Podcasts about rock center

(0:00) Intro(2:06) About the podcast sponsor: The American College of Governance Counsel(2:53) Start of interview. *Reference to prior episodes with Joe (E1 from '20, E35 from '21, E84 from '23, E123 from '24)(4:53) The future of the SEC with Chairman Paul Atkins (6:30) New approach to crypto by SEC(9:40) On the politicization of corporate governance(10:48) On the future of ESG ("Extremely Subjective Guessing") and DEI ("Decrease Emphasis Immediately")(14:18) On DOGE, and how it plays out(17:13) On the influence of Silicon Valley in the new Trump Administration(21:40) On Delaware's Corporate Landscape (two canaries in the coalmine: pre-IPO incorporations and re-domestications)(25:01) On the Tornetta v Musk case, and challenging the award of $345 million in attorneys' fees to the plaintiffs(28:54) AI and the malpractice insurance system. "How AI eats the world"(32:52) On OpenAI's structure and PBCs. On "exit tax" from converting from non-profit to for-profit.(36:49) How do corporations relate to (an increasingly polarized) society: big theme for 2025.(38:05) Biggest winner and loser in business in 2024(40:38) Biggest business surprise in 2024 (42:46) Best and worst corporate governance trend from 2024(43:05) What's the biggest corporate governance trend to watch out for in 2025Joe Grundfest is the William A. Franke Professor of Law and Business Emeritus at Stanford Law School and Senior Faculty at the Rock Center for Corporate Governance. You can follow Evan on social media at:X: @evanepsteinLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/epsteinevan/ Substack: https://evanepstein.substack.com/__To support this podcast you can join as a subscriber of the Boardroom Governance Newsletter at https://evanepstein.substack.com/__Music/Soundtrack (found via Free Music Archive): Seeing The Future by Dexter Britain is licensed under a Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License

Venture Capital | Innovation | Mobility Trends | Sustainability | Career Transition | Investment | Community | Advice Join us for an engaging conversation with Samantha Huang, Principal at BMW i Ventures, where she focuses on early-stage investments in transformative technologies such as AI, big data, Industry 4.0, mobility innovation, and sustainability. With a passion for driving progress, Samantha dives deep into the trends shaping the future of transportation, the next generation of human experiences, and the rise of sustainable solutions.In this interview, Samantha reflects on her dynamic career journey, from her legal and research background to her role in venture capital. She shares her expertise on what it takes to succeed in the fast-paced VC world, insights into emerging opportunities in mobility and sustainability, and advice for aspiring leaders looking to navigate the evolving landscape of innovation and investment.Samantha holds a J.D. from UC Berkeley Law School and an MA in history from Stanford University. A licensed California attorney, she previously worked as Lead Researcher at the Rock Center for Corporate Governance at Stanford University, focusing on innovation, immigration, and entrepreneurship. Samantha is also a dedicated advocate for diversity and empowerment in venture capital, serving as Board Director for the Asian Law Caucus and Board Director and Head of Content for the Emerging Venture Capitalists Association, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting the next generation of venture capitalists.Don't miss this opportunity to learn from one of the leading voices shaping the future of venture capital and technology! Follow Samantha's updates online: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samantha-huang-10375b106/ 

We are back with our biannual mega-episode exploring the major auction season in New York. As always for these in-depth looks we are joined by market expert, our friend Lock Kresler . Lock is a true subject matter expert and we get into all the lots, their consignors and what to expect as the three main houses gear up for their main spring sales week in new york. In the light of art market headwinds there is a ton at stake and we get into it all in this 1+ hour long episode. You won't want to raise your paddle until you have listened to this episode. Note that much like our friends in Rock Center we experienced some minor technical difficulties that are distracting but (hopefully) not rehabilitating. But hey, its a free podcast and at least we can say with confidence that none of your personal information was put at risk. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/benjamin-godsill/support

(0:00) Intro.(2:21) About this podcast's sponsor: The American College of Governance Counsel.(3:08) Start of interview.(3:50) On  collapse of SVB & other banks. Lessons for board members. *Reference to video from Stanford Rock Center(12:00) On the state of private markets and unicorns. Downturn and shutdowns in VC-backed startups. *Per Pitchbook: “Approx 3,200 private VC-backed U.S. companies have gone out of business this year. Combined, those companies raised north of $27B.”(15:32) On the growth of AI. "The pixie dust."(18:25) On OpenAI's board fiasco and the company's controversial structure."The fundamental problem is with the idea that you can achieve what OpenAI wanted to achieve in terms of guardrails. That's the fundamental point. The second problem is the structure. The structure was all wrong. And the third problem was the people. These were the wrong people to be serving on these boards with the wrong structure, or seeking an objective that can't be obtained." *reference to public choice theory, impossibility theorem by Ken Arrow.*Reference to innovations in corporate governance structures of AI companies (OpenAI, Anthropic, xAI).(26:07) On geopolitics of AI: China not bound by same guardrails.(28:56) On the crypto industry and its regulatory challenges. The case of Ripple vs SEC.(33:11) Fraud in private markets (ie Elizabeth Holmes, SBF, Trevor Milton and other high profile convictions).(34:18)  ESG/DEI backlash and the politicization of corporation governance. "This is situation where less is more."(38:27)  Biggest winner in business in 2023.(40:32)  Biggest loser in business in 2023.(42:46) Biggest business surprise of 2023.(45:43)  Best and worst corporate governance trend from 2023.(47:24) The biggest corporate governance trend to watch out for in 2024.Joseph A. Grundfest is the William A. Franke Professor of Law and Business Emeritus at Stanford Law School and Senior Faculty of the Rock Center for Corporate Governance. He is a former Commissioner of the SEC and co-founded Financial Engines with Professor William F. Sharpe, the 1990 Nobel Prize winner in Economics. He formerly served as a director of KKR and Oracle. You can follow Evan on social media at:Twitter: @evanepsteinLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/epsteinevan/ Substack: https://evanepstein.substack.com/__You can join as a Patron of the Boardroom Governance Podcast at:Patreon: patreon.com/BoardroomGovernancePod__Music/Soundtrack (found via Free Music Archive): Seeing The Future by Dexter Britain is licensed under a Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License

This is our 25th show and on this one, we flip the tables on Javier. Why is he doing this and what has he learned? Lori Sunn guest-hosts and asks him similar questions to the ones he asks guests of Top Of The Game. This episode is a few minutes longer than usual--> ‘Top of The Game (in) Overtime' shows are released occasionally. JAVIER'S BIO Javier Saade is Founder & Managing Partner of Impact Master Holdings, Venture Partner at Fenway Summer, and Operating Partner at Presidio Investors. He is also Chairman of the Board of Directors of GP Funding, Inc. (a private equity-owned company), Executive Fellow at Harvard Business School, and CNBC Contributor. Until recently he served as Audit Committee Chair of the Board of SoftBank Vision Fund Investment Corp. (NASDAQ: SVFA), Lead Independent Director of the Board of Porch Group, Inc.(NASDAQ: PRCH), and held leadership roles on the Boards of Trustees of Pan American Development Foundation and The Nature Conservancy. He also held seats on the Global Board of Advisors of Docusign, Inc. (NASDAQ: DOCU) and Board of Advisors of Univision Communications, Inc., and is on the Board of Harvard's Rock Center for Entrepreneurship and is a Member Candidate of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) Board Advisory Council. In 2013, he was appointed by President Obama to serve as Associate Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and was the agency's Chief of Investment and Innovation. He led programs that have invested over $120 billion in 300,000+ companies and technologies. Javier concurrently held a seat on the Committee for Small & Emerging Companies at the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC), subsequently served on the Presidential Transition Team focused on the U.S. Department of Treasury and the Advisory Committee for Trade Policy & Negotiation at the White House. Prior to public service, Javier spent 20 years in investing, operating and leadership roles at McKinsey & Company, Bridgewater Associates, Booz Allen & Hamilton (NYSE:BAH), GEM Group, Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) and Air America, a company he co-founded. He is a Founding Member of Fast Company's Impact Council, Member of Aspen Institute's Latinos & Society and served as mentor at Techstars, Kauffman Fellows and Stanford's Latino Leadership Program, as Senior Fellow at Georgetown's Beeck Center, and as Executive in Residence at Columbia Technology Ventures. He frequently writes & speaks about the economy, technology, digital finance, venture capital, sustainability, entrepreneurship, innovation, governance, stewardship, leadership, economic policy and capital markets. Articles, interviews, media appearances, congressional testimony and some additional endeavors can be found here. Javier holds an MBA from Harvard, MS in Operations & Technology from Illinois Institute of Technology and BS in Industrial Management from Purdue University. GENERAL INFO| TOP OF THE GAME: Official website: https://topofthegame-thepod.com/ RSS Feed: https://feed.podbean.com/topofthegame-thepod/feed.xml Hosting service show website: https://topofthegame-thepod.podbean.com/ Javier's LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/javiersaade & Bio: https://tinyurl.com/36ufz6cs  SUPPORT & CONNECT: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/96934564 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61551086203755 Twitter: https://twitter.com/TOPOFGAMEpod Subscribe on Podbean: https://www.podbean.com/site/podcatcher/index/blog/vLKLE1SKjf6G Email us: info@topofthegame-thepod.com   THANK YOU FOR LISTENING – AVAILABLE ON ALL MAJOR PLATFORMS

