Latest Interviews
Showing 721–735 of 1,935 transcripts.
Clear all filters- Milken Institute1h 1m
Credit Markets Forging Ahead | Milken Institute Global Conference 2024
Will Caiger-Smith, Ashley Baum, Michael Buchanan, Lee Kruter, Michael Patterson
A panel of investors analyzed the post-tightening fixed income landscape, highlighting how rising Treasury yields severely impacted duration-sensitive assets while high-yield and bank loan sectors demonstrated resilience through credit risk isolation. The Texas Teachers Retirement System outlined its opportunistic credit strategy, deploying $7.5 billion into asset-based financing and real estate loans while navigating a market where private credit's dominance is receding amid a sharp rebound in syndicated loan issuance. Furthermore, the discussion addressed the evolution of distress dynamics, noting that while modern covenants masked default rates, a wave of coercive liability management exercises and covenant erosion now signals an impending cycle of stricter documentation and reduced recovery rates.
- Milken Institute59 min
The Future of Corporate Governance | Milken Institute Global Conference 2024
Andy Serwer, Betsy Atkins, Jarvis V. Hollingsworth, Dambisa Moyo, Ronald Sugar, Mark A. Weinberger
Prominent governance leaders including Betsy Atkins, Ron Sugar, and Mark Weinberger address the imperative for boards to navigate rapid generative AI adoption and geopolitical fissures by embracing ambiguity and shifting from short-term survival to long-term value creation. The discussion highlights critical board evolution strategies, such as confidential peer assessments, the integration of digital upskilling roles, and the necessity of balancing stakeholder interests with rigorous capital allocation across diverse sectors from tech to sovereign wealth funds. By contrasting the governance models of public companies, state institutions like the Texas Teachers Retirement System, and global entities like Saudi Aramco, the speakers conclude that effective oversight requires a tailored approach that aligns board composition and risk tolerance with specific CEO archetypes and industry-specific assets.
- Milken Institute29 min
Lunch Program | Part 1: Well-being in the Digital Era
Louise Tabbiner, Deepak Chopra, Paris Hilton
Deepak Chopra and Paris Hilton explore the intersection of narrative psychology, business strategy, and holistic health, arguing that human perception is a constructed story and that chronic disease is largely driven by anxiety rather than genetics. The dialogue challenges the notion that rigid ambition guarantees success, proposing instead that aligning with one's higher purpose through the "Happiness Formula" and the "STOPS" meditation method yields greater fulfillment than mere hard work. Through this exchange, they illustrate how Hilton leveraged a 70-million-person social ecosystem to evolve from a celebrity persona into a $3 billion enterprise while advocating for compassion to counteract the loneliness of a hyper-connected society.
- Goldman Sachs22 min
Oil’s extended reign? Adapting to a new era in oil markets
Daan Struyven, Nikhil Bhandari, Alison Nathan, Dan Stroivin
Goldman Sachs projects global oil demand will peak around 2034 rather than 2024, driven by emerging market growth in India and China where jet fuel and petrochemical consumption continue to rise despite stagnating EV sales in developed economies. The bank forecasts Brent crude to trade between $75 and $90 per barrel through 2026, supported by OPEC spare capacity, before supply risks intensify in the latter half of the decade due to underinvestment in long-cycle projects and structural tightness in the refining sector. Political outcomes in the 2024 US election may further influence prices through potential sanctions on Iran or changes to EV incentives, with the firm recommending gold over oil as a primary hedge against policy-driven inflation.
- Y Combinator23 min
Enterprise Sales | Startup School
Optimizely co-founder Pete Kuhman outlines a rigorous enterprise sales framework for technical founders, emphasizing that selling before product-market fit requires experimentation with targeted prospecting and personalized outreach. The strategy prioritizes deep discovery during initial calls, uses product-specific narratives to demonstrate value during demos, and treats pricing as a signal of problem severity rather than a fixed metric. By actively managing implementation roadmaps to ensure customer adoption and navigating procurement hurdles with internal champions, founders can transform sales skills into a transferable superpower for fundraising and hiring.
