Latest Interviews
Showing 1006–1020 of 1,191 interview transcripts.
Clear all filters- Goldman Sachs14 min
"Catch-Up With David": with Chief Economist Jan Hatzius
Goldman Sachs Chief Economist Jan Hatzius projects a global economic slowdown to approximately 3.5% through 2020 driven by US full employment and Federal Reserve rate hikes, though he maintains that recession risk remains low under this gentle deceleration trajectory. Drawing on 2018 forecasting errors regarding emerging markets and the historical lesson of the Berlin Wall's sudden fall, Hatzius advocates for a professional philosophy that balances rigorous modeling with the artistic judgment required to challenge conventional consensus. He concludes that effective forecasting fundamentally depends on acknowledging the inherent limits of predictive knowledge, a principle he applies by abstaining from speculating on unpredictable events ranging from geopolitical shifts to major sporting outcomes.
- Goldman Sachs33 min
General Stanley McChrystal (US Army, Ret.) - "Leaders: Myth and Reality"
Stanley McChrystal, George Washington, Walt Disney, General Stanley McChrystal, David
General Stanley McChrystal challenges the mythological view of infallible leaders in his book *Leaders: Myth and Reality*, profiling historical figures like Robert E. Lee, Walt Disney, and Coco Chanel to demonstrate that human flaws are intrinsic to effective governance. McChrystal further argues that significant societal reforms often rely on resilient systems rather than singular heroic agency, as evidenced by his analysis of Martin Luther King Jr.'s organizational legacy. Looking toward the future, he advocates for a shift from military victory to geopolitical management in Afghanistan, demands a layered defense against AI-driven disinformation, and proposes a paid national service program to revitalize active American citizenship.
- Goldman Sachs26 min
Beth Comstock: Creating a Culture of Innovation
Beth Comstock, Stephanie Cohen
Former GE Vice Chair Beth Comstock articulates a leadership philosophy that reframes storytelling as the engine of strategy and introversion as a critical organizational asset. Drawing on her tenure under Jack Welch and later at NBC, she critiques the "law of big numbers" for obscuring cohesive narratives while advocating for internal "permission slips" to bypass gatekeepers and foster innovation. Comstock concludes that overcoming structural resistance requires leaders to reframe rejection as deferred action and to prioritize human connection over rigid corporate hierarchies.
- Goldman Sachs14 min
Kevin Plank: Building the Ethos of Under Armour
Over fourteen years, Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank steered the company away from a $750 million acquisition to an independent IPO, guided by a small circle of advisors including Sean Combs and his own wife. The organization has since scaled to over 14,000 employees while shifting its marketing focus from traditional media to a digital "Connected Fitness" ecosystem serving more than 50 million monthly users. Plank also reinvented the brand's athlete strategy by betting early on underdogs like Jordan Spieth and Stephen Curry, emphasizing long-term partnership development over immediate financial gains to maintain a culture of resilience.
- Goldman Sachs23 min
Yotam Ottolenghi: “Simple” Cooking for Happy Lives
Yotam Ottolenghi, Philip Berlinski
Chef Yotam Ottolenghi and partners Sami Tamimi, Cornelia, and Noam have built a London-based culinary empire spanning six locations and 300 employees by prioritizing personal relationships over rigid corporate structures. Their latest cookbook, *Simple*, introduces an accessible six-criteria framework to demystify complex flavors for home cooks while the business continues to foster internal talent through co-authored publications. Beyond the kitchen, Ottolenghi details his family's successful journey via gestational surrogacy in Massachusetts, emphasizing the importance of personal identity over generic business concepts for aspiring restaurateurs.
- Goldman Sachs27 min
Joanna Coles: Storytelling in the 21st Century
Former *Marie Claire* editor Joanna Coles leverages her career spanning the *Daily Telegraph* and Snap to examine how digital platforms have reshaped journalism, diversity, and human connection. She critiques the lack of checks in social media and the tech industry's diversity gaps while proposing concrete solutions like hiring for weakness and integrating sociologists into product design. Coles also warns against the isolation fostered by dating apps, advocating for earlier voice interactions to validate compatibility and preserve meaningful relationships.
- Goldman Sachs23 min
Michael Beschloss: Leadership, War and the American Presidency
Historian Michael Beschloss's *Presidents of War* examines eight U.S. leaders from Madison to Johnson, revealing a pattern of growing religious reliance during conflict alongside a systemic erosion of Congressional war powers since 1942. The analysis contrasts empathetic leadership styles that acknowledged human cost, such as Lincoln and Truman, with manipulative tactics exemplified by Polk and Johnson that utilized disputed incidents to justify major wars. Despite the historical value of recorded conversations, the text warns that modern presidents' reliance on electronic communication and legal counsel to obscure paper trails threatens future historical understanding.
- Goldman Sachs22 min
Dan Gilbert: Creating Cultures of Success from Quicken Loans to the Cleveland Cavaliers
Quicken Loans founder Dan Gilbert pioneered the digital mortgage industry by shifting his company from brick-and-mortar to online operations in 1999 before successfully selling the firm to Intuit and repurchasing it in 2002. Leveraging a "yes before no" culture and a commitment to urban vitality, Gilbert relocated 1,400 employees to downtown Detroit in 2010, sparking a corporate-led revitalization that now anchors the city's tech ecosystem. His leadership extends to professional sports ownership in Cleveland, where he applies the same data-driven and culturally focused strategies to navigate the unique constraints of building winning franchises.