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What you'll learn in this episode: How Kentshire's partnership with Ulla Johnson came about and what they hope will come of it Why Matthew doesn't want his clients to keep their fine jewelry in a safe deposit box Why “Do I love it?” is the first question Matthew asks when looking at jewelry, and why things like designer or carats may not be as important as you think How Covid changed the vintage jewelry market How dealers work together to source the best jewelry for their clients About Matthew Imberman Matthew Imberman, along with his sister Carrie, are the co-presidents of Kentshire Galleries. Established in 1940 and spanning three generations of family ownership, Kentshire Galleries is one of the foremost dealers of fine period and estate jewelry. In 1988, Kentshire established a free-standing boutique in New York's premier luxury store, Bergdorf Goodman. Their antique and estate jewelry department continues to occupy a select location on the store's seventh floor. As the third generation of the family to lead Kentshire, Matthew and Carrie continue to refine the gallery's founding vision: buying and selling outstanding jewelry and objects of enduring design and elegance. Additional resources: Website Facebook Twitter Instagram Pinterest Photos Available on TheJewelryJourney.com Transcript: Through a partnership with fashion designer Ulla Johnson, Kentshire Fine Jewelry will have a permanent presence on the West Coast for the first time. While other dealers might change their approach to appeal to a new market, co-president Matthew Imberman continues to buy jewelry based on one criterium: whether he loves the piece or not. He joined the Jewelry Journey Podcast to talk about the history behind the collaboration with Ulla Johnson; why following trends isn't the best way to buy jewelry; and how Covid changed his business in surprising ways. Read the episode transcript here. Sharon: Hello, everyone. Welcome to the Jewelry Journey Podcast. This is the second part of a two-part episode. If you haven't heard part one, please head to TheJewelryJourney.com. Today, my guest is Matthew Imberman, who, along with his sister, Carrie, is Co-President of Kentshire Fine Jewelry. Welcome back. And that's what you look for in the jewelry you're purchasing, whether it's Bergdorf— Matthew: Absolutely. Look, it's not to say there aren't some things that excite that are unusual or might be something we've had before, but we still love them. There are certain archetypes of jewelry, like a great French tank bracelet. Those are out there, but there are great ones and then there are O.K. ones. I think we're always looking to find one of the best or better versions of what we can find in the category. Are we going to say that every single item we get is unique? No, that's not the case. These things were made in stereo even in their lifetimes, so we're looking for the best examples, in the best condition and the best materials for those kinds of items. Sharon: Do people bring you jewelry and say, “My mother died, and I want to sell this”? Matthew: Yes, we certainly get that, or “This was in my safe deposit box.” Certainly, it's part of it, which is a good part of it. There are times when we are able to source good pieces from our clients. I think it depends, because we deal in nostalgia and people who come to us with pieces that were left to them by family members. There's a nostalgia link, and there can sometimes be a bit of telephone between what they were told. Let's use, for example, if they say, “My grandmother left this to me, and my grandmother told me that this is where she got it. This is what it was.” The stories sometimes change over time, not from any evil intentions, but just because people didn't save receipts or they don't know exactly what it is. So, somebody will come up and say, “Oh, I have this piece. It's just like what I saw in your store, and my grandmother left it to me. I want to bring it in.” They'll bring it in, and when you hold what they brought and what we're selling next to it, they're very, very, very distant cousins. It's not that theirs is inherently bad, but it's not exactly the same thing. But people tend to look at items through a nostalgic viewpoint. So, they say, “Oh, I was left this,” “My grandmother told me this diamond ring is worth X amount.” It puts us in the awkward position of saying, “Well, it's a lovely thing, but it's not exactly what you were told it was.” Those are some of the stories, but by and large, we're given the opportunity to see wonderful collections from our clients. We're fortunate enough to have them be loyal, if they have more pieces, and to come back to us. We don't frequently buy from the public, but it's not something we never do. Sharon: Where do you source a lot of your things from? Do you ask? Do you source it from abroad or whoever walks in the door? Matthew: We mostly work with a small group of dealers like ourselves. They're people who have been in the trade a long time. Trust is still a big part of our business. We have to know each other. We're dealing in valuable items, things where trust is important and you want to know who you're buying from. I think that's the case in any business for the most part. But we mostly buy from dealers like ourselves who are in this world. Whether or not they're retailing, they're dealing with other jewelers to sell pieces they understand so they can place them. For instance, I might have a client for a piece and one of my colleagues in England I know might have a version of what I need and I can call them up. In that way, it allows me to have a greater reach than just my inventory. The colleagues are not competition in the sense that we need each other to stay in business. It's a small group of goods that we all admire and we all like to buy and sell, but we also have to do that with each other so we can have the inventory we need to service our clients. One of my colleagues in France can have something if they need it. So, it's really an old-world business that way. Then auctions are really hyper-retail, at the end of the day, for a lot of pieces. I think they've done a great job of convincing people that there's a steal to be had, but when you look at the prices and how they land, if you're buying a bracelet, it's going to end up for around the same price, if not more, than what you'll pay in my store or one of my colleague's stores. But it comes with a three-inch-thick binder about why, if something's wrong with it, it's not their fault and how they don't offer any post-sale service and yada, yada, yada. We all deal with the auction houses to a certain extent out of necessity, but we're not very bullish on them, and I think for pretty understandable reasons. Every once in a while, we look at estate sales. People who buy estates are buying the entire thing, and we're cherry pickers. We're looking for the three or four really interesting items, and to do that, you usually have to buy the entire estate. So, we rarely do that, given that we're working with a specific and small group of goods. Sharon: Have you always been involved? You had a career before this, right? Matthew: At this point, I've been in the business for about 22 years, I think, if I'm doing the math right. Not always on the jewelry side, although always around it. Like I said, we also had a large business in antique furniture, English and continental furniture and decorative arts at the same time we had jewelry. I was originally on that side of the business. Before that, I did a master's in art history, so I was gone for a while. That was part of what made sense in terms of coming in the business, but also in terms of lending itself to jewelry. The specific studies we did, it was in decorative arts. You're covering a lot of the different motifs and the techniques that were also happening in jewelry at the time. So, that planted the seed. I spent some time in contemporary art before that, working at the Met on their website, but that's ages ago now. Sharon: In the past few years, you mentioned people being less formal. Out here we're so casual. Here you can wear nice jewelry, but a pair of shorts and a T-shirt. Have you seen a change in the kinds of things people buy? What are the trends you see? Matthew: I think it's challenging sometimes for people like us, who aren't dealing in manufactured goods, to look at the trends and to understand if these are actually sales-driven trends or things that are catching an eye on social media. Instagram will load your feed with them, but does that translate to what is actually being bought and sold meaningfully? It's interesting when I see little trends pop up on Instagram and people start running with them. Whether it's a designer or a type of good or it's the newest thing, they're talking about vintage jewelry. They're talking about something that people have been buying and selling for decades, if not centuries at this point. It's always the phase of, who is deciding which trend is in? For us, we're trend agnostic. I don't buy something with the idea of “This is going to be the next big thing,” or “Everyone right now is focused on this.” There's been a moment of people buying Georges L'Enfant jewelry, but people have been buying Georges L'Enfant jewelry for a long time in America without knowing necessarily who the maker was. They're just now catching up on, “Oh, that was a maker who was making for Hermès, VanCleef, Cartier, and who in their own right was an incredible designer who was making pieces for bigger houses.” They may know the bigger houses without knowing the maker. That can raise the price of L'Enfant overall, but for us, it's not going to change specifically how we buy because we have to find a piece. If I walk out tomorrow and see three L'Enfant pieces, and those three L'Enfant pieces don't belong in a collection, it doesn't matter that they're buying L'Enfant. It doesn't matter that that may be trendy. If I don't think they belong in a collection, then they don't belong in the collection. My sister has extremely rigorous standards, and I do too, so we buy the best examples of what we like. People say that all the time. They say, “What do you buy?” and we think “We buy what we like.” We wish we could explain it better, but it's just how we are. Every couple of years, people will launch an article and say, “Oh, the brooch is back,” and I think, “That's a bit lazy. The brooches never got away.” Some people will feel less comfortable wearing them, some people will feel more comfortable, or people might say, “Oh, it's old-fashioned,” and this or that. But for dealers, we all buy and sell brooches. It doesn't change my feeling. If I see a beautiful one, a beautiful pin, we want to buy it. If my sister sees a beautiful 18th-century brooch and she thinks it's great, she's not going to say, “Huh, well, brooches don't sell.” Is it the right brooch? Does it represent something we think our clients should own? One of my friends who's out on the West Coast said, “Oh, so you're going to bring a lot of astrology signs,” and I said, “If we have nice ones, absolutely.” I understood what they were saying. There certainly is a great market on the West Coast if you have a wonderful Cartier zodiac collection, for sure. We're not going to buy that because they could do well out there. That's not who we are. If we see one that's particularly interesting and has a great weight and represents an acceptable value given how those have crept up in price over the years, yes. But just because we're there, we're not going to be doing that, if that makes sense. Sharon: If somebody brings you a pair of earrings that don't fit with what people are going to wear today, but in your opinion they're well-made and well-priced, would you be interested? Matthew: Absolutely, because we don't approach it through other people telling us what people won't wear today. We have clients in a lot of different areas of the world, different ages, different price points for what they're buying. We can just look at it and say, “You know what? We think this is a good looker.” If there are 10 articles tomorrow by somebody in the know saying, “No one is wearing this kind of earring anymore,” that's not going to affect our thinking because we're not buying pieces retroactive to what trends are happening. We're buying what we like, and we like to think that anyone, whether they're trend-driven or not, can come and see our collection and find something that might speak to them. Sharon: Have you seen a decrease in the age of people who come in and can't find anything because maybe they're looking for something that isn't jewelry? Matthew: I think for us, the understandable barrier to entry is always going to be price, withholding our costume collection, in which you can find pieces that are in the hundreds of dollars range. Fine jewelry in our collection by and large starts at $3,000-ish and creeps upwards to millions of dollars. We understand that not everyone puts the same value on jewelry as we do. So, for some people coming in, if they're looking to buy a piece of jewelry, they might have a totally different price point in mind than what our collection is, and that we certainly understand. We've always tried to have a range of prices. Part of the challenge, though, is because we deal in pieces that are made up of commodities, gold, diamond, things like that, and those commodities have prices that fluctuate. As gold has gotten very strong, the price for us to buy good gold jewelry has gone up because the gold is more valuable, so the price for our clients is more expensive. That's also a good insurer for them, in that if you own gold jewelry, the value has continued to grow as the price of gold goes up. We don't really buy that way. There are some dealers who will buy very specifically based on what the piece weighs if they have to scrap it and what the value of gold is today. We're not buying pieces that we hope anyone would melt down at any point, especially when you're looking at antique pieces. The amount of gold in an antique piece, because of the way they were constructed for the most part, they're not going to be particularly heavy in terms of how much gold is going to come out of them. So, the value isn't in the actual materials there. I think it just represents something a little bit different. Certainly, on Instagram we get more information about what our younger clients are looking for. Everyone sees value in different places. How they want to spend it changes, and how we're able to conduct the business in terms of skewing towards younger clients changes, but we've been encouraged to see our client base on Instagram start to fall in line toward what we see in the store. It really represents the spread of ages. Sharon: There's all this talk about younger people. I'm not talking about 18-year-olds or younger. Everybody in the world is younger than I am, but you hear about younger people not wanting to buy jewelry. They don't buy as much jewelry even though they could afford it. They just don't buy as much. Matthew: I will say that our main client was never a “young” client simply because of the prices we're talking about for most people. Even if they didn't want these things or maybe were saving for a house, I think what's different is if you look at the advent of how handbags have become such a status symbol, the prices of handbags are commensurate, if not much greater than a lot of fine jewelry. That creates a really interesting secondary market for handbag resale. I think the story people got in the pandemic was everyone saying, “Oh, they just want experiences,” but we're talking about a time period when everyone was fetishizing experiences because we were all locked inside and couldn't do anything. We had robust sales, surprisingly, during Covid, and when we were coming out of Covid, too. We had a steady increase in new clients because I think people were excited to be out again, excited to be wearing something, excited to not just be dressed for a Zoom meeting. I think jewelry plays a part in that story most remarkably. It's wearing your sculpture around and drawing attention to yourself in what we'd like to think is a unique way, hopefully wearing something that not everyone else has. Sharon: You answered the next question before I asked it, which is did you see a change? I heard from jewelers that they were seeing an increase during Covid because people weren't going to fundraisers or whatever, but they were spending their money. Matthew: It's interesting I answered something where there is sort of a long family story. I have a meandering way to answer any question, I know, but I'm glad I had one at least. Did we speak during Covid or right before when we had our first interview? I can't remember, but I do remember thinking when Covid hit, “We had a really good Christmas. If we don't sell another piece of jewelry for a year or so, we'll be fine. We'll just batten down the hatches,” but like anything else, people still wanted to collect. People wanted to look at something new, boost their spirits, what have you. People weren't going to fundraising dinners or vacations, so this was something where they said, “Normally I would spend X amount eating out, but now it turns out I've saved all this money not eating out. I can afford a beautiful bracelet.” We were surprised that happened. During Covid, the real challenge became finding goods. We could sell things and send them, but it became very challenging to see our colleagues, to find pieces, to do all that. That's where we had to get a lot more clever and targeted for how we acquired things. Coming out of Covid, I think we're all playing catchup, and not just from our business' standpoint. Everyone is. Everyone's calendar has changed a little bit. A lot of our clients who would go out to the Hamptons for the summer but would be here during the year realized that their job is more portable than they thought, or they've changed how they work altogether so they're out of their house a lot more. So, they're shopping on our website now instead of coming into the store. Or, they're out at their houses, which they're fortunate enough to have wherever they are, at other parts of the year, so when summer comes, they're in New York at times and we don't expect them. Weirdly, our summers used to be rather quiet but tolerable at Bergdorf, and we would expect to get some of our bigger administrative projects done. Now we find that people are coming in and tourists are coming in in the summer, when it used to be very slow. We have to change when we take our vacations, when we need to do our projects, how we plan for the fall season, which has come and gone in terms of when the planning has to happen. It keeps us on our toes, but part of what's good about being a small ship is that we're nimble, so we're able to course correct pretty quickly if we have to. We've been in Bergdorf long enough to know the rhythms of the store. What I don't think any of us anticipated was what tourism would be like in New York, especially with the story being what it was elsewhere. We found ourselves really blown away with the reaction of people coming back to the city and how many people were coming through. In my short walk between Rock Center, where we have our offices, and Bergdorf, which our staff will do multiple times a day bringing goods back and forth, it got to a point where you couldn't walk down Fifth Avenue. I'd go to Sixth Avenue and walk down there because it was so busy. It's been interesting to see the resurgence of people visiting the city. We have more people coming to Bergdorf, which leads to more sales. We keep ourselves busy trying to find new pieces. Sharon: That's very interesting. I hadn't thought about that, especially when you say the jobs are more portable. I think I'm the only one who's at home on their couch looking at Instagram. Matthew: I can tell you from behind-the-scenes looks at our Instagram numbers, you're not. Even for us, we have to be in our offices because we work with a physical, tangible good. I couldn't be a person who works from home all the time. I also don't think I would be well-suited to the routine of being in an office. But we need to be in and around the jewelry district to see new pieces as they come in, to run a repair. We physically have to be there, but even in the realm of what we do, we're more flexible. If I need to work on the road or work from home or do something here or there, the technology has made it so we can do that, too. For all our clients, it's the same thing. The social calendar in New York has changed dramatically as some events have changed over and come and gone. What people feel they need to go to, how people are dressing for them, that's changed a bit, too, so it's changed how people buy. Obviously, the holiday season is always a very strong season for people in our world and when we do a lot of business, but we find it's spread out around the year a lot more now as people are not buying for occasion-specific pieces. They're not just saying, “I've got this birthday, this anniversary.” The pace of their lives has changed it. Sharon: That's interesting. You preempted my question. I was going to ask you about changes. Does that impact how you think about Los Angeles or the West Coast, where there are no seasonal changes really? Matthew: In terms of seasonal changes, I have friends who work in different areas, whether they're in a hifalutin financial position or they're consultants at luxury groups, and they come and say, “We want to help with this.” They'll look through and figure out how to optimize or create a strategy. When they spent time with us, they realized, “We do not know how you do what you do.” It doesn't really subscribe to the more traditional models of how somebody might run this kind of business. I understand that if you are Tiffany and you're doing things on the West Coast, you might change how you skew your line sheet for what kinds of pieces people might wear, because that kind of style isn't going to work when somebody is wearing a shift versus a sweater. We are not clever buyers like that. Again, we look at things and think, “This is a great thing. We can see one of our L.A. clients wearing this. Let's send it out there.” So much of what we do is by feel and a kind of very educated guess. It's easier in some ways, the variety of pieces we can send out West because we're not worried about people taking gloves on and off when it's a ring. When you're in the city and you're taking a ring on and off, maybe it could get caught. I don't know how much they're concerned about that in New York now. We tend to think the same way. If you're a collector of vintage cars and you understand you're buying a vintage car, you know it's going to require special handling at times. You can't drive it down every road. You might need to bring it to a different mechanic than where you bring your daily driver. We expect, to a certain extent, that people buying fine vintage jewelry understand the spirit of that too. They're not bringing it to the person at their mall to have it fixed. They're not wearing it in the pool. There are parts of these changes we're happy to walk people through, but whether you're East or West Coast, there's a certain sensibility we think goes with wearing the pieces. Sharon: Do you think people gear up for the holidays? You said you also do during the year, but do you gear up? Matthew: We acquire year round, and we put out a catalogue usually in the fall. That's always a challenge for us in that we love doing it and we spend a lot of time putting it together, but as we finally get to finish the product and it goes in the mail, the pieces have already been available. So, you get this heartbreaking moment when a client calls and says, “I got this catalogue. I'm out in California. What's on page three?” and we say, “I'm so sorry. It's sold.” But it allows you to start the conversation and say, “We can try to find you something you like. Maybe we have something that wasn't in the catalogue that's new, and we can talk you through it.” We have a sense for how people respond, but in terms of the West Coast specifically, I don't know. We're curious to see what that's like. I assume that titans of retail who also make their money on the West Coast around the holidays are doing things somewhat in lockstep with what we're doing on the West Coast. People still celebrate holidays and buy gifts out there. We think it's probably going to be the same way, but again, we don't live or die based on holidays. People come every day and say, “Oh wow! That must be crazy,” and I say, “You know, we're not the right lid for that pot.” Not to say we don't sell things based around that, but we're not specifically holiday-driven dealers. We're not looking to get in a million hard pieces for Valentine's Day and have everyone get something for their sweetie. Our core client is women who are buying jewelry for themselves. It creates a different experience than when you're making a gift purchase. Sharon: That's interesting. Matthew, thank you very much. I hope we all get to come out to Bergdorf and see your stuff. I hope you're not deluged with people coming to your administrative offices. You can direct them to Bergdorf. Thank you very much. I learned a lot today. Thank you. I really appreciate it. Matthew: Thank you for having me. We look forward to seeing you out West soon.

