Latest Interviews
Showing 736–750 of 1,089 transcripts.
Clear all filters- Milken Institute53 min
The Coming U.S. Infrastructure Boom
Michael Burke, André Bourbonnais, Reed Cordish, Susan Gray, Terry McAuliffe, Elaine Chao, Mike Milken
The Trump administration proposes a $200 billion federal catalyst intended to unlock $1 trillion in total infrastructure investment over a decade, leveraging regulatory reforms to reduce approval timelines from ten years to two. Key figures including Secretary Elaine Chao and Governor Terry McAuliffe highlighted public-private partnerships as essential to closing state funding gaps, citing Virginia's success in lowering construction costs and accelerating projects like the Atlantic Gateway. To ensure viability, the plan mandates independent state funding, expands eligibility beyond transportation to include energy and broadband, and seeks to shift the U.S. infrastructure spending ratio toward global benchmarks by utilizing an infrastructure bank model and privatized operational structures.
- Milken Institute58 min
Russia Revealed: Where Moscow and Washington Go from Here
Michael Crowley, Jane Harman, Daniel Russell, Andrew Weiss, Nikolai Zelenski, Laura Satrakian, Ben Weg-Prosser, Michael Bright, Kevin Ciccino, John
A 2017 expert panel analyzed the deterioration of U.S.-Russia relations, highlighting how election interference investigations and a dysfunctional Trump administration have eroded the trust necessary for diplomatic engagement. Experts including Jane Harmon, Andrew Weiss, and Daniel Russell cautioned that military miscalculations in Syria and Ukraine, combined with a stagnant Russian economy adapted to sanctions, create a volatile environment prone to accidental escalation. The consensus warned that without a cohesive national security strategy to replace incoherent policies, the risk of a strategic "collision" increases alongside fears of a "world war by accident."
- Milken Institute57 min
Pacific Alliance: Leading Integration in Latin America
Julie T. Katzman, Gerónimo Gutiérrez, Carlos Pareja, Juan Carlos Pinzón, Juan Gabriel Valdés
Established by Mexico, Colombia, Peru, and Chile, the Pacific Alliance functions as a minimalist, market-oriented bloc that has eliminated tariffs on 92% of intra-regional goods to form the world's eighth-largest economy. By leveraging 41% of Latin American foreign direct investment and hosting strategic forums with major economies like the US, EU, and China, the alliance is actively pursuing deeper supply chain integration and potential convergence with Mercosur. Despite challenges in labor mobility and low current intra-regional trade, the bloc is implementing structural reforms to formalize SMEs, expand student mobility, and solidify its geopolitical stance within the Asia-Pacific region.
- Milken Institute57 min
Feeding the Future: The Changing Landscapes of Food and Agriculture
Paul Fribourg, Patrick Brown, John Hamer, Mehmood Khan, John Vikupitz, Selected, Ambassador Compson
Industry leaders from Impossible Foods, Monsanto, PepsiCo, and Netafim convened to address the divergent challenges of Western obesity and global food insecurity through a strategic pivot toward plant-based proteins, gene editing, and precision agriculture. The panel highlighted critical shifts in consumer trust and regulatory landscapes, emphasizing that solving future food needs requires deploying existing technologies like drip irrigation and data analytics alongside new inventions to reduce waste and optimize supply chains. With Silicon Valley investing billions into ag-tech and global demand for grain projected to rise by 50%, the consensus among these key figures is that a collective approach involving governments and NGOs is essential to scale sustainable solutions across emerging markets.
- Milken Institute57 min
My Organization Has Been Hacked
Ray Rothrock, Heather Adkins, Dmitri Alperovitch, Daniel Ennis, Siobhan MacDermott, Dan Ennis
Following a paradigm shift from prevention-focused IT tasks to boardroom-level risk management triggered by major breaches like Target and Sony, this panel of cybersecurity leaders outlines a critical strategy prioritizing immediate legal privilege and crisis readiness. Key figures including Dmitri Alperovitch, Heather Adkins, and Dan Ennis emphasize that organizations must cultivate a culture of transparency and conduct regular non-technical tabletop exercises to effectively manage insider threats and navigate complex geopolitical adversaries. Ultimately, the discussion underscores that robust collaboration between public and private sectors, combined with strategic investments in AI and cyber insurance, is essential to mitigating the severe financial and operational impacts of future attacks.
