Latest Interviews
Showing 1–9 of 9 transcripts.
Clear all filters- Goldman Sachs21 min
The Exit Interview: Jake Siewert on the Media, Communications and the Role of Podcasts
After a decade-long tenure transforming Goldman Sachs' external narrative, Global Head of Communications Jake Seward is stepping down from his role and the "Exchanges at Goldman Sachs" podcast in favor of Senior Strategist Allison Nathan. Seward's departure follows a strategic era where the firm shifted from silence to a proactive, direct-to-consumer media model that utilized deep-dive conversations to bridge the gap between internal culture and public perception. Under the new leadership, the program continues to evolve by bypassing traditional gatekeepers to serve niche industries while prioritizing employee engagement and expert interviews over daily market commentary.
- Goldman Sachs13 min
The Outlook for Airlines in 2021
Facing a demand trajectory where passenger volume remains roughly 60% below 2019 levels, the airline industry has weathered a $24 billion loss in the first three quarters of 2020 while securing $54 billion in public debt and utilizing $25 billion in CARES Act grants. Despite operational adjustments such as discontinued middle seat blocking and waived change fees, financial experts project a prolonged recovery period with full pre-pandemic demand not resuming until 2023 due to heightened debt loads and suppressed corporate travel. With consolidation unlikely among the top four domestic carriers and fleet strategies focused on retiring older aircraft, the sector anticipates a gradual return to pre-pandemic business models by 2023.
- Goldman Sachs28 min
Anne Applebaum, Author of "Twilight of Democracy"
Author Anne Applebaum analyzes how the professionalization of politics and the shift to digital fragmentation have fueled radical far-right movements in Poland, the United Kingdom, and the United States to hollow out democratic institutions. She details specific strategies employed by leaders like Poland's Law and Justice Party and the U.S. Republican Party under Donald Trump, which rely on rejecting opposition legitimacy and manufacturing societal chaos to maintain power. While forecasting divergent 2024 outcomes that could either entrench authoritarianism or force a traditional center-right reformation, Applebaum highlights rising grassroots engagement among younger generations as a critical bulwark against democratic decline.
- Goldman Sachs28 min
"The Battle for Our Screens," Part 3: Social Media in the Social Distancing Age
Heather Bellini, Piyush Mubayi, Jane Dunlevie, Jake Siewert, Heath Terry, Jane Dunleavy
This event analyzed how the 2020 pandemic accelerated social media engagement, drove Zoom's user base to expand sixfold, and normalized short-form video usage in Asian markets while sparking VR/AR adoption. Speakers identified scaling infrastructure and content moderation as critical operational hurdles, noting that platforms like TikTok succeeded through superior UX and algorithmic efficiency. The discussion further projected a robust M&A landscape where acquirers prioritize video capabilities and social commerce, despite a divergence between declining revenue expectations and rising stock valuations.
- Goldman Sachs47 min
"The Battle for Our Screens," Part 2: The Future of Work
Heather Bellini, Ryan Nolan, Tammy Kiely, Renee James, Jake Siewert, Heath Terry, Marco Argenti
The rapid acceleration of remote work has triggered a wholesale shift in enterprise infrastructure, compressing two years of digital transformation into mere months and driving a decisive move from legacy systems to cloud-based Unified Communications as a Service. While global knowledge workers and institutions like Goldman Sachs successfully navigated unprecedented usage spikes through virtualized desktops and hybrid collaboration tools, the market is now consolidating around "Enterprise 4.0" standards that prioritize distributed security, automated workflows, and a blended office model. This new paradigm is attracting significant capital inflows for Series A to IPO-stage companies, fundamentally reshaping real estate footprints and IT budget strategies toward operational expenditure and data insights at the edge.
- Goldman Sachs37 min
"The Battle For Our Screens," Part 1: The Race to Entertain Us
Brett Feldman, Adam Agress, Alekhya Uppalapati, Jake Siewert, Heath Terry, Jake Seward
The pandemic accelerated a structural shift in media consumption, driving a 13% decline in Pay TV households while triggering a 100% surge in streaming engagement and record-breaking mobile gaming spending. Key industry players like AMC and Universal adapted by compressing theatrical release windows to just 17 days, while Disney leveraged its exclusive library to boost Disney+ downloads and test direct-to-consumer models through premium-priced movie releases. As traditional broadcasters face significant ratings erosion, the sector is reallocating $150 billion in legacy revenue toward digital alternatives, with studios and theaters negotiating new financial frameworks to sustain profitability amid heightened production costs and shifting consumer behaviors.
- Goldman Sachs16 min
Why Investing in the Longest Bull Market in History is Still a Smart Move
Sharmin Mossavar-Rahmani, Jake Siewert, Jake Seward
Goldman Sachs Private Wealth Management's 2020 "Room to Grow" report argues that the current economic expansion will likely persist through 2020, citing favorable central bank policies, a low 20% recession probability, and balanced market conditions that support an 87% chance of positive returns. The firm recommends a strategic overweight in U.S. equities driven by superior demographics and productivity, while cautioning that high capital gains taxes make it inefficient for investors to sell assets waiting for a market dip. Although the analysis acknowledges short-term volatility from geopolitical tensions and the coronavirus outbreak, it projects that disinflationary trends and robust household balance sheets will allow underlying economic growth to reassert itself within months.
- Goldman Sachs25 min
Episode 140: Why Startups Shouldn’t All Be Pitched As “Tech Companies”
Jake Siewert, Gregg Lemkau, Brynn Putnam, Ryan Petersen
At the Goldman Sachs Builders and Innovators Conference, over 100 global entrepreneurs, including Mirror CEO Bryn Putnam and Flexport COO Ryan Peterson, presented strategies for scaling high-growth businesses in an investment climate focused on total addressable market and long-term profitability. Putnam outlined Mirror's pivot toward a SaaS and media valuation model to diversify beyond hardware, while Peterson detailed Flexport's transition from aggressive expansion to unit economics profitability within the sclerotic global logistics sector. Participants and panelists emphasized that future success depends on rigorous fundraising discipline, the ability to navigate complex regulatory environments, and a founder mindset driven by market frustration rather than wealth accumulation.
- Goldman Sachs34 min
Bret Stephens: "New York Times" Op-Ed Columnist
Bret Stephens, Jake Siewert, Brett Stevens
Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Brett Stevens, a former Jerusalem Post editor with a background in political philosophy, delivered a speech titled "The Dying Art of Disagreement" warning that political certitude and the erosion of free press threaten liberal democracy. Stevens critiqued the isolationist trends in U.S. foreign policy, condemned the Republican Party's failure to check executive overreach, and highlighted the dangers of media algorithms creating thought silos. He argued that healthy democracies require robust disagreement and contrarian voices, urging both journalists and voters to reject the toxic "certitudinousness" that fuels extremism and undermines global security.