With a roster of venues including New York hotspots Ray's, Jac's on Bond, and Georgia Room, the trio behind Authentic Hospitality—Matt Kliegman, Matthew Charles, and Carlos Quirarte—have been reshaping New York's F&B scene since they opened the Smile In 2009. One of those partners, Kliegman, started his party-planning career back at New York University (NYU) and his résumé speaks for itself. Whether working with Ian Schrager at the Public Hotel or bringing an Old School sophistication to Rock Center with the Pebble Bar, Kliegman says the secret to his success is his team. “Partnerships are like marriages,” he points out, “and it's important to take the time to pick the right partners.”

Show Notes: Keith Durst runs Friends of Chef (FOC), a consulting firm that works at the intersection of hospitality and real estate. Keith has worked on major projects in 15 different states, and he lists several projects they have worked on in New York City, such as Rockefeller Center, Lincoln Center, the Whitney Museum, and Blackstone's corporate headquarters as just a few of his projects.  Reimagining the Rockefeller Center Keith uses Rockefeller Center as a case study to explain the different stages and services his firm provides to their projects. The initial phase of the project involves understanding the needs and goals of the developer or owner.  He talks about researching the market, designing the concept, and bringing it to life with construction. Finally, they help with the launch of the project and ensure its success. The goal of the project at Rockefeller Center was to create a place where New Yorkers would want to spend their time, rather than focus on it as a tourist destination. To achieve this, the development team looked at what was missing and why and how they redeveloped the area to be more open and accessible to New Yorkers. He talks about the changes that were made and how these changes have made the area an attractive destination for locals to visit. Keith explains the specifics of how to do a needs assessment for the Rockefeller Center, including assessing the local community. They wanted to create an authentic New York experience on the campus, so they didn't rely on the competitive set. The goal was to create different levels of food and beverage, including bakeries, breweries, cafes, and sit down seating that would give people working at Rockefeller Center the ability to stay in the area to socialize and make reservations at popular places, but also that it would attract a wide demographic. In the end, Keith hopes that the changes will give people the time and energy back to spend more than one day in the area. The Friends of Chef Mission and Vision The goal of the FOC team is to create an environment that is welcoming to all kinds of people from different parts of the city. The team also plans out different day periods to maximize the restaurants' potential and manage flow periods. Keith explains why the balance between destination restaurants and quick lunch spots is important. He emphasized that it's important to bring in businesses that understand throughput and have efficient POS and under periods. Once customer needs and establishment needs have been assessed, the next step is working with the team and their engineers and leasing people to ideate and figure out how to make their plans a reality. Viable Financial Planning for Restaurants Keith talks about the process of developing a space for a restaurant. The first step is to conduct an assessment and determine which types of restaurants would be a good fit for the space. The next phase is financial underwriting, which involves understanding the costs from both the developers and operators point of view of pre-opening and building the space, as well as developing a critical path to open the restaurant.  Keith talks about the importance of having a partner mentality when working with landlords in the restaurant industry. Keith explains that a good deal cannot be done with bad people, and vice versa, and that the landlord and operator need to have a solid relationship. He adds that the two parties need to come up with a plan that works for both, and that the developer needs to have a vision that will make the property worth more. Keith then explains that when developing a financial plan, the team identifies the type of restaurant that will work in the specific location to achieve buy-in from all parties involved. Finally, he mentions the need for sign off from the executive committee of the company. Key Factors when Designing a Restaurant Keith explains that when designing a restaurant, there are a few key considerations: the developer and superintendents should have a thorough knowledge of the building, engineers who can ensure all electrical and plumbing needs are professionally installed; a kitchen designer to monitor the essential health and safety needs of a kitchen are met, a health and safety official, a designer to work with Keith's team and the operator, and finally, the developer to sign off on designs. This is all before the final fixtures, furnishings. He explains why the menu should be an early part of the kitchen design to meet specific culinary requirements and that, as such, the chef often plays a key role in the kitchen design. The Development of FOC  Keith shares how his firm started.  Keith gained experience opening and running high end restaurants in New York City. He was approached by a hotelier who needed help getting their food and beverage program set up. Initially, he worked on it alone, but soon realized he needed a team to be able to execute and grow the business. He now has a partner who has extensive experience in the hospitality industry at a high level.  Keith assembled a team of 15 highly skilled and experienced people in the hospitality industry. Through his team, Keith  has been able to work on projects of varying levels of complexity, ranging from setting up food and beverage for stadiums to small restaurants. He has also partnered with established restaurant groups to learn more about the current market and labor practices. Keith also mentions a close friend, chef and restaurant owner who he often consults with for practical and helpful advice and knowledge on the running of a kitchen.  Keith explains a key factor to the success of his business is building relationships with the people in the hospitality, real estate, and other communities to find the projects they think will be the most motivational for his team. They seek out projects that everyone is excited about and are proud to work on. Keith believes that their team has figured out the best way to build relationships and communities in order to come up with great projects. They have been able to join boards and reinvest in the people they care about as a result of their success. Timestamps: 05:51 Needs Assessment for Rockefeller Center Food and Beverage Options  10:04 Balancing Different Restaurant Use Cases in Rock Center  12:59 Developing a Restaurant Space  14:13 The Importance of Partnership Between Landlord and Operator  19:43 Skill Sets Required for Restaurant Design and Build  22:40 Conversation on Restaurant Design and Menu Planning  25:07 Founding His Firm and Building Teams for High-End Restaurants  Links: Website: www.friendofchef.com Unleashed is produced by Umbrex, which has a mission of connecting independent management consultants with one another, creating opportunities for members to meet, build relationships, and share lessons learned. Learn more at www.umbrex.com.

Corbin Tobey-Davis and Tierra Brown join Marta & Mandy to share the work they do at The ROCK Center in Aurora, Colorado. The ROCK Center is a community based organization serving children, youth and their families, offering arts based out of school programming for youth and families that focuses on cultivating resilience through teaching connection, coping skills, and competence. We talk about the way art can heal trauma, providing a vehicle for transformation. Be sure to check out this awesome video of their flagship program, Peace Warriors!

Heidi Messer started Collective[i] with one goal: to bring more certainty and less volatility to sales and improve the livelihoods of every single employee.According to Heidi, sellers operate at 30% productivity rates. There is no other function in a company that is as unproductive as sales. Higher productivity equals more certainty, so why not improve it. If sales improves every other department has more opportunity. In order to bring more certainty and less volatility , Collective[i] focuses on two main innovations:Automate everything possible in the sales process in order to reduce seller admin work and improve CRM accuracy;Train teams on the agile sales process in order to scale revenue.This is one of the most comprehensive interviews on the modern sales process I've ever recorded.  Highlights:01:19 All of the time that is spent trying to fix the problems in CRM, we fix so that sellers can sell, managers can coach, and everybody else has absolute transparency into what's happening. 02:23 Nobody trusts the pipeline reviews. So let's just start with a clean capture of data into the CRM and have it done automatically. Nobody has to worry about trusting it.02:36 You know that sellers operate at 30% productivity rates. There is no other function in a company that is as unproductive as sales.03:16 Instead of trying to figure out what happened, we want people to focus on adapting to what's likely to happen.04:25 What was interesting about the mid 2000s is we actually saw marketing transform from being a gut based endeavor to one that was highly scientific, very adaptive and focused on optimization.06:54 We're going to own siloed data, not just within companies, but between companies. Everybody told us it wouldn't work. I'm convinced that if you haven't heard that, you don't have a good idea.07:33 Sales is the lifeblood of companies. Our entire economy depends on sales. If you can bring more certainty to sales and less volatility, you impact the livelihoods of every single person employed by a company.08:17 There's no entrepreneur I've met who isn't a great salesperson.10:21 When you start out with a new product you have to find out what's important to their (you customer's) business? How am I going to persuade them to try this new thing? And then somehow I think what happens when you grow is you get out of that habit of thinking that way,11:12 There's a significant portion of companies that still believe sales itself is a process, meaning sales is an assembly line. It's not, it's more like a sport that needs a playbook and lots of practice.13:51 So imagine now you have to hire salespeople who sell to people who sell.15:53 You have to hire salespeople who are able to be trusted advisers. Do they have fundamental sales skills? Do they have enough knowledge that they can provide people with advice on how to move forward and not just explain something?16:58 I think there's a massive defining line that happened after COVID, and I don't think we're going back.17:49 There's a particular kind of sales leader who can sell innovation and there's a kind of sales leader who wants to sell the status quo.22:33 If you're a good founder, you pick advisors who are smarter than you. I want to hire an expert in something that I may not be an expert in.25:39 We have to do a better job of training our sales teams.27:13 We drink our own champagne.27:57 We switched to Agile.29:11 Agile sales describes an organization that's working perfectly in sync to adapt to changes that are happening real time in marketplaces.31:46 We automated everything that they were doing that was low value. So there's not a seller that spends more than 10 minutes a week in CRM. 32:37 We don't do annual sales conferences, we do quarterly, we call them ARCOS revenue kick offs. More importantly every week our sales team has at least 1 to 2 training sessions.33:57 I think it should be sellers are selling to buyers in a transparent environment. Why should anything be hidden today? There should be no opacity in business.36:49 Sports team would be crazy if they said, I'm going to give you a playbook. Go on the field without practice. 41:21 I think the average number of buyers on a buying team has gone from 8 to 12.42:38 We invested a lot in upskilling our salespeople. We invest a lot in digital. So my belief is if a website could do it, a human should not. 46:20 We hire for a growth mindset. I think a growth mindset and trainability come hand in hand. About Our Guest:Heidi Messer has been an active entrepreneur and investor in the digital economy since the commercialization of the Internet. Ms. Messer currently serves as co-Founder and Chairperson of Collective[i]™.Prior to Collective[i], Ms. Messer and her brother, Stephen Messer, co-founded LinkShare Corporation, host to one of the world's largest online affiliate networks representing the world's premier publishers and merchants on the web. The company is widely considered to be a pioneer in the world of SaaS, digital advertising and the sharing economy.Under Ms. Messer's leadership, LinkShare was recognized by Deloitte and Touche for two consecutive years as the fastest growing technology company in the New York Region. Ms. Messer served as a board member, President and Chief Operating Officer of LinkShare until its sale to Rakuten (4755:JASDAQ) for $425 million.Ms. Messer is a frequent speaker at conferences and universities around the world on artificial intelligence, enterprise technology, entrepreneurship, modern sales, marketing and the future of work. She has been cited in various publications including, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Inc. Magazine, Vogue, the NY Post, The Nikkei, Women's Wear Daily, and Chief Executive Magazine. Ms. Messer has also appeared on national television and radio programs including the Today Show, Rock Center with Brian Williams, Business Talk Radio, CNBC, Fox News, CBS Morning News and the Fox Morning Show.Ms. Messer has received several honors including being selected as one of the 100 Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs by Goldman Sachs (2012) and is a recipient of the Technology Pioneer Award during Women's Entrepreneurship Day hosted at the United Nations (2015). Ms. Messer serves on the board of Aperture Investors, the Partnership for NYC, the Partnership Fund for NYC and the Board of Trustees for New York-Presbyterian Hospital as well as the advisory board for the Johns Hopkins University Department of Physics and Astronomy. Ms. Messer is an advisor to the AXA Venture Fund and serves on the investment committee for The Equity Alliance.Ms. Messer received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Brown University, graduating Phi Beta Kappa and magna cum laude. She received her juris doctorate from Harvard Law School graduating cum laude.About Guest Company:Collective[i] (short for Collective Intelligence) helps companies around the world forecast, manage and grow revenue leveraging data, human talent and social connections. Collective[i]'s global network and application uses artificial intelligence to enable sales and other supporting functions to leverage their professional networks and intelligence that optimizes all of their sales activities and processes. Collective[i]'s mission is to enable global prosperity by helping companies and sales professionals worldwide leverage both human connections and machine generated intelligence to grow revenue.Resource Links:https://collectivei.com/Twitter: @heidimesser, @collectivei LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/heidimesser/ You can learn more about and connect with Alice Heiman in the links below.Website: https://AliceHeiman.comLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aliceheiman/

The All Local 4:00 PM update for November, 30th 2022 

Rock music is a huge part of Yugoslavia's legacy. Soon, there will be a place in Sarajevo bringing Yugoslav rock back to life. With Will Richard, Zenit Djozić, and Petar Janjatović. Featuring songs by Zed Mitchell, Yugo Project, Zabranjeno Pušenje, Uroš Andrijašević, and more.The Remembering Yugoslavia podcast explores the memory of a country that no longer exists. Created, produced, and hosted by Peter Korchnak. New episodes once or twice per month.Shownotes and transcript: RememberingYugoslavia.com/Podcast-ExYURockCenter/Instagram: @RememberingYugoslaviaSUPPORT THE SHOW ›Support the show

Julia Austin is a strong advocate for feedback never stopping, whether she is pushing her students to get out and talk with customers or talking with business leaders.  “I'll get this question, especially from founders early on, of ‘when do I stop talking to my customers and getting feedback and start building my product?,'” said Austin, Senior Lecturer at Harvard Business School's Rock Center for Entrepreneurship where she currently teaches Startup Operations. “And I'm like, ‘Never ... You need to be talking to them all the time.” In this episode of the Human Insight Podcast, Austin joins UserTesting's CEO Andy MacMillan and Chief Insights Officer Janelle Estes to discuss the importance of customer feedback, as well as:  What makes a great product manager? How do you know when you have product market fit? Her advice to legacy companies making the digital transition and developing new products or reinventing how their current products are offered in the marketplace?