- Milken Institute1h 2m
IPOs for SMEs: Can Capital Markets Close the Financing Gap?
Staci Warden, Ana Carvajal, Ashish Chauhan, Siobhan Cleary, Nick Thadaney, Arumna Abdul, Daniel, Scott Birdwell
A high-level panel of global financial experts identified credit access as the primary barrier for Small and Medium Enterprises, proposing tiered exchange models from Canada's TMX Group and India's Bombay Stock Exchange as effective mechanisms to mobilize local capital while protecting investors through graded liquidity rules. The discussion detailed how proportional regulatory frameworks, market maker programs, and innovative instruments like securitized receivables can balance enforcement with the need for lower compliance costs, successfully transitioning hundreds of companies from junior markets to senior boards. Ultimately, stakeholders argued that sustainable SME ecosystems require shifting from isolated IPO promotion to holistic financing environments that integrate private equity exit routes and foster job creation without distorting market integrity.
- Milken Institute58 min
Aligning Endowment Investments with Philanthropic Mission
Kerry Kennedy, Kim Lew, Brian O'Neil, Mark Suzman, Darren Walker, Shawn Wischmeier, Carrie Kennedy, Frank, Nelson, Daniel, Amy Christensen
Carrie Kennedy moderated a panel of foundation leaders, including Darren Walker of the Ford Foundation and Mark Sussman of the Gates Foundation, who detailed their strategies for aligning endowment capital with social missions through mission-related investments, program-related investments, and strict ethical screens. The discussion highlighted a divergence in approaches, with the Ford Foundation committing $1 billion to double-bottom-line strategies while Carnegie Corporation maintains a "do no harm" stance, though all participants agreed that integrating mission goals is financially viable and critical for institutional relevance. By addressing systemic biases through diversity initiatives and leveraging capital to build investment infrastructure, these organizations aim to transform the traditional fiduciary model to ensure endowments actively advance their charitable objectives rather than merely preserving wealth.
- Milken Institute1h 24m
A Conversation with Steven Mnuchin, U.S. Department of the Treasury | Global Capital Markets
Steven Mnuchin, Maria Bartiromo, Mohamed El-Erian, Thomas Finke, Scott Minerd, Arunma Oteh, David M. Solomon
Treasury Secretary Stephen Mnuchin presented a comprehensive tax reform plan designed to raise U.S. GDP growth from 2% to 3% by simplifying the code, lowering the corporate flat rate to 15%, and eliminating the alternative minimum tax. The administration anticipates these cuts may initially widen the deficit but projects long-term revenue gains of $2 trillion to offset costs, while simultaneously preparing to enforce reciprocal trade tariffs and expand sanctions on adversarial nations. Complementing these fiscal and foreign policy shifts, financial sector leaders warn that while deregulation could boost profitability, current market valuations may be ahead of actual legislative delivery and execution risks.
- Milken Institute58 min
Retrospective: Lessons Learned from Leading Investors
Scarlet Fu, David Bonderman, William Ford, Joshua Friedman, Emmanuel Roman, Steven Tananbaum, Steve Tannenbaum, Bill Ford
Prominent investors including David Bonderman, Josh Friedman, and Steve Tannenbaum assess a unique financial landscape marked by an unsustainable thirty-year secular decline in interest rates and the resulting compression of credit spreads. The panel analyzes sector-specific risks in retail and energy while debating the structural advantages of active management and private equity over passive strategies in this volatile environment. Despite current complacency, experts emphasize the necessity of holding dry powder for eventual portfolio re-ranking driven by rising rates and warn that structural changes in market-making could precipitate radical price adjustments.
- Milken Institute58 min
Cracking the Code of Addiction and Mental Health
Lynn Goldman, Thomas Insel, Gary Mendell, Richard Pops, Garen Staglin, Nora Volkow
A panel of experts from NIDA and public health organizations identifies the opioid crisis as a preventable epidemic driven by systemic healthcare failures, including aggressive pharmaceutical marketing and inadequate medical training, which have caused mortality rates among white non-Hispanic Americans to rise for the first time in history. To address this, the group advocates for mandating CDC prescribing limits, expanding access to proven medication-assisted treatments, and shifting workplace cultures to reduce stigma, emphasizing that the primary obstacle remains the implementation of existing evidence-based protocols rather than a lack of scientific knowledge. Despite these proposed solutions facing significant barriers such as insurance coverage gaps and reimbursement policies that delay care, the consensus holds that coordinated policy changes could reduce new addiction rates by half and reverse decades of escalating overdose deaths.
