Latest Interviews

The Rising AI Economy: A New Era in Tech | Milken Institute Global Conference 2024

Nicole Valentine, Seth Boro, Les Borsai, Sachin Dev Duggal, X Eyeé, Martin Fichtner, Sachin Chakrabarti

A panel of industry leaders including Sachin Chakrabarti, Seth Sternberg, and X Fortuna evaluated the current AI landscape as a nascent broadband era grappling with severe infrastructure energy demands, algorithmic biases, and significant regulatory gaps. While experts identified transformative benefits in democratizing literacy and enhancing cybersecurity, they simultaneously highlighted critical risks ranging from lethal misclassifications by predictive policing algorithms to the potential for LLMs to recommend nuclear strikes. The discussion concluded by contrasting short-term market inefficiencies where speculative startups are overvalued against a long-term vision requiring responsible governance to ensure AI empowers future generations without exacerbating geopolitical or ethical divides.

Biopharma opportunities and macro challenges: A check-up on the industry

Asad Haider, Chris Shibutani, Salveen Richter, Sylvain

Major pharmaceutical and biotech leaders converged to identify GLP-1 agonists and AI integration as primary drivers for a market revised upward to $130 billion, while strategically addressing patent cliffs through aggressive external collaborations and M&A targeting metabolic and neurology assets. Although the biotech IPO window has reopened with nine clinical-stage offerings, investor sentiment remains sensitive to interest rate trajectories and the need for immediate commercial validation of AI-driven discoveries. Consequently, industry capital allocation prioritizes balancing near-term revenue generators with long-term growth catalysts to navigate complex clinical challenges in the central nervous system and cardiovascular disease sectors.

Traversing Real Estate Realities | Milken Institute Global Conference 2024

Ted Seides, Jase Auby, Maggie Coleman, Joshua Morris, Tim Sloan, Joshua Weintraub

Leading institutional investors and asset managers converged to analyze a commercial real estate market defined by a dislocation between elevated interest rates and slower fundamental growth, creating distinct opportunities in data centers, single-family rentals, and distressed senior credit while navigating significant risks in oversupplied office sectors. Speakers highlighted how a generational housing shortage and a looming "wall of maturities" for $2.6 trillion in commercial loans are driving a structural shift where private non-bank lenders replace exiting regional banks to fund high-yield strategies. The panel concluded that prioritizing use-based assets with defensive demographics over traditional property classifications offers a more resilient path through the current higher-for-longer rate environment, provided investors maintain strict valuation discipline against cyclical volatility.

The Next Wave of Immunotherapy and Cancer Treatments | Milken Institute Global Conference 2024

Marc Hurlbert, Gina Carithers, Friedrich Graf Finckenstein, Anusha Kalbasi, Connie Pfeiffer, Sunil Verma, Frederick Finckenstein, Neil Verma, Anusha Singhal

Major research organizations like the Melanoma Research Alliance and the Prostate Cancer Foundation have funded over $1 billion in studies that pioneered immune checkpoint inhibitors and novel T-cell therapies for melanoma and prostate cancer. Recent advancements include the approval of Iovance's tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte treatment for solid tumors and the development of bispecific agents that reduce manufacturing delays, though challenges regarding high costs, autoimmune side effects, and the need for broader genetic screening persist. Clinical strategies are shifting toward neoadjuvant trials and combination therapies with antibody-drug conjugates to improve patient outcomes before standard care options are exhausted.

Private Equity Delivering Value | Milken Institute Global Conference 2024

John Bowman, Chris Emanuel, Martin Escobari, Jacob Kotzubei, Collin Roche, Bridget Walsh

Driven by a surge to $22 trillion in assets and a prolonged IPO drought, the private capital sector is undergoing a structural shift from financial engineering to intensive operational transformation. Leading firms like Platinum Equity, GTCR, and GIC are deploying specialized teams to execute immediate CEO changes, leverage GenAI for due diligence, and prioritize distributions over returns, while simultaneously navigating a market bifurcation that threatens non-adaptive players. This evolving landscape forces a consolidation of the 10,000 existing general partners as asset managers adopt interventionist strategies to maximize value in a high-interest-rate environment where traditional holding periods are being redefined.

What's Trending in MedTech? | Milken Institute Global Conference 2024

Conor Hale, Kelvin Baggett, Andrew Fish, Nada Hanafi, Ryan Lakin, Michelle Tarver

Facing a constrained 2023 investment climate, the industry is pivoting from speculative hype to value-driven innovations in women's health, AI, and genomic technologies that prioritize clear patient outcomes. Regulatory frameworks like the FDA's TAP and new real-world evidence protocols are accelerating approvals while shifting focus toward patient-integrated design and equitable access. Leaders such as Abbott and J&J are now embedding affordability and diversity into R&D, ensuring devices function as intuitive, home-based solutions that address systemic provider shortages and health inequities.

Banks Stepping Out, Private Credit Stepping In | Milken Institute Global Conference 2024

John Bowman, Jeffrey Aronson, Marianna Fassinotti, Gregory Geiling, Peter Gleysteen, Drew McKnight

The private credit market has evolved from a niche financing tool into a $2.2 trillion "big tent" asset class, driven primarily by regulatory pressures like the Basel Endgame that force banks to offload capital requirements while retaining origination roles. This structural shift has fostered a complementary partnership model where global banks leverage private capital for risk transfer and flexibility, resulting in robust credit quality despite a temporary pause in corporate activity due to high interest rates. As the industry navigates the next economic cycle, focus is shifting toward downside protection, specialized asset management, and the emerging secondary market to address the sector's lack of full stress testing since the Global Financial Crisis.

