Latest Interviews
Showing 1276–1290 of 1,410 transcripts.
Clear all filters- Milken Institute59 min
The Big Picture for Global Media (updated)
Gale Anne Hurd, Michael Lynton, Leslie Moonves, Robert Pittman, Julia Boorstin, Les Moonves
A panel of leading media executives, including Bob Pitman, Les Moonves, Michael Lynne, and Gail Berman, convened to analyze the industry's rapid transformation driven by mobile connectivity, social media engagement, and the global dominance of streaming services like Netflix. The discussion detailed specific strategic shifts such as CBS's legal battles against Aereo, the rise of international box office revenue, and the redefinition of content creation to suit binge-watching and second-screen behaviors. While the group acknowledged the challenges of advertiser adaptation and piracy, they ultimately concluded that the core value of high-quality content remains paramount despite the volatile landscape of digital distribution and potential future consolidation.
- Milken Institute1h 24m
Investing in African Prosperity (updated)
Tony Blair, Bill Gates, H.E. Paul Kagame, Strive Masiyiwa, Rhonda Zygocki, Michael Milken
A panel of government leaders, corporate executives, and development experts convened to analyze Africa's demographic surge and its potential to become a global economic powerhouse despite significant infrastructure and financial gaps. Key speakers highlighted transformative successes in nations like Rwanda and Ethiopia, alongside private sector initiatives by Chevron and the Clinton Foundation that are leveraging mobile technology, transparent governance, and direct operational partnerships to drive sustainable growth. The consensus emphasized that unlocking the continent's future requires multi-stakeholder collaboration that treats Africa as 54 distinct markets while prioritizing human capital investment and local capacity building over traditional aid models.
- Milken Institute1h 2m
Institutional Investors: Where in the World Will Returns Come From? (audio/video update)
Janet Cowell, Joseph Dear, Michael Sabia, Mauricio Wanderley, Tom Finke, Joe Deere
Representatives from CalPERS, the North Carolina State Treasurer, the Canadian Caisse de Dépôt, and Brazil's Funcef convened to detail strategies for recovering from financial crises and targeting 6.7% to 7.5% annual returns in a low-yield environment. The panelists emphasized a decisive shift away from benchmark-relative mandates toward direct ownership of real economy assets, with significant capital redeployment into private equity, infrastructure, and emerging markets like China and Brazil to hedge against inflation and fill fixed-income gaps. While noting political and monetary risks in Europe, these leaders projected a moderately offensive posture for 2013, prioritizing internal management to reduce fees and enhance long-term growth despite the scarcity of high-quality investment vehicles.
- Milken Institute1h 18m
MI Forum: Silicon Rally: L.A.'s Thriving Tech Scene (SD)
Walter Driver, Susan Feldman, Michael Jones, Dana Settle, Mike Jones
The Los Angeles tech ecosystem, known as Silicon Beach, sustains approximately $1 billion in annual venture capital while differentiating itself from coastal hubs through an emphasis on immediate revenue generation over delayed monetization. Despite producing major exits like SpaceX and Riot Games, the region faces significant headwinds including a scarcity of local late-stage funding, a shortage of experienced angel investors, and reliance on external Series B capital. To mature into a sustainable platform for multibillion-dollar valuations, the panel advocates for entrepreneurs to leverage personal expertise and tap into underutilized capital pools within diverse community family offices.
- Milken Institute1h 15m
MI Forum: The Grace of Silence
Journalist Michele Norris presented her book *The Grace of Silence* at a KCRW forum, recounting how her family's unspoken trauma regarding her grandmother's "Aunt Jemima" performances and her father's 1946 police shooting in Birmingham revealed the protective function of silence in Black American history. Norris contrasted these personal narratives with systemic racial disparities and the "post-racial" myth, arguing that unaddressed historical trauma continues to shape contemporary inequities in employment and education. The event concluded with Norris advocating for a "National Day of Listening" to preserve such family oral histories, emphasizing that acknowledging these specific stories is essential for understanding national strength rather than dwelling in pain.