- Goldman Sachs24 min
Robert Kraft: Creating a Championship Culture
Robert Kraft, Tijana Mihajlović, Greg Carey
Robert Kraft, Chairman of the Kraft Group and owner of the New England Patriots, outlines a leadership philosophy prioritizing character and relationship-building that has transformed a struggling franchise into a five-time Super Bowl champion under his stewardship. Leveraging high-risk strategies to expand his business globally and securing private financing for Gillette Stadium during a market freeze, he has cultivated deep institutional loyalty through key hires like Bill Belichick and Tom Brady. Beyond football, Kraft serves as a foundational figure in Major League Soccer and the 2026 World Cup committee, driving youth development and national infrastructure projects while adhering to an ethical code centered on enriching the lives of others.
- Goldman Sachs23 min
Dikembe Mutombo: Empowering Athletes to Give Back
NBA legend Dikembe Mutombo, who directed 75% to 80% of his personal wealth toward the Dikembe Mutombo Foundation, has treated nearly 500,000 individuals in the Democratic Republic of Congo and is expanding his medical infrastructure through a new biochemistry high school and advanced cancer detection technology. Leveraging his background as a top-four draft pick who redefined the game's defensive standards, Mutombo advocates for four-year college education models over the "one-and-done" system while predicting NBA revenues will triple to $20 billion through expansion into Asian and African markets. His philanthropic strategy focuses on training local doctors to reduce foreign aid dependency and honoring his father's legacy, effectively shifting the league's cultural focus toward sustainable community investment.
- Goldman Sachs19 min
Hamdi Ulukaya: Creating the Culture of Chobani
Hamdi Ulukaya, a Kurdish refugee who fled Turkey in 1994, founded Chobani by purchasing a defunct Kraft yogurt plant in New York in 2005 to create a billion-dollar dairy brand rooted in accessibility and immigrant empowerment. The company now employs thousands of refugees and immigrants from nineteen nationalities, fostering a culture of shared ownership that has grown the startup from five employees to a market leader in just seven years. Beyond corporate success, Ulukaya established The Tent Partnership to mobilize CEOs in providing jobs and integration support for refugees, translating his personal history of resilience into a global strategy that prioritizes human dignity over traditional aid.
- Goldman Sachs21 min
Drew Houston: Dropbox and the Evolution of a Tech Entrepreneur
Dropbox CEO Drew Houston details his systematic approach to leadership development, emphasizing the shift from technical problem-solving to designing organizational culture and values such as "Be worthy of trust" and "Not I." He explains how the company repositioned itself from a misunderstood consumer app to a major business software platform by leveraging data showing that 80% of its subscribers use the service for work. Houston also outlines his philosophy of using personal frustration as an innovation catalyst and his strategy to prioritize triaging weaknesses over attempting to fix every imperfection during the firm's IPO.
- Goldman Sachs24 min
Jenny Reardon: The Science and Ethics of Genomics
Dr. Jenny Reardon, a scholar who transitioned from molecular biology to Science and Technology Studies, outlines the evolution from the cost-prohibitive Human Genome Project to the current era where petabytes of data necessitate population-centric analysis rather than individual interpretation. She highlights that despite achieving the "1,000-dollar genome" milestone, the field now grapples with interpreting vast numbers of variants of unknown significance, facing ethical risks from loopholes in the Genetic Non-Discrimination Act that leave consumers vulnerable to insurance discrimination. Furthermore, Reardon challenges the narrative of precision medicine by emphasizing the biological messiness of gene editing tools like CRISPR and warning against the misuse of personal genomic data for law enforcement and pharmaceutical trials without adequate safeguards.
- Goldman Sachs20 min
Peter Chernin: The Future of Digital Entertainment
Peter Chernin, John McCutchan, John McWhorter, Eric Schmidt, David Rockefeller Jr., Peter Singer
John McCutchan leveraged his experience founding Fox News to establish Otter Media, where he successfully built a 2.2 million subscriber operation free from legacy media constraints. He contrasts this agility with the stagnation of platforms like Hulu, which he argues was suppressed by parent companies prioritizing ad revenue over a potential $175 billion market opportunity. McCutchan and Eric Schmidt further warn that traditional media faces an imminent crisis as all major direct-to-consumer streaming services currently operate with significant losses, necessitating a fundamental shift from brand marketing to customer-centric problem solving.
- Goldman Sachs10 min
“Catch-Up With David”: ThirdLove’s Heidi Zak and David Spector
Heidi Zak, David Spector, David Solomon
Co-founded by Heidi Zak and Dave Binnings, Third Love disrupted the intimate apparel market by leveraging a proprietary "Fit Finder" algorithm that analyzed millions of user data points to address the statistic that 80% of U.S. women wear incorrect bra sizes. The company successfully scaled its operations to produce hundreds of thousands of units monthly without external venture capital, distinguishing itself from competitors through a female-centric culture and marketing focused on inclusivity rather than traditional retail narratives. This data-driven approach, combined with their dual-CEO leadership model, enabled the founders to refine 70 unique bra sizes and build a resilient supply chain that prioritizes precise fit and customer satisfaction over conventional industry practices.