Julia Austin is a strong advocate for feedback never stopping, whether she is pushing her students to get out and talk with customers or talking with business leaders. “I'll get this question, especially from founders early on, of ‘when do I stop talking to my customers and getting feedback and start building my product?,'” said Austin, Senior Lecturer at Harvard Business School's Rock Center for Entrepreneurship where she currently teaches Startup Operations. “And I'm like, ‘Never ... You need to be talking to them all the time.”In this episode of the Human Insight Podcast, Austin joins UserTesting's CEO Andy MacMillan and Chief Insights Officer Janelle Estes to discuss the importance of customer feedback, as well as: What makes a great product manager?How do you know when you have product market fit?Her advice to legacy companies making the digital transition and developing new products or reinventing how their current products are offered in the marketplace?Links in the show: Julia on LinkedInJulia on TwitterJulia's page at the Harvard Business SchoolCourse description for her class, StartupOperationsGood for HerFollow us on LinkedIn or Twitter Co-host Janelle Estes | @janelle_estes Co-host Andy MacMillan | @apmacmillan Producer Nathan Isaacs | @isaacsnd UserTesting | @usertesting Have an episode suggestion or guest recommendation? Share on social with the tag #HumanInsights Get a free video of a real person reviewing your website

In this episode of The Corporate Director Podcast, Dan Siciliano, Co-Founder of the Rock Center for Corporate Governance and Chair of the Silicon Valley Directors' Exchange (SVDX), discusses key findings from a report conducted in partnership between Diligent Institute and SVDX - Blockchain Digital Assets: Fad, Disruption or Strategic Driver?

0:00 -- Intro.1:23 -- Start of interview.3:32 -- Adam's "origin story". He grew up in southern California where he attended UCSD and graduated from UCLA. In college he became an activist focusing on the conflict in Darfur, Sudan, and developed a "targeted divestment" model. After college he became a social entrepreneur based in Washington, DC.4:06 -- His decision to pursue a JD/MBA from UC Berkeley. While in grad school "he fell in love with the startup tech scene" and during business school he tried to start his own startup but that's where he learned that "it doesn't matter how good your idea is when you don't have a good team and good execution." He then joined Gunderson Dettmer as a corporate associate supporting tech founders.7:14 -- Adam's new role as Assistant Dean for Executive Education and Revenue Generation at UC Berkeley's School of Law. How his initial work with 500 Startups with the BCLB sparked more executive education programs. 9:24 -- On the origin and mission of The Independent Director Initiative.12:20  -- What makes corporate governance in private venture-backed companies different to public companies. Explaining VC University (a partnership between Berkeley Law, NVCA and Venture Forward).15:42 -- The Academic Partners of the Independent Director Initiative: Berkeley Law Executive Education; Berkeley Law Center for Law and Business; Ira M. Millstein Center for Global Markets and Corporate Ownership at Columbia Law School; UC Davis School of Law; UC Hastings Law Center for Business Law; Institute for Law & Economics at the University of Pennsylvania; Silicon Valley Executive Center at Santa Clara University; Rowling Center at SMU Dedman School of Law; Rock Center for Corporate Governance at Stanford University; Stanford Center for Racial Justice at Stanford Law School; and Lowell Milken Institute for Business Law & Policy at UCLA School of Law.University of Washington School of LawThe Organizational Partners of the Independent Director Initiative: Ascend; BLCK VC; BoardList;Bolster;Corporate Directors Forum;The Fourth Floor;HBCUvc; Him for Her; LCDA;National Black MBA Association; National Venture Capital Association; NxtWorkVenture Forward.18:07 -- On the interest and number of applicants to the program (~500 applications, 80 got selected in first cohort).19:21 -- On fiduciary duties of directors in venture-backed companies (including dual-fiduciary conflicts). Role of independent directors, and boardroom diversity in private venture-backed companies. The Trados case (2013).38:43 -- The evolution of private markets and how its regulation may impact corporate governance.40:06 -- Take-aways from the program: 1) more education is needed for directors of venture-backed companies generally (beyond just independent directors), and 2) it was refreshing to see such a diverse and qualified group of executives that could serve on corporate boards.41:56 -- Where can people learn more and/or apply for the next cohort of the Independent Director Initiative: independent.venturecapitaluniversity.com42:57 -- Benefits for participants beyond just the two days of the program. Placements. 45:27 - Some of the books that have greatly influenced his venture career: Venture Deals, by Brad Feld and Jason Mendelson (2011)Secrets of Sand HIll Road, by Scott Kupor (2019)45:51 - Who were your mentors, and what did you learn from them (regarding this program)Evan Epstein (!)Afra Afsharipour, UC Davis Law School46:26 - Are there any quotes you think of often or live your life by? "You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step." Martin Luther King, Jr.46:26 - An unusual habit or an absurd thing that he loves: walking 40min for his commute. "Owning your downtime."48:55 - The living person he most admires: his wife.Adam Sterling is the Assistant Dean for Executive Education and Revenue Generation at UC Berkeley's School of Law and the Executive Director of the Berkeley Center for Law and Business. __ You can follow Adam on social media at:Twitter: @adambsterlingLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adambsterling/__ You can follow Evan on social media at:Twitter: @evanepsteinLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/epsteinevan/ Substack: https://evanepstein.substack.com/__Music/Soundtrack (found via Free Music Archive): Seeing The Future by Dexter Britain is licensed under a Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License

In this episode of the RANE Insights podcast, we do a deep dive into the three letters E, S, and G. Together as "ESG", those letters are a fixture in news and business headlines. Whether they're about the backlash against ESG, tighter regulation of ESG, or criticism of ESG, those three letters seem inescapable these days.But do we really know enough about what ESG actually means or how it applies to business profits and risks? That's what our host, RANE founder David Lawrence asked Joseph A. Grunfest, a Professor of Law and Business and senior faculty member of the Rock Center on Corporate Governance at Stanford Law School.RANE is a risk intelligence company that provides access to critical insights, analysis, and support to ensure business continuity and resiliency for our members. Learn more about RANE's market-leading risk intelligence products at ranenetwork.com

Karl Deisseroth is a professor of neuroscience at Stanford University and a director at the Rock Center for Neuroimaging. In this interview, he discusses his work on the cognitive neuroscience of consuls, the importance of roads in human societies, and the origins of foresails in sailing ships.

0:00 Intro.2:08 Start of interview.2:42 Dan's "origin story". He was born and grew up in Arizona, with a stint in Atlanta, GA. He later attended the University of Arizona on a Flinn Foundation scholarship. He then went off to graduate school to Stanford (Econ), later transitioning to Stanford Law School. He practiced law in Arizona for a year and came back to the Bay Area "almost on any excuse", and ran a cookie company.8:01 His time at Stanford Law School, first to help launch the LLM Program in corporate governance, and later as Faculty Director of the Rock Center, Associate Dean of Executive Education and Professor of the Practice of Law.9:19 The story of his company LawLogix, which he sold to Hyland Software/Thoma Bravo in 2015.14:02 How the board of LawLogix evolved from startup to having PE investors to final sale. Three huge lessons:Governance matters in some ways even more at a small company level.Don't let board observers on your board at the request of PE, unless they agree to pay for them.CEO succession matters, and mission/culture is key ("tone at the top").23:00 His thoughts on the current market and down cycle (recession). "It is important to distinguish between a financial crisis from a business cycle recession." "It feels like we're in a business cycle recession with a lot of hype. Relatively speaking capital is still cheap."29:31 On his role as an independent director on the board of the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco. *Congress established the Federal Home Loan Bank System in 1932, in the midst of the Great Depression, to improve the nation's housing finance system by facilitating the flow of credit for mortgages throughout the country. 34:44 Dan's new fintech startup "Nikkel". Focused on equity comp for employees of late-stage private venture-backed companies. "Many investors would like to be invested in unicorns, but if you look at the distribution of who's invested in unicorns it's a very short list [~20 global investors have material investments, and 10 of them account for 80% of it.] If you want to get access to unicorn returns, you really can't and that's unfortunate.44:28 Reaction to SEC Commissioner Allison Herren Lee's speech on "Going dark: the growth of private markets and the impact on investors and the economy."  "I think that within 3 or 4 years [my startup Nikkel] will be directly or indirectly one of the largest beneficiaries of unicorn upside, because 11% of the global cap table of unicorns right now is the hands of employees in the form of vested options [and nobody pays it any attention to this segment]. Imagine if you can constructively engage around that part of the cap table and have everyone do better [just like billionaires do in managing their wealth, maximizing upside, minimizing taxes, etc.]" Example: Airbnb's 10 year statutory expiration for option grants (before it went public). "Nikkel will advance money to employees on a prepaid variable forward contract." "Employees are at the heart of the success of modern unicorns, more so than ever before." "On average, employees should not sell their shares in a successful high growth venture-funded unicorn."54:17 What Nikkel will offer tech employees with vested stock options. 57:47 On why he moved from Los Altos, California to Las Vegas, Nevada.01:02:42 On director evaluations: "The importance of director evaluation has only increased." "The third rail/holy grail of director evaluation is identifying, coaching and assisting under-performing board members and/or helping them ease off the board (i.e. to improve or step-off the board)."01:07:02 On director education: "Cybersecurity is an area that we pay a lot of attention to it but we don't do it constructively enough." "The best director education is a format that has great content but that allows directors to interact with each other." 01:10:40 The 3 books that have greatly influenced his life:Influence, by Robert Cialdini (1984)Fooled by Randomness, by Nassim Taleb (2001)Elantris, by Brandon Sanderson (2005)01:14:00- Who were your mentors, and what did you learn from them?  Eddie Basha, Chairman & CEO of Bashas, Inc.Andrew Hurwitz, Judge of the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth CircuitJoe Grundfest from Stanford Law SchoolSimone Lagomarsino, chair of the the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco.01:16:38 - Are there any quotes you think of often or live your life by? "Trust, by Verify." "Qui tacet consentire videtur." (he who is silent is understood to consent)01:17:43- An unusual habit or an absurd thing that he loves: Movies. Waking up absurdly early.01:19:45 - The living person he most admires.Dan Siciliano is an Independent Director of the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco and Chair of the American Immigration Council.  He is the former faculty director of the Rock Center for Corporate Governance at Stanford University and former Professor of the Practice and Associate Dean at Stanford Law School. Dan was also co-founder, CEO and ultimately Executive Chairman of LawLogix Group, Inc. – a global software technology company.__ You can follow Evan on social media at:Twitter: @evanepsteinLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/epsteinevan/ Substack: https://evanepstein.substack.com/__Music/Soundtrack (found via Free Music Archive): Seeing The Future by Dexter Britain is licensed under a Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License

Intro.(2:10) - Start of interview.(2:57) - David's "origin story". He grew up in coal mining town in southern Illinois. He went to college at what is now known as the Missouri University of Science & Technology. He later worked as an engineer and got his PhD in accounting from the U. of Kansas. He was a Professor at Kellogg for about 7 years, at Wharton for about 20 years and he's been a Professor at Stanford's Graduate School of Business since 2005. On how he started working with Brian on corporate governance research through the Corporate Governance Research Initiative.(4:23) - Brian's origin story. He grew up in Menlo Park, went to Princeton for his undergrad, and Stanford for his MBA. Prior to Stanford, he worked as a financial analyst at Stanford University's Office of the CEO and as an investment associate at UBS Private Wealth Management. On how he got matched with David Larcker to launch the corporate governance research initiative.(7:16) - On collaborating with Stanford law school on corporate governance research through the Rock Center for corporate governance.(9:30) - On their book "Corporate Governance Matters." First published in 2011, second edition in 2015 and third edition in 2020.(13:44) - About the origin and structure of the Corporate Governance Research Initiative, which includes a long list of (free) research findings and materials, including their Closer Look Series, Quick Guides & Research Spotlights, Core Concepts, Surveys, Journal Articles, Working Papers, Case Studies and a Glossary of Terms.(17:00) - On their latest article "The Seven Myths of ESG"(18:01) - Myth #1: We agree on the purpose of ESG.(22:52) - Myth #2: ESG is value increasing. ["The evidence is extremely mixed." "We do not know the financial impact of ESG."](26:46) - Myth #3: We can't tell whether a claimed ESG activity is actually ESG. [the extreme version is "greenwashing."](30:16) - Myth #4: A company's ESG agenda is well-defined and board-driven.(34:49) - Myth #5: G (Governance) belongs in ESG.(38:09) - Myth #6: ESG ratings accurately measure ESG quality.(43:52) - Myth #7: Mandatory disclosure will solve the problem.(48:25) - On tying executive compensation with ESG metrics. "There is not as much as you would think (and it's mostly tied to the annual bonus)."(53:13) - Brian's favorite books:The Bible.U.S. history, from the founding to the late 1800s.(53:56) - David's favorite books:The Bible.Biographies of rock starts and the Grateful Dead.(54:24) - Who were your mentors, and what did you learn from them? For Brian: David Larcker. For David: his father. Also Nick Donatiello.(55:40) - Quotes that you think of often, or live your life by. For Brian: "My dad has always taught me to keep my head on straight and I just kinda go that way." For David: "No matter how smart you think you are, there is going to be someone smarter that will come around" (stay humble).(55:41) - What is an unusual habit or an absurd thing that you love? for David, motorcycles. He rides his Harley.(57:56) - The living person you most admire? Brian: Charlie Munger. David: Elon Musk ("pretty interesting character"), plus Brian!David Larcker is James Irvin Miller Professor of Accounting at the Graduate School of Business of Stanford University; Director of the Corporate Governance Research Program; Senior Faculty, Arthur and Toni Rembe Rock Center for Corporate Governance. His research focuses on executive compensation, corporate governance, and managerial accounting, examining the choice of performance measures and compensation contracts in organizations. His current research projects address the valuation implications of corporate governance, the impact of proxy advisory firms on shareholder proxy voting, and modeling the cost of executive stock options.Brian Tayan is a member of the Corporate Governance Research Program at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. He has written broadly on the subject of corporate governance, including boards of directors, succession planning, executive compensation, financial accounting, and shareholder relations. Previously, he worked as a financial analyst at Stanford University's Office of the CEO and as an investment associate at UBS Private Wealth Management. He has actively managed a private investment partnership since 2006, specializing in long-term, conservative growth through equity investments. Tayan received his MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business and his BA from Princeton University.If you like this show, please consider subscribing, leaving a review or sharing this podcast on social media. __ You can follow Evan on social media at:Twitter @evanepsteinLinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/epsteinevan/ Substack https://evanepstein.substack.com/Music/Soundtrack (found via Free Music Archive): Seeing The Future by Dexter Britain is licensed under a Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License 