- Milken Institute1h 51m
The Hot Zone Approach to Battling Gang Violence
Connie Rice, Rev. Jeff Carr, Malcolm Klein, Charlie Beck, Ray Bercini, Father Gregory Boyle, Brian Center, Mike Clouden, Richard Sandler, Father Greg Boyle, Deputy Chief Charles Beck, Detective Ray Bersini, Deputy Mayor Jeff Carr
Panelists led by Dr. Malcolm Klein and Los Angeles officials analyze the city's gang crisis, redefining the problem through five distinct gang types while critiquing the current over-reliance on individual-focused interventions. The discussion highlights a strategic shift toward evidence-based policies, such as the "Summer Night Lights" program and collaboration with organizations like Homeboy Industries, which emphasize community hope and structural economic reform over pure suppression. Despite reporting a drop in homicides from 350 to 167, experts warn that sustained political will and a $40 million investment are essential to address the underground economy and prevent a resurgence of violence.
- Milken Institute1h 24m
Where Is the Economy Headed? A View From the Presidential Campaigns
Michael J. Boskin, Leo Hindery, Jr., John McCain, Barack Obama, Mike Clouden, Peter Purcell
Economic advisors Leo Hendry for the Obama campaign and Michael Boskin for the McCain campaign engaged in a moderated policy dialogue at a Milken Institute event, debating critical issues including income inequality, the causes of the financial crisis, and the efficacy of global trade agreements. The participants presented divergent views on taxation, where Hendry advocated for repealing tax cuts for high earners to reduce deficits, while Boskin argued that such measures would harm the U.S. standard of living and cited technology rather than policy as the primary driver of inequality. Through structured opening statements and rebuttals, the forum highlighted deep disagreements on regulatory approaches to the mortgage crisis and the role of government intervention in stimulating the economy.
- Milken Institute1h 22m
The Future of Biofuels: Can This Green Energy Pay Off - and Save the Planet?
Roger Conway, Daniel Gardenswartz, Richard Hamilton, Glenn Yago, Joel
The Milken Institute's Capital Studies program convened experts from the USDA and private sector to analyze the technical and economic realities of three biofuel generations, emphasizing advanced cellulosic and algal technologies. Panelists highlighted that while government programs like the Biomass Crop Assistance Program are addressing the critical funding gap between research and commercialization, economic parity with fossil fuels is projected within two to three years as yields improve and costs decline. The discussion concluded that a diversified energy portfolio is essential, countering concerns about food security by demonstrating how genetically enhanced crops can sequester carbon and utilize marginal land without displacing food production.
- Milken Institute59 min
Mid-Market Private Equity (updated)
Lauren Leichtman, Brian Reynolds, Ted Virtue, Barry Volpert, Kneeland Youngblood, Adam Sokoloff
Industry leaders including Lauren Leichman, Ted Virtue, and Barry Volpert convened to analyze the current middle-market landscape, highlighting a surge in refinancing activity and secondary buyouts driven by abundant capital and favorable credit conditions. While mega-funds compete on lower IRR mandates, mid-market firms leverage operational expertise and lower leverage to target distinct valuation gaps, particularly in the $200 million to $1 billion enterprise value range. The panel concluded that despite LP demands for concentration and compliance, the sector is poised for sustained growth through strategic carve-outs, cross-border expansion, and a predicted "harvesting wave" of exits over the next five years.
- Milken Institute1h 2m
Leaning In or Pushed Out: Where Are the Senior Women in Business?
Richard Ditizio, Margery Kraus, Sallie Krawcheck, Lauren Leichtman, Liz Claman, Marjorie Kraus, Michelle Kidley, Jeff, Manjuka Nariwala
Despite women comprising over half of college graduates, their representation in senior financial leadership remains stagnant at roughly 16%, a regression driven by systemic biases like the "intellectual honesty" trap and the double-bind of perceived aggression. Panelists highlighted that while diverse management teams generate over 30% higher returns, institutional inertia persists due to regressive maternity policies and a flexibility paradox that sidelines working mothers. To address this, experts recommend leveraging investor pressure through shareholder voting, utilizing regulatory CAMEL ratings to penalize homogenous boards, and fostering mandatory male inclusion to dismantle the status quo.