- Milken Institute1h 1m
Credit Outlook | Milken Institute Global Conference 2024
Michael Milken, James Keenan, Victor Khosla, Marc Lipschultz, Purnima Puri
Leading institutional investors from BlackRock, Blue Owl Capital, Strategic Value Partners, and J.P. Morgan Partners outlined a rigorous selection framework that targets only 2% to 5% of reviewed deals to navigate a "higher for longer" interest rate environment. Panelists emphasized that private credit offers superior covenant protection and recovery rates compared to public markets, positioning it as a permanent portfolio diversifier rather than a temporary boom as bank deleveraging drives capital toward asset managers. Looking ahead, industry leaders anticipate a multi-year opportunity in distressed debt and non-sponsor financing, where operational involvement and strict governance will define success amid projected $600 billion in annual maturities.
- Milken Institute1h 2m
Addressing Antisemitism and Religious Bias Based on Facts | Global Conference 2024
Richard Sandler, Van Jones, Daniel Lubetzky, Arielle Mokhtarzadeh, David Wolpe
Rabbi David Wolpe, Van Jones, Daniel Lesetsky, and Ariel Macarza Day convened to analyze the post-October 7 surge in antisemitism, framing it as an ideological war driven by foreign influence and Marxist binaries that threatens the historic Black-Jewish alliance. The panel detailed specific campus realities, including the physical barring of Jewish students and the strategic use of anonymity by masked protesters, while contrasting Jewish fears of genocide with Black anxieties about police brutality to explain the current fragmentation. To counter these threats, the experts proposed a strategic "Five H's" alliance between Black and Jewish communities, advocating for institutional partnerships between HBCUs and Hillels and a shift from defensive posturing to active legal enforcement against hate crimes.
- Milken Institute22 min
A Conversation with OpenAI COO Brad Lightcap | Global Conference 2024
OpenAI is accelerating enterprise adoption through strategic partnerships with entities like Stack Overflow and major publishers while demonstrating tangible operational efficiencies, such as Klarna's reduction of support ticket resolution times by 82%. Despite rapid integration into 92% of Fortune 500 companies, leadership warns that energy supply chain constraints and regulatory caution pose significant hurdles to scaling the infrastructure required for future multimodal models. The organization is shifting toward an iterative deployment strategy to smooth the transition from text-based tools to collaborative AI teammates, aiming to foster workforce familiarity while mitigating the risks of insufficient economic growth.
- Milken Institute59 min
The Promise and Pitfalls of Private Equity | Global Conference 2024
Mark Thierfelder, Joe Baratta, Anne-Marie Fink, Patrick Healy, Jonathan D. Sokoloff, Pete Stavros
In a session highlighting the private equity sector's adaptation to post-2022 market volatility, leaders from Blackstone, KKR, and Hellman & Friedman detailed their strategic pivots toward longer holding periods and operational value creation amid elevated credit costs. To address liquidity constraints and shifting investor expectations, these firms are increasingly utilizing continuation vehicles, expanding into retail capital channels, and reforming stakeholder models to unlock value from the 90% of companies that remain private. The panelists concluded that while public market exits remain constrained, structural advantages in governance and targeted infrastructure investments will drive future growth as the industry transitions from a traditional buy-sell model to a sustained ownership framework.
- Milken Institute32 min
A Conversation with Issa Rae & Sherrese Clarke Soares | Global Conference 2023
Issa Rae, Sherrese Clarke Soares, Ari Melber
Harborview Capital, in partnership with Apollo Global Management, leverages a "content is queen" thesis to direct up to $1 billion toward media assets led by people of color, specifically targeting Black women and diasporic communities in Newark, New Jersey. Issa Rae and Charisse Clark-Soros discuss a seismic industry shift where creators are reclaiming ownership and demanding data transparency to replace the opaque metrics of streaming platforms. The dialogue underscores a strategic pivot toward hyper-local authenticity, arguing that specific, culturally rooted storytelling drives global engagement and justifies redirecting capital to diverse entrepreneurs.