In this episode of Money Tales, our guest is Natalie Morales. You're probably already familiar with Natalie who is a current host of "The Talk" on CBS, which she recently joined after a 15-year run on the “Today Show.” Natalie is an ambitious, focused, and talented journalist who determined early in her career that she wanted to be a successful reporter. To get started, she had to take a 50% pay cut, get up at three in the morning, head to the Bronx, shoot her own video and then edit her stories. In the beginning, she was a one-woman news production band. Natalie is a television anchor and journalist. She serves as host of “The Talk,” CBS' Daytime Emmy Award-winning talk show that examines topical events and contemporary issues through the eyes of five hosts, alongside Akbar Gbajabiamila, Amanda Kloots, Jerry O'Connell and Sheryl Underwood. Most recently, Natalie was the West Coast anchor of NBC News' “Today,” correspondent for “Dateline NBC,” and anchor of “Behind Closed Doors with Natalie Morales.” She previously served as host of “Access” and co-host of “Access Live,” as well as news anchor of “Today,” where she co-hosted the show's third hour. Natalie joined “Today” in 2006 as a national correspondent and reported across all of NBCUniversal News' platforms, including “NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt” and MSNBC. In a “Today” first, Natalie followed 20 children from the class of 2020 – all of whom were born a year after 9/11 – from their first day of kindergarten to graduation, amid a global pandemic, nonetheless. In addition to hosting “At Home with Natalie,” Natalie contributed to several major breaking news stories, including the sexual harassment scandals, the 2017 Las Vegas massacre, the 2013 Boston Marathon Bombing, and the rescue of the Chilean Miners in 2010 (coverage that was seen worldwide and recognized with a 2010 National Headliner Award). In August 2008, Natalie had the exclusive jailhouse interview with the infamous Clark Rockefeller. Her other notable reports include the 2009 presidential inauguration; Hurricane Sandy in 2012 and Hurricane Katrina in 2005; the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami; the death of Pope John Paul II in 2005; and the election of Pope Francis in 2013. She also reported on the royal wedding in 2011 and the birth of Prince George in 2013. As a part of the Shine a Light campaign in 2014, Natalie ran in the Boston Marathon and raised over $70,000 for victims of the 2013 bombing. Natalie has won three Daytime Emmy Awards as part of “Today's” recognition as the best morning news program. She won a Robert F. Kennedy Award in international journalism for her report on Honduran lobster divers for “Rock Center with Brian Williams” in June 2013. She has won three Gracie Awards, one for Outstanding Series for her “Dateline NBC” special, “My Kid Would Never,” and two for her reporting in 2016 and 2017. Natalie, who speaks Spanish and Portuguese, was born in Taiwan and spent much of the first 18 years of her life living overseas in Panama, Brazil and Spain as an Air Force “brat.” She graduated summa cum laude from Rutgers University with a bachelor's degree in journalism and Latin American studies and was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two sons. Follow her on Twitter: @nmoralestv and Instagram: @nataliemoralestv. See all episodes >

In this episode of Money Tales, our guest is Natalie Morales. You're probably already familiar with Natalie who is a current host of "The Talk" on CBS, which she recently joined after a 15-year run on the “Today Show.” Natalie is an ambitious, focused, and talented journalist who determined early in her career that she wanted to be a successful reporter. To get started, she had to take a 50% pay cut, get up at three in the morning, head to the Bronx, shoot her own video and then edit her stories. In the beginning, she was a one-woman news production band. Natalie is a television anchor and journalist. She serves as host of “The Talk,” CBS' Daytime Emmy Award-winning talk show that examines topical events and contemporary issues through the eyes of five hosts, alongside Akbar Gbajabiamila, Amanda Kloots, Jerry O'Connell and Sheryl Underwood. Most recently, Natalie was the West Coast anchor of NBC News' “Today,” correspondent for “Dateline NBC,” and anchor of “Behind Closed Doors with Natalie Morales.” She previously served as host of “Access” and co-host of “Access Live,” as well as news anchor of “Today,” where she co-hosted the show's third hour. Natalie joined “Today” in 2006 as a national correspondent and reported across all of NBCUniversal News' platforms, including “NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt” and MSNBC. In a “Today” first, Natalie followed 20 children from the class of 2020 – all of whom were born a year after 9/11 – from their first day of kindergarten to graduation, amid a global pandemic, nonetheless. In addition to hosting “At Home with Natalie,” Natalie contributed to several major breaking news stories, including the sexual harassment scandals, the 2017 Las Vegas massacre, the 2013 Boston Marathon Bombing, and the rescue of the Chilean Miners in 2010 (coverage that was seen worldwide and recognized with a 2010 National Headliner Award). In August 2008, Natalie had the exclusive jailhouse interview with the infamous Clark Rockefeller. Her other notable reports include the 2009 presidential inauguration; Hurricane Sandy in 2012 and Hurricane Katrina in 2005; the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami; the death of Pope John Paul II in 2005; and the election of Pope Francis in 2013. She also reported on the royal wedding in 2011 and the birth of Prince George in 2013. As a part of the Shine a Light campaign in 2014, Natalie ran in the Boston Marathon and raised over $70,000 for victims of the 2013 bombing. Natalie has won three Daytime Emmy Awards as part of “Today's” recognition as the best morning news program. She won a Robert F. Kennedy Award in international journalism for her report on Honduran lobster divers for “Rock Center with Brian Williams” in June 2013. She has won three Gracie Awards, one for Outstanding Series for her “Dateline NBC” special, “My Kid Would Never,” and two for her reporting in 2016 and 2017. Natalie, who speaks Spanish and Portuguese, was born in Taiwan and spent much of the first 18 years of her life living overseas in Panama, Brazil and Spain as an Air Force “brat.” She graduated summa cum laude from Rutgers University with a bachelor's degree in journalism and Latin American studies and was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two sons. Follow her on Twitter: @nmoralestv and Instagram: @nataliemoralestv. Learn more about Money Tale$ > Subscribe to the podcast Recent episodes See all episodes > Form CRS Form ADV Terms of Use Privacy Rights and Policies

The Middle Age Warriors spend some time together talking about Christmas Tree lightings at Rock Center, their past careers, the multitude of Mets free agent signings and other nuggets in this fireside chat. From Omicron to Max Scherzer and more, Chris & Rick share their thoughts and perspectives.