- Milken Institute57 min
Copy of In Tech We Trust? A Debate with Peter Thiel and Marc Andreessen
Peter Thiel argues that the US is experiencing a "computer rust belt" of stagnation in physical infrastructure and productivity despite massive R&D spending, attributing this decline to cultural risk aversion and excessive regulation. Mark Andreessen counters that innovation is actively progressing in sectors like social media, electric vehicles, and clean energy, viewing current skepticism as a recurring historical pattern where transformative technologies are initially dismissed. Both speakers agree that entrenched government monopolies and rigid regulatory frameworks are the primary barriers to accelerating living standards, though they differ on whether the decline is driven by a genuine lack of invention or merely a failure to recognize modern breakthroughs.
- Milken Institute54 min
Inventing the Impossible
Nolan Bushnell, Pablos Holman, Salim Ismail, Marco Tempest, Ken Rutkowski
This event convenes leading experts to analyze how exponential technology trends are disrupting linear industries like education and healthcare while accelerating global innovation. Speakers detail Singularity University's strategy for training diverse cohorts to solve billion-person problems and showcase transformative solutions ranging from nuclear waste-fueled reactors to personalized AI-driven learning models. The proceedings further highlight how crowdfunding has democratized capital access, enabling rapid prototyping and shifting the focus of human space exploration toward robotics and bioengineering.
- Milken Institute1h 1m
Global Opportunities in Commercial Real Estate (mobile v2)
Peter Lowy, William McMorrow, Nicholas Schorsch, Barry Sternlicht, Sam Zell, Lewis Feldman, Lou Feldman, Bill McMorrow
Prominent industry figures including Sam Zell, Barry Sternlich, and Bill McMorrow analyze a global real estate landscape characterized by $320 billion in capital flows and a strategic shift away from high-leverage speculation toward stable, yield-focused asset classes. The discussion highlights distinct regional opportunities such as Irish and Latin American growth against European recession, while addressing operational challenges like rising security costs and the integration of physical retail with digital channels. Ultimately, the panel concludes that the United States offers the superior risk-adjusted returns for the coming year, driven by currency stability and disciplined underwriting in staple sectors like multi-family housing and net lease properties.
- Milken Institute1h 15m
Impact Investing in Israel Roundtable
Lorin Fife, Alan Hoffmann, Carl Kaplan, Yaron Neudorfer, Izzy Tapoohi, Davida Lachman-Messer, Shari Birenbach
This panel featured industry leaders including Didi Lachman, Lorraine Alexander, and Alan Hoffman, who advocated for impact investing as a necessary vehicle to scale social funding in Israel by leveraging the 95% of foundation assets not required for annual grants. Key speakers presented diverse financial instruments ranging from social impact bonds and social venture funds to earmarked Israel Bonds, projecting that these mechanisms could generate the required 7% returns while addressing inequalities among underserved populations. The discussion concluded with a roadmap for establishing a social investment bank and standardizing impact measurements to overcome institutional conservatism and mobilize public-private partnerships.
- Milken Institute1h 0m
Value and Values: Building a High-Performance Company (updated)
Marc Benioff, Ken Hicks, Jay Rasulo, Walter Robb, Tom Wyatt, Willow Bay
CEOs from Salesforce, Whole Foods, Disney, Foot Locker, and Knowledge Universe convened to outline strategies where integrating core values with business performance drives long-term success. The panel highlighted specific operational shifts, such as Salesforce's 1-1-1 philanthropy model, Whole Foods' rapid transparency on supply chain issues, and Foot Locker's move toward distributed decision-making, all designed to build trust with millennials and investors. Executives concluded that in an era of accelerated competition, organizational culture and ethical accountability have become the primary differentiators for attracting talent and sustaining growth.