A Conversation with Snoop Dogg and Larry Jackson | Milken Institute Global Conference 2023

Snoop Dogg, Larry Jackson, Shirley Halperin

Co-chaired by Larry Jackson and Snoop Dogg, Gamma Distribution distinguishes itself by bridging artistic vision with enterprise execution through a proprietary financial dashboard that facilitates monthly artist payouts and rapid vinyl manufacturing. The company recently appointed Saipu Delamini and Naomi Campbell to lead its expansion in Africa and the Middle East while reporting a 5 billion monthly stream volume that generated 80% growth in its first seven weeks. Despite celebrating the sell-out of limited edition Snoop Dogg vinyls and upcoming film projects, the leadership strongly criticized YouTube Shorts for generating negligible revenue relative to stream counts, underscoring their strategic pivot toward a curated, high-value roster of 15,000 artists.

Canva CEO Melanie Perkins on growing an idea into a multibillion-dollar design company

Melanie Perkins, Ryan Nolan

Canva, led by co-founders Melanie Perkins and Cliff Obrecht, has scaled to serve 165 million users and 90% of Fortune 500 companies by leveraging a bottom-up adoption strategy and its proprietary Magic Studio for AI-driven design automation. The company recently pivoted toward "wall-to-wall" enterprise deployment while maintaining profitability, a trajectory supported by its strategic acquisition of visual AI firm Collido and a dedicated trust and safety framework. Guided by a dual mission of commercial growth and social impact, Canva plans to expand its ecosystem to one billion monthly active users by donating equity and profits to eradicate extreme poverty.

A Conversation with Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan | Global Conference 2024

Queen Rania Al Abdullah, Kevin Herglotz, Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah, Ali Velshi

Queen Rania addresses the global humanitarian crisis by warning that "us vs. them" polarization and unsustainable military operations in Rafah are driving toward large-scale civilian deaths and eroding prospects for peace. She rejects the narrative that the two-state solution is dead, instead attributing stagnation to a deficit of political will and explicitly condemning any forced transfer of Palestinians as a "second Nakba." Urging the United States to enforce international law rather than offering unconditional support, she argues that long-term Israeli security remains impossible without ending the illegal occupation and addressing the systematic injustices facing both populations.

Transformative Philanthropy and Innovation | Milken Institute Global Conference 2024

Melissa Stevens, Pablo Legorreta, Strive Masiyiwa, Louise Richardson, Mark Walter

CEO Mark Walter, Strive Masiwa, Dame Louise Richardson, and Pablo Legareta convened to define transformative philanthropy as high-risk capital that drives systemic change in healthcare, education, and conservation. The panel detailed specific strategies such as Legareta's medical therapies for transplant patients, Walter's vocational schools in Chicago, and community-integrated conservation models in Zimbabwe that successfully reduced rhino poaching. Ultimately, the leaders agreed that effective philanthropy must prioritize sustainable governance and local resource mobilization to mitigate polarization and create a self-sustaining future.

Conversation with Senator Joe Manchin, Jigar Shah, & Chevron CEO Michael Wirth | Global Conference

Joe Manchin, Jigar Shah, Michael Wirth, David Westin, Mike

Debate leaders, including Senator Manchin and LPO Director Jigar Shah, examined the $500 billion federal energy investment framework while clashing over the pace of EV subsidies, hydrogen regulation, and the necessity of government loans to de-risk private capital. Key figures emphasized that despite rapid solar deployment, permitting bottlenecks and conflicting agency signals threaten grid stability and the timely retirement of fossil assets. The discussion concluded by highlighting the urgent need for comprehensive permitting reform to align domestic economic incentives with global net-zero trajectories before the current funding authority expires.

Leading in the Generative AI Revolution | Milken Institute Global Conference 2024

Sara Eisen, Greg Brown, Arvind Krishna, Thomas Kurian, Janet Truncale, Sharmini Peries, Janet Napolitanovich, Thomas Kaplan, Nicole Sullivan, Arvind K.

Prominent industry leaders including Arvind Krishna, Thomas Kurian, and Greg Clark characterize the AI sector as being in its early developmental stage, emphasizing a strategic pivot from immediate productivity gains to scalable deployment across public safety, healthcare, and enterprise operations. These executives detail a multi-cloud infrastructure approach where organizations like Motorola Solutions and EY leverage edge AI and "human-in-the-loop" frameworks to address data sovereignty, bias, and trust barriers while augmenting workforce capabilities rather than displacing them. The panel concludes that future growth depends on navigating light-touch regulatory environments and combating misinformation through rigorous data management and open-source collaboration.

Why Startup Founders Should Launch Companies Sooner Than They Think

This presentation dismantles the myth of the single-shot launch, arguing that founders should immediately release imperfect MVPs to gather critical data rather than delaying for perfection. It highlights Y Combinator's peer-pressure strategy and case studies like Airbnb and Brex to demonstrate that early failure provides essential learning while the market rarely remembers product stumbles. By redefining launch goals from revenue generation to information gathering, founders can overcome psychological barriers to build products that deeply serve a small, urgent user base.

A Conversation with Deepak Chopra and Seth Rogen | Milken Institute Global Conference 2023

Deepak Chopra, Seth Rogen, Alex Witt

Deepak Chopra and Seth Rogen discuss a holistic approach to extending health span over mere lifespan, emphasizing that lifestyle factors outweigh genetic predispositions in preventing Alzheimer's disease. They outline actionable strategies ranging from epigenetic regulation through emotional states to specific daily protocols involving meditation, exercise, and nutritional adjustments. The dialogue concludes by highlighting the work of Hilarity for Charity in educating youth about brain health while challenging conventional definitions of success in favor of joy and timeless awareness.