S1E1 – The Retail Avengers & The Future of Frontline Staff, Part 1Welcome to Season 1, Episode 1, the first-ever episode of The Retail Razor Show!I'm your host, Ricardo Belmar, a RETHINK Retail Top 100 Retail Influencer, RIS News Top Movers and Shakers in Retail for 2021, advisory council member at George Mason University's Center for Retail Transformation, and lead partner marketing advisor for retail & consumer goods at Microsoft.And I'm your co-host, Casey Golden, CEO of Luxlock and slayer of retail frankenstacks!Together, we're your guides on the retail transformation journey. Whether you're thinking digital and online, mobile, or brick & mortar stores, there'll be something for you!In episode 1 we dive into the future of retail frontline workers, with none other than Ron Thurston, author of Retail Pride, The Guide to Celebrating Your Accidental Career. Ron joins our Retail Avengers team on Clubhouse to talk about what retailers need to do to foster the right environment for their store teams.For more information about Ron, and how you can Take Pride Today in your retail career, visit Ron's website: https://www.retailpride.comThe Retail Razor ShowFollow us on Twitter: https://bit.ly/TwRRazorConnect with us on LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/LI-RRazorJoin our club on Clubhouse: http://bit.ly/RRazorClubListen to us on Callin: https://bit.ly/RRCallinSubscribe on YouTube: https://bit.ly/RRShowYouTubeSubscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://bit.ly/RetailRazorShowRetail Razor Show Episode Page: https://bit.ly/RRShowPodHost → Ricardo Belmar,Follow on Twitter - ****https://bit.ly/twRBelmarConnect on LinkedIn - ****https://bit.ly/LIRBelmarRead my comments on RetailWire - ****https://bit.ly/RWRBelmarCo-host → Casey Golden,Follow on Twitter - ****https://bit.ly/twCaseyConnect on LinkedIn - ****https://bit.ly/LICaseyRead my comments on RetailWire - https://bit.ly/RWCaseyTRANSCRIPTThe Retail Avengers & The Future of Frontline Staff, Part 1[00:00:20] Ricardo: Hello. Good morning. Good afternoon. Good evening. No matter what time of day you're listening. Welcome. Welcome to season one, episode one, the first ever episode of the retail razor show. I'm your host Ricardo Belmar, a top 100 retail influencer and lead partner marketing advisor for retail and consumer goods at Microsoft.[00:00:37] Casey: And I'm your co-host Casey Golden CEO of Luxlock and Slayer of retail frankenstacks, [00:00:43] Ricardo: retail, frankenstacks. I love that intro. I really need to get a tagline like that. Casey. [00:00:48] Casey: Slaying, frankenstacks. It's a messy job it's earned.[00:00:51] Ricardo: Oh, I believe it![00:00:52] Casey: So I'm super stoked to kick off our first episode ever of the show! [00:00:56] Ricardo: I am too. I am too. So let's talk a little bit about what the show will be like. This all started some months ago with the retail razor club on clubhouse and a powerhouse group of retail experts and thought leaders to just talk retail, talk tech and host some really good deep discussions on what we think people in this industry need to make a difference and to be a change maker.[00:01:14] Casey: Tell us more Ricardo, tell us more. I feel like we need some dramatic [00:01:20] music here [00:01:20] Ricardo: and maybe for episode two, we'll add some budget for dramatic music. So our goal is to cut through all the noise, cut through the clutter, make it all actionable. Let everybody learn from the people who've actually done things.[00:01:33] Anyone who's solving challenges and not afraid to expose the hard truths.. [00:01:37] Casey: And best of all, since we started this on clubhouse, we made it interactive. So people could ask tough questions and voice their opinions. [00:01:44] Ricardo: A hundred percent, a hundred percent all the way. This is an open forum. One that really moves the industry forward.[00:01:50] By sharing deep, deep knowledge, we started an amazing series of rooms initially called retail tech predictions 2025. But you know, our group quickly earned the nickname, the Retail Avengers, [00:02:00] Casey: Captain America., right here![00:02:02] Ricardo: And I am iron man, you know, you're right Casey. We really do need some dramatic music and we got to work on that [00:02:06] Casey: maybe by episode three next time, next time.[00:02:10] Ricardo: Yeah, episode three, that I'm going to take, make a note of that. Okay. So in each episode listeners will hear one of our fabulous clubhouse rooms and we'll bring back [00:02:20] guests from those discussions for a few last words. But don't think that's all we have to offer in future episodes. We're going to introduce new segments, extra guests, and we'll also have some unique interview sessions that we're going to record in another app called Callin. [00:02:32] Casey: Can't wait for those. [00:02:34] So Ricardo, who's our special guests for the opening episode. [00:02:37] Ricardo: We are starting up strong with one of the best out there. Ron Thurston, the author of the book, Retail Pride, former head of stores at Intermix and quite possibly, one of our favorite retail executives out there.[00:02:48] Right? Casey, [00:02:49] Casey: I'm a fan. Let's get to it! [00:02:50] Ricardo: Okay. So let's quickly introduce the rest of our Retail Avengers team and everyone will be hearing from them quite often in these sessions. So besides Casey and myself, we have Jeff Roster, fellow RETHINK Retail, top one hundred influencer and fellow advisory council member at the George Mason University Center for Retail Transformation and former analyst.[00:03:11] Then we have Shish Shridhar, the global retail lead at Microsoft for Startups.[00:03:16] Casey: And Brandon Rael transformation delivery strategy leader at [00:03:20] Reach Partners, and one of my faves, Trevor Sumner, CEO of Perch Interactive. [00:03:25] Ricardo: All right. So without further delay, let's give a listen to the Retail Avengers and the future of Frontline Staff, Part 1.Clubhouse Session[00:03:42] Ricardo: So with that my name is Ricardo Belmar. I host the retail razor club here on Clubhouse. Retail tech guy have been in retail tech for the better part of the last two decades, working at various different solution providers and managed service providers, and of course, I like to say the best technology in retail is the kind that's seamless and transparent that you don't even notice.[00:04:02] Jeff: Hi Jeff Roster co-host of this week in innovation and serve on several advisory boards and a former Gartner and IHL retail sector analyst [00:04:11] Brandon: Hi, Brandon Rael here. I'm currently one of the transformation and delivery and strategy leaders here at Reach Partners a consultancy. My background is retail and consumer products, industries, and I've been working in the strategy consulting space, focusing predominantly on digital and it's impact on organizations and helping companies transform and evolve.[00:04:29] Casey: Hi, Casey here, founder of Luxlock we're a retail experience platform and we are deploying an independent workforce and re-skilling them. So I love this topic of the conversation. Worked a lot in enterprise retail tech [00:04:42] and on the e-commerce side. So excited to be here you guys, fun conversation! [00:04:46] Ricardo: Definitely will be! Shish. [00:04:47] Shish: Hi, good afternoon. I'm the retail lead at Microsoft for Startups and I'm actually working on building out a portfolio of retail tech B2B startups solving complex business challenges in retail. Absolutely love the topic that we're we're we're we're talking about today. Looking forward to it. Thank you. [00:05:03] Ricardo: I see Trevor has joined us. Trevor why don't you do a quick intro. [00:05:06] Trevor: My name is Trevor Sumner. I'm the CEO of perch. We do interactive displays in IOT that detect which products you touch and like minority report. They just wake up and start telling you about the product, they call them shelf talkers. So I've been deep in retail and retail tech for almost a decade now. So excited to be on board with everybody here. [00:05:26] Ricardo: All right. Wonderful. We have a special guest with us this week, Ron Thurston author of the book, retail pride, which I highly recommend.[00:05:33] Ron, why don't you go ahead and give us your introduction [00:05:36] Ron: hi everyone. Thank you. Yes. My name is Ron Thurston and I am the author of Retail Pride, the guide to [00:05:42] celebrating your accidental career, which is really about recognizing the hard work that the millions of people that work in all of our stores all around the world do every day.[00:05:50] And my full-time role is as the vice president of stores Intermix which officially today is a freestanding business on its own no longer under the Gap umbrella. And so we have a lot of exciting momentum behind us now being privately held and it will be an exciting adventure. And I sit on the board of directors of Goodwill here for New York and New Jersey, which also has a really exciting retail component to it, which I'm happy to talk about.[00:06:18] So thanks for inviting me, Ricardo. [00:06:19] Ricardo: Fantastic. We're really happy to have you here with us today, Ron, this is a topic that I know many of us on the panel have been wanting to do for a while. Not the least of which is because of the added focus that retail frontline workers have seen over the past 15 months.[00:06:34] Frontline Worker Sentiment[00:06:34] Ricardo: I want to ask everybody on the panel, What's the sentiment these days about frontline workers, has it swung more positive to the point where [00:06:42] frontline workers are going to get the recognition that they deserve to have for the job they do and the service they provide to customers and retail brands? [00:06:49] Ron, I'm going to ask you to respond first because I'd really like to hear what your feeling is on that. [00:06:53] Ron: Sure. Thanks, Ricardo. I have probably never been more excited about the opportunity for store teams. And I think as customers have come back in and , every day it's getting bigger, the opportunity to recognize in many ways the increased skillset necessary to manage the emotional, the tougher part of retail in conjunction with more tech in conjunction with higher customer demands and kind of new ways to shop has put this pressure and, excitement back into stores and the training that's necessary. [00:07:29] The up skill in the hiring process has never been more important. They, kind of challenge of the value of the brick and mortar business in compared to e-commerce.[00:07:39] This is the time where more [00:07:42] than ever, we need highly skilled people that are, that work in brick and mortar, retail, and are compensated for that work and the business models that are evolving out of it.[00:07:52] And I think it's just every day, I'm more excited about what I'm seeing my own business and what I'm reading about every day.[00:07:59] Brandon: I could not agree more with Ron. , if anything, the pandemic has accelerated the recognition of how critical the retail staff or brand ambassador to the store associates and how important they are to run the operation of building that trusted relationship with the customer.[00:08:15] I consider that the retail associates, part of the last mile of fulfillment and not necessarily the product, but of the relationship of the brand or the brand equity. [00:08:23] people go to the store to engage, to get inspired, to discover. And, , I'm all digital first. We know everyone is digital first and shopping e-commerce, , percentage wise, it's still , 15% of the business is converted on ecommerce.[00:08:36] The physical stores are as critical as ever to bridge that digital and physical gap and the journey [00:08:42]may begin in the store may ultimately end on the retailer's app, but the store associates plays a vital role in that relationship.[00:08:47] Casey: A hundred percent. , one of our biggest goal, which was to deploy an on-demand distributed workforce and it's been pretty amazing to put a lot of people back to work and give them opportunities to sell products that they've never had access to because they worked at a single brand.[00:09:02] Shish: agree with everyone I think there is going to be a big transformational element to it as well. I kind of look at the convenient spot of retail. There's a lot of things that has accelerated, during COVID, , BOPIS in particular. And I think that is going to change what the frontline workers do and, how to do it.[00:09:23] For example, I think there's going to be so much more focused on click and collect orders, because, cashierless becoming more prominent and accelerated. I also think the assisting the self checkout will be one aspect that frontline workers will be doing more of. There might also be a lot of clientelling [00:09:42] that has accelerated as a result.[00:09:43] And also I think from the experiential part of retail, that's going to be a lot more skills and expertise needed because that is leaning more towards that personalized, aspect of it where engaging with customers becomes more more of a requirement. [00:10:02] Trevor: Yeah. I agree with that. I think one of the transformational changes underlying is data. Because of the need for real-time inventory and product information for BOPIS for better supply chain management and COVID is an accelerator for that.[00:10:17] All of a sudden, we've normalized all this data that we can now put in the hands of sales associates. It's not their fault. If you go to a Macy's and you ask your question about what inventory looks like. Yeah, go look at those screens. They're green screens, right? I think they were programmed with punch cards.[00:10:29] Now that has all been changing, right? So the data is now available in normalized and formatted. It's now accessible, not just to be a tablets and iPads in the hands of sales associates, but, even like with Theatro in [00:10:42] a, in a mic format in an ear piece. So that's one piece of it. The second Shish hit on around you have the experiential being more part of it.[00:10:49] And that means being able to do brand storytelling. And while I love the thought that that's all gonna be done by purchasing digital tools like that, I, the role as a sales associate is going to be critical.[00:10:56] Ricardo: Interesting points there about the added roles for store associates to do, especially in light of things like picking up online orders in the store, other operational processes, either for picking product off the shelf to fulfill those orders, that these are new roles, new skills, new functions, we're asking those store associates to do and asking them to leverage real-time data about customers they're working with or items in the store, whether it's product information or other operational components.[00:11:23] Frontline Roles[00:11:23] Ricardo: One of the things that I would like to get into next is what are some of these additional roles? We've mentioned a few now, which were brought about by the nature of the pandemic, but what other new roles are we going to see frontline workers in retail taking on and particularly what are the required skills and I'll reference, really interesting article that I believe was in the wall street [00:11:42] journal about Levi's offering machine learning training for their retail workers. Presumably because it's a recognition that the need to understand data is going to become so much more important in how these frontline workers work with customers.[00:11:56] So what does everyone think of that? [00:11:58] Ron: I can jump in Ricardo , it's Ron. I actually think that the, width of the skillset has become so wide today that it's kind of become less about we're all cross-trained and we're all good in retail. We could work in stock room and we can work on the sales floor and we can do visual merchandising.[00:12:15] I think it's actually become a little more segmented than said if I have a skillset that is highly engaged and motivated and I'm good on camera for live selling, I'm good in front of customers, I can sell via chat that you have that level of personality. It's actually fully embracing that and saying, let's give you[00:12:34] that kind of customer facing roles or chat roles and not try to expect you to also run out to the curb and do a BOPIS [00:12:42] order and also fulfill a web order in the stock room, or when can you work an overnight to change the visual merchandising? I think we have to say, we have a team of people who are really good at tech people who are maybe good at tasks and people who are highly customer centric because what's coming with the customer coming in today more than ever wants a level of engagement.[00:13:03] And has it's curious, wants to be educated, wants to be styled once all the things that they haven't had. And that, that skill is really high. So I'm actually even looking at my own organization and saying, it's actually less about cross training and more about specialization and being the best version of that specialty based on your skills and your experience and your personality.[00:13:26] Because today, we're also expecting you to be on Instagram. We expect you to live sell. We expect you to, kind of show up every day in a new most highest version of what that would look like in the past. [00:13:39] Trevor: I really loved that. And one of the reasons [00:13:42] is because, I think this provides a new sense of career pathing, and compensation structures.[00:13:48] And so, Ron, I would love to, to understand better how you start thinking through that as the head of stores at the end, you get certified as, an influencer or as a live seller, or for example, there are technologies where during your downtime, you might do online clientelling and reach out in on a one-to-one basis.[00:14:05] Are you.becoming a certified personal shopper. And each of these, has a course associated with that. Some type of certification, some real-time training and evaluation, but also a better pay, better training. And not feeling like you're stuck in a specific kind of job that says a generalist with no place to go.[00:14:25] Ron: I was just going to say it, and having led apple stores. That's very much the apple model. You are a specialist and maybe you in phone or Mac or in software, and then you're next. kind of even more of a specialty or in training or in genius bar. [00:14:42] And that every step is a career trajectory. And I think in fashion, we've also kind of thought of it as we all have to be good at everything.[00:14:50] And I actually think it's more of the apple model, which is very structured and create benchmarks for growth. I agree with you, Trevor.[00:14:59] Casey: I was just going to say that, now that sales associates are able to sell online and get that commission tracked and productivity tracked, it changes the entire model of every single salesperson is able and has the opportunity to become a million dollar seller and not make $35,000 a year or 40,000, $50,000 a year.[00:15:20] We've seen the most of having what the industry used stylists for before, which is doing content on a, on an Instagram or putting lookbooks together or working in, like a stitch fix model and putting outfits or clothes into a box. They're coming to us and they have the passion. They have the skillset, they have the know-how, but they've never talked to a customer before.[00:15:41] And [00:15:42] so they don't know fit, they just get returned. And so, being able to communicate with the client, maintain that relationship over time and learn fit. We've actually had to start segmenting just like Trevor was saying is we're essentially segmenting talent into different talent pools and putting programs together to bring people who have worked at Citrix for the last six years into being able that they would be skilled enough to walk into Gucci on the floor and do a million dollars in sales. And so it's been really interesting and I think that there's going to be a lot of, differentiation between I'm a stylist versus I'm a sales person or a personal shopper right now.[00:16:24] I can't get a single person to agree on what they want to be called because salespeople don't want to be called the stylist and everybody gets called and everybody's called the stylist on Instagram. If you can put an outfit together. So it's like almost [00:16:42] diluted that job title almost in a way where no, I'm more than that. It's been interesting. We're still trying to figure out what. What everybody is going to be called.