 billion, Tesla's launch of the award-winning Model S, and The Kitchen Community's measurable impact on childhood nutrition and school test scores. Both founders reflected on their formative years in South Africa and Silicon Valley, emphasizing a shared philosophy that combines technological innovation with social responsibility through scalable, market-based solutions.
- Milken Institute57 min
In Tech We Trust? A Debate with Peter Thiel and Marc Andreessen (updated)
Peter Thiel, Marc Andreessen, Martin Giles
Peter Thiel and Marc Andreessen debate whether the U.S. economy suffers from a post-1970 technological stagnation that has stunted wage growth or is actually experiencing an acceleration masked by unmet sci-fi expectations and political interference in physical sectors. While Thiel attributes rising inequality and declining living standards to risk aversion, excessive regulation, and a cultural loss of imagination, Andreessen counters that communication breakthroughs are driving efficiency and that physical sector stalls result from massive oil subsidies and restrictive liability frameworks. Both speakers agree that government monopolies and regulations inhibit innovation in energy and transportation, though they differ on the sufficiency of the digital revolution to solve broader economic challenges.
- Milken Institute1h 2m
The Business of Sports (updated)
Todd Boehly, Jimmy Connors, Wayne Gretzky, Joseph Ravitch, Melinda Witmer, Jim Gray, Joe Ravitch
Guggenheim Partners acquired the Los Angeles Dodgers for $2.1 billion to operate as a global entertainment brand, while Time Warner Cable secured exclusive local media rights through a direct $10 billion agreement that bypasses traditional regional sports networks. Panelists including Todd Boley, Melinda Whitmer, Wayne Gretzky, and Jimmy Connors affirmed that live in-stadium events remain the premium product despite technological advancements in broadcast, citing superior fan engagement and physicality that home viewing cannot replicate. The discussion further highlighted that franchise valuations are driven by real estate potential and media scarcity rather than emotion, with experts predicting the inevitable return of an NFL team to Los Angeles and continued appreciation in major league sports assets.