- Milken Institute59 min
China Disrupted: The Inside View
Jonathan Woetzel, Goodwin Gaw, Robert Petty, Jing Ulrich, Kwek Ping Yong
Following five years of dramatic expansion where the bond market grew to $30 trillion and capital flows reversed to net exports, China's economy faces a strategic pivot toward quality growth amidst a 260% debt-to-GDP ratio and strict capital controls. Government initiatives like "One Belt, One Road" and regulatory measures targeting real estate loopholes aim to manage systemic risks while shifting investment focus from heavy manufacturing to service sectors and high-return direct lending. Investors now target minority stakes in founder-led enterprises and cross-border technology acquisitions, anticipating that future expansion will rely on domestic consumption and logistics infrastructure rather than the double-digit GDP rates of the past.
- Milken Institute1h 5m
Conversation w/ Betsy DeVos, Secretary, U.S. Dept. of Education / U.S. Education Policy Discussion
Betsy DeVos, Lowell Milken, William Bennett, Steve Bullock, Jeb Bush
During a high-level policy discussion, Secretary Betsy DeVos, former Secretary William Bennett, and Governors Jeb Bush and Steve Bullock debated the role of federal versus state authority in education amidst persistent achievement gaps and insufficient college readiness rates. The panelists advocated for shifting decision-making power to the states through block grants and school choice mechanisms like Education Savings Accounts and dual enrollment programs to foster local innovation and address specific demographic needs. While all participants expressed optimism about state-led reforms, they simultaneously warned that systemic issues such as teacher shortages and social stratification require urgent attention to ensure the education system functions as an effective equalizer.
- Milken Institute57 min
Global Real Estate Outlook: A More Attractive Asset?
Barry Sternlicht, Eric Adler, Rick Caruso, R. Donahue Peebles, Ross Perot, Jr., Sam Zell
Prominent real estate executives and financial analysts convened to assess a complex global landscape where U.S. fiscal deficits and tax reforms are poised to drive interest rates higher while specific international markets like Brazil and Mexico present distinct investment opportunities. The panel highlighted divergent sectoral strategies, with some predicting a supply glut in U.S. office and multifamily assets while others champion high-yield industrial logistics and experiential retail driven by e-commerce and labor shortages. Ultimately, despite varying stances on short-term volatility, the consensus leans toward a bullish five-year outlook contingent on fiscal stimulus boosting wage growth and rent increases across key asset classes.
- Milken Institute57 min
Health Citizenship: The Nexus of Data, Technology and Research
Margaret Anderson, Stephanie Devaney, Eric Friedman, Joyce Tung, Bernard J. Tyson, Roni Zeiger
This panel introduces the concept of "health citizenship," a strategic shift toward a two-way dialogue between patients and providers that redefines healthcare delivery beyond episodic care. Featuring insights from leaders at Kaiser Permanente, 23andMe, and the All of Us Research Program, the discussion highlights how leveraging diverse data sources, mobile health technologies, and community-based interventions can improve equity and treatment outcomes. The event concludes by emphasizing the necessity of modernizing regulatory frameworks and adopting AI-driven, team-based models to sustain this transition toward proactive, personalized health management.
- Milken Institute1h 2m
A Conversation with Angela Ahrendts, Part 2: A Conversation with Elizabeth Blackburn
Angela Ahrendts, Elizabeth Blackburn, Lucy Parker, Joon Yun
Apple Retail is executing a strategic transformation led by Angela Ahrendts that redefines physical locations as community town squares and learning centers to address social isolation and boost employee retention. The initiative involves rolling out a "Today at Apple" curriculum across 419 stores, introducing specialized Creative Pro roles to deliver free education in fields like coding and art while supporting local entrepreneurship. This approach integrates retail as a service product that measures social impact alongside financial returns, successfully raising employee retention to 82 percent. Concurrently, Elizabeth Blackburn's research demonstrates that telomere length, a marker of cellular aging, is malleable and responsive to lifestyle interventions such as brief daily exercise, sleep, and stress management. Her findings highlight that positive social connections and a sense of purpose can significantly buffer telomere shortening, reframing aging as an opportunity to maximize health span rather than an inevitable decline.