[00:16:54] Brandon: Is this the transformation evolution of what a store associate really is? I think to Ron's point and Trevor's point, there certainly is doing an operation stocking shelves or whatever else. Actually, what I want engagement with the customer is blended with the arts and sciences of social media, digital marketing, and micro influencing [00:17:14] Ricardo: I agree. I think it's fascinating point here about segmenting and the skills and Ron I like how you compare that to an apple model. One of the things that comes to my mind when I hear everyone saying that is a sort of implies a need for more staff in the store, as you get more specialized, depending of course, on what kind of store it is for format. It is the size of the store. The product categories are in, but if I were to generalize it, it makes me believe that I'm going to need [00:17:42] more staff. The more I specialize in to handle each of these different aspects. And if I compare again to an apple store for me as a consumer, walking into an apple store, there's an overwhelming number of staff.[00:17:52] Trevor: And also think about the revenue per square foot. [00:17:55] Ricardo: That too. Exactly. [00:17:57] Ron: I think that [00:17:58] on a really high margin business, you do have more room for that.[00:18:04] Ricardo: So you distinguish between luxury retailers at that point versus a discounter value retailer, where the model may be sufficiently different, that you don't need to apply that. segmentation or specialization of skills. [00:18:15] Trevor: You mean there's not going to be stylists at dollar stores[00:18:21] Ricardo: that would be, the question, [00:18:22] Shish: natural progression, but there is a customer expectation, which is generally followed by retail tech, responding to it. And one of the aspects that's really happening out there is technologies providing capabilities to address some of these things. For example, expertise in stores.[00:18:39] Today there is an expectation for [00:18:42] expertise. When you go into a store, a specialized store where, electronics or something like that, where you need a store associates to have a lot more knowledge, but with technology capabilities, it is possible to sort of democratize that make available. The expertise from different stores right across all of the stores. And those kinds of things are really making it possible to, to address those expectations as well. [00:19:09] Trevor: Yeah. I mean, one of the things that I'm a big fan of is that's kind of pushing out a technology to the edge. And certainly I look at this through my perch lens.[00:19:17] Which is, when you think about putting the digital experience has guided product storytelling that is available to obviously all the consumers on their own, but also the sales associates. But similarly, if you've got an iPad in your hand, that's a training device for downtime.[00:19:31] That's a career pathing and improvement device. and you can make the most of the hours that you're in store. So I think this pushing technology to the edge and into the fingertips of everyone, has the ability for those [00:19:42] who have the motivation and the desire to hold those skillsets up rapidly than what was available to them in the past.[00:19:48] Ron: A bit of a counter to the, more is better is that this is an industry in brick and mortar retail that has not always been given the accolade as a career that it deserves.[00:19:59] And sometimes this, people that are highly committed and highly skilled, and this is very much an intentional career become that much better at their job. They are retained longer and sometimes it's kind of a quality versus quantity. And so you could actually have a smaller team that's highly skilled, very engaged, works really well under, whatever kind of product categories you're selling and the culture of the company, but provide a level of service because of their expertise and their commitment to the industry.[00:20:30] And that's, I think the kind of temporary nature sometimes of people in stores then requires, more of them versus fewer that are highly skilled. And then, so it's a conversation and a balance that I [00:20:42] think every retailer, is talking about today. [00:20:44] Ricardo: I think that's true. I agree with you I like to view the technology piece of that in many cases, equalizer, sometimes to address the point, you just mentioned about the temporary aspect of people coming and going, and then the turnover and some ways if done properly and seamlessly enough, I think the technology can help normalize that approach a little bit and compensate for loss of skill. When you have people that leave that were perhaps one of those high-end skilled individuals that really knew how to do that job. And therefore they could handle working with many customers at once versus perhaps some of the other staff that are newer at the role might only be able to handle one or two at a time, depending on the type of store environment that you were in.[00:21:25] Question from Evan Kirstel[00:21:25] Ricardo: I want to turn attention over to, Evan who's joined us on stage. Why don't you go ahead and give us your question for the panel. [00:21:30] Evan Kirstel: Yeah. Happy Friday, everyone. I've been most interested in the technology side of retail behind the scenes. I laughed out loud, referenced to green CRT screen [00:21:42] flashing. Sadly, see that far too often. [00:21:46] Ricardo: still see that too often. I agree. [00:21:48] Evan Kirstel: Yeah. Well, the other hand, I talked to a lot of clients who are participating in the kind of digital transformation of retail. And I'd love your opinion on who were some of the players to watch.[00:21:58] I mean, when I'm talking to a lot lately with Facebook workplace or workplace from Facebook, it's their enterprise communications division. So basically taking all of their messaging and video and apps and tools and enabling, or powering retailers like Petco and Domino's and others to improve the employee experience.[00:22:18] So think about, group messaging and calling video tension, live video streaming education, all kinds of analytics around that as well. Are you seeing adoption of more modern communication tools like that or others or what's most interesting to you when it comes to, real-time communication messaging, voice, video, or other apps within the frontline for the workers. [00:22:40] Jeff: Are we talking about [00:22:42] retailers or are we talking about services, service providers to retail? [00:22:45] Evan Kirstel: Yeah, the retailers are adopting a lot of these tools with their frontline employees, for employee engagement, employee communications messaging. We used to call the intranet, but it's basically apps on phones now.[00:22:57] Ricardo: And so we could look at this from both perspectives. I think Jeff, from the prospective of which retailers are doing this well, and what kind of technology are they using?[00:23:04] Ron: I mean, I can share what I use on today, which is retail zip-line line, which is actually used by all of gap, Inc. which is an incredible platform and not an intranet. But it's a communication tool. It's a tracking tool. It's a way to send out quick messages. There's a lot of functionality from multiple reasons. But I think within the store team at every level, day in day out, I've not actually not seen one that does that, come seamlessly that everyone uses without providing, devices to everyone, which is depending on the state and depending on what's happening, that can be a tricky conversation.[00:23:38] But so far that's what I've seen and, has worked really well for me. [00:23:41] Casey: [00:23:42] I'm obviously biased, but, there's going to be a lot more tools that are going to be coming in over the next, 12 to 18 months just because this was a really hard product to sell into a brand three years ago.[00:23:55] A lot of people, in this space that wanted to do it, had to pivot into doing something else because it was just a hard sell. But now I think that, It's going to be a requirement. Just as standard as, having a computer at work, if you have sales associates, and they're going to have to have a tool.[00:24:12] So I think we're going to see more of a standardized school. That's going to be coming out that more brands will start using the same one. But right now everybody's kind of spread all across the board. And there's reasons that brands are choosing one over the other. There hasn't really been one that does everything necessarily doesn't necessarily even do everything well, but obviously I'm biased with my own, but, there's pros and cons to kind of everything right now.[00:24:35] I think we'll see the leader next year. [00:24:36] Shish: And a lot of examples that I've seen, one of them is a startup that I'm working with, called askSID[00:24:42] they have to QR code, on wine bottles or the shelves and customers can scan it and it instantly brings an expert to them and they can ask questions have a conversation.[00:24:52] So this is one way that retailers have actually, really figured out how can they have experts in every store that knows their wines really well without necessarily staffing every store. [00:25:04] Another example I've seen as for call centers itself, where, the expertise that they wanted to provide was to a chat bot. So when a customer calls a call center, the challenges the call center person is looking up information. There's a lot of delays. They're following up an app in the background, doing the search, trying to find the answers to the question the customer wants. So what they're doing to empower this is there is a chat bot and AI based chat bot that is picking up the customer call at the same time in parallel to the human operator.[00:25:39] And the chat bot is [00:25:42] transcribing the call, learning the intent of the questions that the customer is asking, connecting to backe nd showing it to the call center operator at the same time. And this essentially means that the call center operators is far more intelligent in his responses is able to respond very quickly and efficiently to the customer.[00:25:59] So that was one area from a communications perspective that I thought was, very interesting. The third one is really empowering the store associates and, and today there's many companies that provide communication devices. for example, there's a company called Theatro that does a headset based communication device for store associates.[00:26:20] yeah, [00:26:23] Ricardo: love their solution.. [00:26:25] Shish: Turnpike turnpike is out of Sweden and they have, , a, wearable. DASSI wristwatches that send information over to the store associates and it's generally far more discrete, , and store associates can actually use those communication devices to talk to systems in the back [00:26:42] end.[00:26:42] So if they have a question about, do we have a certain product in stock right now? They can ask a chat bot the chat bot will look up the systems instantaneously and be able to get the responses. And this again, I think is another thing that's really transforming the frontline worker, in a way, making them far more efficient , with tools like this.[00:27:03] Jeff: Yep. Hang on, hang on a sec. Let me follow up on that question. Are you doing anything with voice, voice AI? [00:27:10] Shish: Yes. there is, a lot of, I would say controversy around voice. So in terms of voice, for store associates, the one scenario that I talked about last was one where store associates are actually using the headsets to talk to a chat bot.[00:27:27] So if a customer is looking for a certain product, typically what they would do is radio someone in the back room to say, do we have that in the back room? Or is it an order or something like that. But, in this situation they're actually using voice [00:27:42] to talk to a chat bot that is connecting to backend systems to determine if something is in the backroom.[00:27:48] If it does an order, if it's in a nearby store and it is providing the response by voice immediately to the store associate. And that to me is extremely powerful, where the store associates are empowered, but all that information that they using voice queries to query back end systems. [00:28:05] Jeff: How about sentiment or, sense of, either happiness or urgency in the invoice. I'm actually going to be talking to a couple of startups that are actually going to that level of sophistication.[00:28:16] Shish: So, , in call center, there is, I've seen situations where, when, someone calls a call center and the operators talking to that person, there is AI models that the chat bot that it was talking about earlier, that it's, transcribing the call looking at the intent of the questions. At the same time, it is also detecting the sentiment, of each speaker. So if there is, frustration, for example, it'll detect that and it will [00:28:42] notify the call center supervisor that here's the call where there's potentially a problem, and you want to listen to what you want to intervene. So it's actually detecting all of that.[00:28:52] Jeff: Yeah. Interesting.[00:28:53] Brandon: We also need to consider the human element of the organization, the frontline associates, or our ambassadors, how we want to refer to them. The stylist interacting with the customer technology are all referencing it innovative is right up there and on trend and having this be powered by AI AR , virtual reality or critical components of driving personalization, seamless, intuitive, and we're driving adoption rate by the store associates of stylists and the way.[00:29:25] Their ability to effectively serve the customer and effectively providing outstanding customer experience in store and connect that digital aspect of it as well. And help drive conversion as customers come to the store for advice or engagement or a building connection to the brand.[00:29:41] Ricardo: Yeah, [00:29:42] there's an interesting element there I'm reminded of one retailer I talked to a few years back who was deploying devices just as we're talking about and some of the feedback they had from their associates in the pilot stores, is that they were starting to feel like Batman wearing a utility belt because they were being asked to carry all this technology everywhere they went around the store. That tells us there's a threshold somewhere where it becomes too cumbersome to just hand over technology to the associates that way. I think that's a consideration, Brandon, maybe that's what you're getting at as far as paying attention to the human component of this, you can't just ask a store associate to say, here's three devices you need to carry around all day to do these three different tasks. Or there has to be a little bit more thought behind how transparent the technology is and how seamlessly it can be incorporated into their workflow in a way that makes sense. [00:30:28] Brandon: Correct. And we see companies do clienteling and then trying to streamline it to one app or one ipad or mobile first and it's worked for most situations, but again, it has to be connected to the [00:30:42] customer, empowering the store associates and driving outstanding customer experience.[00:30:46] Then I'd love to hear Ron's perspective on that. How technology can help the store associates drive a outstanding customer experience. [00:30:52] Ron: Yeah, no, thanks, Brandon. And you're exactly right. And I think the experience that is most, I think, recognized and celebrated by the customer is, how much history you have to the idea of in clientelling, which, the facts show that the average spend is that much higher.[00:31:10] The retention rate is higher. The return rate is lower. Like the benefits are enormous, but if you can say to someone, oh my gosh, like, let me. Quickly look at your purchase history on my phone, on my iPad that I have in my hand. Wow. It looks like you were here last month and this is what you bought. I have some things I know you're going to love.[00:31:28] And so you begin this relationship building with facts and with information that arms you to provide an exceptional experience. And so the technology kind of in your pocket provides you [00:31:42] information and then you can go and then, the client is entirely engaged because they, feel seen and heard.[00:31:49] They know that their business is appreciated. You can say that kind of along the way. I'm so glad that you came back. I'd really love to help you build on those wardrobe pieces or add that, that other. You know, the technology piece too. your last purchase here at apple. So there's, there's a lot that can happen with technology that just supports relationship building and all of the data in how that benefits an overall company is all positive.[00:32:15] There's no downside to it when done well, other than overwhelming at the store team. And that's where I think you can dial back and say, well, actually who's really good at this let's arm them. This person actually is much better just converting on the sales floor. Doesn't need to have the full deck in front of them.[00:32:34] So I think great leaders can look at that. I do at my own using hero in chat functions and who does confinements, who [00:32:42] converts, who sells more? You can dial in, and it's not one size fits all. And that's where people really, that retention piece starts to escalate because you would say thank you for recognizing that I'm actually not comfortable using this technology, but I'm really good doing this.[00:33:00] Let me do this more. That's a winning formula to retaining your team, building great client relationships and growing your business. But , that's where I put a lot of effort and time today. And, I believe that it really pays off. [00:33:14] Ricardo: That's not even advice specific to retailers organization, but many businesses adopt that approach and, let's call it company culture around how to encourage certain behaviors and how to reward people who are doing the job the best way they can. And also to create an environment that promotes this, the ability to do better and do more, whether it's with technology or without, or is that really, isn't the point, right?[00:33:39] This comes back to your earlier point Ron, about more [00:33:42] specialization and segmentation and the skills and the roles within the store. [00:33:46] All of this plays together into building that better company culture that fosters an environment that encourages this kind of activity and rewards people in these roles because they're filling a really important need for the retailer.[00:34:00] Ron: Yeah. I think that's where we had sometimes dug ourselves into our own trap of saying everyone needs to be good at everything. And then it'd be kind of to become a generalist as at all of it. And the customer's ability to remember their experience is diluted because no one really stood out in their mind, but we created that ourselves.[00:34:21] We created this kind of generic retail, you know, everyone's nice. Are you finding everything? Okay. And then you walk away and that, kind of generic version of retail, you know, Steve, Dennis likes to talk about Is what got us in trouble. And so that's where I'm saying it should not be generic. It should actually be very specialized.[00:34:41] We should hire [00:34:42] people with specialty, and invest in them and be better at what you hired them to do. And those are the people when you see NPS surveys that mention people by name, and I see it every day, you don't go home and write a survey about your experience and reference people's names. If you didn't have an experience that created, it's not through a business card in your shopping bag, you remembered their name because you were so engaged.