- Milken Institute1h 0m
Proposals for Protecting the Free-Enterprise System while Closing the Wealth Gap | Global Conference
Michael Milken, John Hope Bryant, Brad Gerstner, Teresa Ghilarducci, Steven T. Mnuchin
On May 8, 2024, the Milken Institute convened a panel featuring Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, investor Brad Jacobs, and advocate John Hope Bryant to propose structural reforms that reconcile free enterprise with closing the wealth gap. The group outlined specific legislative and private-sector solutions, including the "Invest America Birth Account" to seed universal child savings and the Retirement Savings for Americans Act to automatically enroll workers in retirement plans. These initiatives aim to mitigate retirement insecurity and promote financial literacy by 2026, leveraging contributions from high-net-worth donors and private equity firms while avoiding wealth taxes that could stifle innovation.
- Milken Institute38 min
Countering Warning Signs | Global Conference 2024
Josh Barro, Mark Lindbloom, Raymond McGuire, Asutosh Padhi, Seema Shah, Jeffrey Solomon, Ray McGuire
Panelists led by Jeffrey Solomon and Ray McGuire conclude that structural shifts such as deglobalization and domestic infrastructure spending will sustain a "higher for longer" rate environment with nominal yields stabilizing between 4.25% and 4.75%. While consumer spending remains bifurcated with resilient high-income earners and distressed lower-income households, the economy continues to absorb higher costs due to robust corporate balance sheets and productivity gains driven by technology. Ultimately, investors must recalibrate valuations to account for persistent inflation and tail risks, recognizing that the labor market serves as the primary indicator before a potential systemic downturn or prolonged expansion occurs.
- Milken Institute1h 1m
Institutional Investors: Staying the Course or Catching the Wave | Global Conference 2024
Christopher Ailman, Amy Diamond, Allison Hill, Molly Murphy, Bei Saville, Liz Tulach
Five female Chief Investment Officers from Boeing, QIC, Advance Family Office, Orange County Retirement System, and the USC Endowment convened to debate investment strategies spanning private markets, geopolitical risk, and emerging trends. The panelists detailed their specific approaches to navigating high volatility and sticky inflation while balancing rigid mandates with opportunities in artificial intelligence, private credit, and supply chain reshoring. Their collective dialogue highlighted a shift toward "staying the course" in innovation while actively managing liquidity constraints and diversifying portfolios through secondaries and co-investments.
- Milken Institute1h 1m
The Cancer Diagnostics Revolution | Global Conference 2024
Gregory Simon, Kara Egan, Helmy Eltoukhy, Jody Hoyos, Larry Kessler, Anaeze Offodile, Greg Simon
Experts and industry leaders convened to discuss the technological evolution of liquid biopsies for early-stage, pan-cancer detection while addressing critical barriers regarding clinical efficacy, health equity, and reimbursement. The dialogue highlighted the necessity of randomized control trials to prove mortality benefits over simple downstaging, noting that false positives can trigger invasive diagnostic odysseys without extending life. Panelists from organizations like GARDEN and Teal Health outlined specific strategic goals, including securing Medicare coverage and developing at-home screening devices to reduce the 25% of women currently behind on recommended cancer screenings.
- Milken Institute35 min
Remarks by the President of Argentina Javier Milei | Global Conference 2024
President Javier Milei assumed office in Argentina to confront a 200% inflation crisis and 41% poverty rate by implementing a libertarian platform that secured a 20-year-first fiscal surplus within five months. His administration reversed a historical trajectory of collectivism by cutting public spending, repearing hundreds of laws, and dismantling unnecessary agencies to unlock the nation's potential for economic convergence. Milei now positions Argentina as a global investment hub, urging international leaders to support free-market principles as the essential path to lifting 60% of the population out of poverty.