[00:35:08] That's what happens when you invest in them. And then they deliver that to the customer. And it's like this winning cycle. But not everyone plays that game. And that, is so much fun because you see it in your business. And that's what we're all trying to reestablish today in our industry. [00:35:24] Ricardo: That is so well said, Ron, it's all about embracing the uniqueness and the skill sets that you're bringing into the environment and to the team and encouraging more of that to make the entire team better and ultimately that's reflected in the revenue that you're going to generate through that team, because they're such a [00:35:42] critical part of that process. [00:35:44] Question from Jeff Brand[00:35:44] Ricardo: I, I've, brought a few more folks up on stage so I'm Jeff, I'm going to go to you next , what was your comment for us? [00:35:50] Jeff Brand: Yeah, thank you. I'm an owner of a brick and mortar retail buildings. I'm a landlord, but I'm also a consumer and something that Trevor said, which was interesting to me is that his goal is to create engaging content for consumers that would draw them into the store, but giving them a lot of information to really engage them.[00:36:11] So what I wanted to find out about frontline workers, how do you make sure that the frontline worker knows more than the consumer does when they walk in the store? Because the consumer has the ability to research ad nauseum about the products they're going to shop for. [00:36:28] Trevor: I think that's a great question. I think about that often, right. 70% of shoppers think that they know more than the sales associates, because they have access to that very data. so I think there, are a couple of different ways to think through this. One is, making sure you've got all the [00:36:42] learning management systems for your sales associates, but the other way to think about it is to really think through proprietary tools that walk you through the category.[00:36:51] Most of this content out there is product by product. And what I'm seeing a lot of is digital tools that are being deployed in store and online to do a needs analysis and walk you through the category. I'll give you an example. If I'm buying a drill at home Depot, you got all the drills on the shelf.[00:37:09] But, I don't want to pick control, oh, this is this many Watts and this is that many Watts and great, well, what does that mean? , I don't know the difference between the wattage's . And , what will I be able to do or not be able to do what, walk me through, like, what do I need to strive for?[00:37:23] It's just like, Hey, Trevor just needs to make sure not to call the handyman too much, you know? And, and to look good in front of his wife, that he can fix some things or Trevor, you're really into home improvement projects to do a lot of serious work. And so, thinking through a category type tour and a needs [00:37:42] analysis and providing some of these proprietary tools, I think we'll create a type of guided experience that ends up lending itself in a differentiated way to what you can find out.[00:37:50] Jeff: And I also think we're really getting to , a paradigm where we shouldn't expect store associates to know more than customers coming in. If it's a passionate purchase. When I bought my kayak, I knew probably more about that. I guarantee you, I knew more about that kayak that I settled on, than the REI associates, because I researched it.[00:38:07] I spent days researching it. And so I think, we're sort of at that point where retailers just have to be comfortable with, sort of that, that maybe shift in knowledge and, accelerate and work with that and not necessarily try to fight against it.[00:38:19] Jeff Brand: That's very interesting. Thank you.[00:38:21] Ron: Yeah. And, I think apple again, does a really nice job of putting so much effort into training and yes, clients come in all day. And I remember when I joined apple as a store manager, The launch of iPhone two, and I was really nervous about, I don't know how this is going to work.[00:38:40] And [00:38:42] the calming kind of words are, they, customers will always know more than you do about the product. People are obsessed with this brand, but to say, you know what? I don't know, but I'm going to find out I'm going to help you learn how to use this. I'm going to find someone who's an expert in this particular skill of what you're looking for.[00:39:01] And if you can say, you know what, I don't have any idea how to do that, but I'm going to find someone that does, can calm it down. And the customer's like great, happy to make that happen. So I also think we don't always want to put so much pressure on ourselves. Everyone at every store has to be an expert in everything it's not realistic, but we can just drill down and think about expertise and putting the right people with the right customers for that specific ask that applies in all of our businesses, including, fashion for me. And I love this idea of it. Every experience should be unique and individual based on what the customer came in looking for.[00:39:41] Ricardo: [00:39:42] Yeah. I agree with that absolutely critical to deliver a great service that you want to have in your store. So Jeff, thank you for that question. [00:39:50] Question from Tim Tang[00:39:50] Ricardo: Tim, do you have a comment or question for us? [00:39:52] Tim Tang: Yeah, the question I wanted to ask you was, when we think about retail and we think about employment, frontline workers in retail, there's an enormously high turnover rate, as well as, some studies suggest, suggested very low engagement rate.[00:40:06] And I was wondering if you were aware of any progress or any meaningful innovations or any changes, in recent years on those two fronts.[00:40:15] Ron: Hi Tim. To answer your question on, on evolutions of the, great part about some of the technology that we're talking about, that there are ways to survey teams more quickly. So there's, apps like butterfly that where you can, you're in constant contact of how, how are you feeling today?[00:40:34] Kind of on a, on a scale of different faces or on numbers. How are let's check in with you about how [00:40:42] you're feeling, which is a really important, component to emotional leadership today, emotional intelligence. So you're, kind of constant checking in and, feeling connected, but I think , more importantly than anything that the quality and the intent of retail leadership today at the store level specifically, but at the multi-store space that all of us today in any kind of retail leadership that touches store teams and has influence on that experience, it is really our responsibility to do that in a way that is more emotionally, engaged than ever before.[00:41:20] And I think the idea of store visits that are checklist of numbers and. Store operations and audits and things that seem very tactical are really a thing of the past. And today I just, I was in stores all week. And what I did was spend time on the floor, talking to the teams, engaging with customers side by [00:41:42] side, learning how they're, how they feel learning, how they're experiencing the math challenge of week two and what it all means.[00:41:52] And that actually goes a really long way to engaging with those teams and say, I really appreciate that. Ron spent the day on the floor with selling with us today, and [00:42:01] I was able to ask questions and I was able to get solutions and hear what's happening at the company today. We just have to be closer than we've ever been before to what's really happening face-to-face with the customer and we have to listen and learn and act and engage and be curious more than ever before. And that's, that's what will change our industry. And that's how teams are repaying. And you, you learn, I come back to the office today with armed, with so much information about spending the week on the sales floor and about how people really feel.[00:42:37] And I can pretty much guarantee that those people I engage with [00:42:42] are happy that someone listened to them this week. I hope that answers your question.[00:42:48] Tim Tang: I think that's an interesting perspective, I mean that it's, if I'm hearing you correctly, it's the idea of using that customer feedback. That's kind of a motivator for the employees and you mean something to be celebrated, something to be highlighted, but it's, that kind of, positive feedback to get encouraged more out of the employee base.[00:43:06] Ron: Yeah. I actually think the employee feedback is more important than customer feedback sometimes. So that's the first thing that I would ask is how do you feel, how was your experience working here right now? How you feel having the math conversation it's uncomfortable. Let's do this together so that you can feel more comfortable when someone comes in and, wants to have a more difficult conversation.[00:43:27] So their feedback about their experience as an employee drives the customer experience that drives the business. And that's, why I would talk about surveys or being really close to them. That's what's going to change the game [00:43:39] Brandon: That ties back, Ron [00:43:42] to outstanding employee experience, customer experience. And you, you can say once that the, this empowered customer who has access to data to other brands and social media channels picked up once at the head of them and really personalize things.[00:44:05] Ricardo: That's a pretty impressive approach. And I say that Ron because listening to you describe how you've gone and collected that feedback on the floor reminds me of many retailer conversations that I had in years past and Tim may even remember some of these as in full disclosure for the audience, here Tim, and I used to work together.[00:44:26] And he may remember that being in some retailer meetings where we would ask them the question. When was the last time you were walked your store floor and understood both your customer and employee experience? And there, I think too many times that I remember being met with blank faces, when asking that [00:44:42] question?[00:44:42] And I always thought to myself, wondering how could they not have had a response for that? How could we be in a room full of retail executives that didn't have an immediate answer as to not only when was the last time they did this, what kind of feedback did they get? I would expect this is something you should know, because you're not going to be able to improve on your associates environment.[00:45:01] You're not going to be able to improve on that customer experience without ongoing feedback. And I don't think it's sufficient to claim that the feedback process could just be asking customers to fill out a response form and an email post-transaction or asking employees to do the same thing at the end of their Workday.[00:45:19] So please go in and fill out this survey form, but tell us how the day went. You really want to get that direct one-on-one feedback to really understand exactly how things are going. [00:45:29] Ron: And I would just add the store teams know that. And when decisions are made in the C-suite by people who have not spent time in stores and it impacts them, that's where [00:45:42] the problem lies is in the turnover happens because the responses will, did they not understand what we do every day? How hard this is the conversations that we have to have, and the workload that happens every day in brick and mortar stores. There's an assumption that people that sit in our leadership chairs don't understand that. And if you can demonstrate your at least willingness to show up and listen, you may not be able to solve every problem. If you use just show up and you say hello, I went to Greenwich the other day and some new team members.[00:46:14] And just to be able to sit in the morning, have a coffee, listen, where did you work before? I'll like, that will keep them going for months. And it was very little effort on my part and a huge return. And that's what all of us in leadership, we have to do that more. And particularly today, they're in a very difficult situation of being customer engaging.[00:46:37] Not only last year, it's still hard today. And that's why I just [00:46:42] encourage everyone be as close as you can, to the people doing the work technology aside. The human conversation goes a really long way. [00:46:49] Shish: Yeah. That's the great point also from the employee perspective, one of the things I'm looking at is, stores are putting more emphasis on customer engagement and employee spending more time with customers versus doing mundane jobs. And that's another transformation I'm seeing where automation comes in.[00:47:09] A very common example that I'm seeing in terms of automation is, on-shelf availability where almost every retailer is. Automating that in the past, it was, employees going round and making sure that the products are on shelf. And today they're looking at cameras and sensors to do that job so that the store associates can spend that time engaging with customers rather than doing that.[00:47:35] Ricardo: Yeah, that is absolutely an interesting point. And we could probably another room just on that topic alone and [00:47:42] going through the reality versus perceptions, right, automation, AI, and machine learning. What does that mean for other jobs? Whether we're talking about frontline staff or other roles within a retail organization, where's the balance you can draw between those areas.[00:48:00] So thanks Tim . That was a great, topic to touch on.[00:48:02] Question from Jeff Sward[00:48:02] Ricardo: Jeff, What was your question or comment for us and welcome to the stage. [00:48:06] Jeff Sward: Actually, the last conversation is going to be a perfect segue for my question, which is how does the frontline associates become, more useful, I guess, in helping the whole company understand the why of best sellers and worst sellers. Ron was describing these great interactions between sellers and customers that are data-driven about past history and prior purchases. So when the customer buys something, the system captures all the hard information, but it doesn't capture is the [00:48:42] why, why was something that bestseller, why was something a worst seller. Nobody sets out and puts worst sellers in the stores to begin with. So what happens? [00:48:53] Brandon: It's a great question. And I think that that's where it'd be social selling aspect comes in, that the sentiments could be the emotional multisensory sentiments through Instagram and Twitter and other feedback loop that retailers will receive from the customers. And it's not captured within the transactional systems, ERP systems, et cetera, social commerce, digital marketing is where that system lies.[00:49:18] So I think it's a very complex challenge to capture all the emotional sentiment, but that might be a place to start.[00:49:24] Shish: I totally agree. I think it's a data challenge. Many of the retailers that I work with, look at the other influencing data factors that will tell them why something a best seller. And this could be anything from the demographics around the store and the correlation of a certain [00:49:42] product or plan with that demographic, being the cause, it could be something going viral on the internet.[00:49:49] It could be other factors and influences that make something a best seller. And a lot of times is the inference models that they build from the combinations of data. And that typically is one of the approaches that many retailers use. [00:50:05] Ron: Yeah. And it's Ron. I would just add, I think again, Jeff, the more we can engage with the sales teams that are selling the product the better. So there's definitely feedback that can come through customers on social, or maybe it's live selling and you can capture information via chat.[00:50:22] There's a lot of ways to learn, but my office that's right out in front of, the design team for our own private label at intermix. And, you know, I spend a lot of time with them about this is what I've seen. This is what I've heard. Let's bring a team of New York stylist to the office and give you feedback from sketch review.[00:50:41] Like I [00:50:42] I'm, we're doing walkthroughs on sketches before they even become samples before fit before production. Like we stayed so close to it every step of the way so that we try to minimize the risks and the misses. I recognize that that's a small business compared to many people on this phone, but it's important that at every and every part that we've listened and we've learned and we've acted accordingly. , and I think the benefit from that is enormous.[00:51:11] Jeff Sward: Great, thanks, Ron. [00:51:12] Ricardo: Thanks, Jeff. For that question - good discussion topic, [00:51:16] Question from Amanda Fetch[00:51:16] Ricardo: Amanda, what is your question or comment for us? [00:51:19] Amanda Fetch: Yeah. Hello, thank you so much for the opportunity to join the stage. I know that the wave of the future has been to the point of the topic of the room, the future of frontline staff and how that's been sort of disappearing. We had, for example, Amazon Go in Rock Center where there is nobody to basically check you out. And, how now we have tech companies pivoting off of Amazon, like Facebook, [00:51:42] who is looking to have the live shopping Fridays and things like that.[00:51:45] Where again, it's not totally eliminating what we want to call a checkout. There's a human being involved, but again, it's online. So you still have the tech aspects, but so what I wanted to present to the panel and hear your thoughts on is what about, the customer of, for example, a Lulu lemon where their core is assisting the customer, what they like to call was more educating their customer on the fabrics and on the brand of things of that nature.[00:52:10] So I'm curious to hear your thoughts on companies like that. As the world's going to this really tech and to the point of the room, you know, future front Line staff.[00:52:18] If they start disappearing, what happens to companies or retailers like Lulu lemon, will they survive if we start seeing less and less of these, how do you see companies like that weathering this sort of tech storm that's coming on the horizon there? [00:52:33] Ricardo: Thank you for bringing up this topic. Where are we headed in the reality of more automation versus human interaction the [00:52:42] way frontline staff operationally works in a store as well as interacts with customers, as well as what's the customer preference going to be.[00:52:49] If we think about our consumers and what they expect when they come to the store. I think a lot of this depends on what the brand relationship is with the consumer I would argue that, for a Lululemon there is a consumer expectation that when they come to the store, they know they can count on the staff there.[00:53:05] Would that same customer have a similar expectation if they knew that they were going to be greeted by some kind of AI or a bot or some other automated process instead of a human being, I don't know that that would meet the customer's satisfaction for a brand like Lululemon.[00:53:21] I think that becomes a differentiator. So while there could be a discussion in a board room at Lulu lemon that says. You know, is our labor costs getting too high? Do we need to balance our a rising labor costs with some form of automation to handle certain customer interactions? I think they're going to conclude that they can't just [00:53:42] ignore this aspect.[00:53:43] I think that the filter you can apply to this is to say, is the brand relationship purely transactional.[00:53:49] If it is, then chances are a lot of that relationship could be replaced with automation, and to the retailer that's probably a cost saving exercise at some level. If that relationship is not purely transactional, if it's really based on what I think everybody on the stage would define as a real brand relationship where there's an emotional connection for the customer.[00:54:10] I personally don't believe that those relationships can be easily replaced with automation in that way. I think it requires a person to be involved, and I think it's required from the customer's point of view, but would younger generations be more okay with the thought of being greeted by some form of AI or automation rather than a human being versus an older generation?[00:54:33] I don't know that I can predict. But I think that would just be another interesting way to look at. [00:54:38] Jeff: I love that question so much because, I get asked all the [00:54:42] time is, so what is retail doing? Literally they're doing everything at all all the same time. So when I start thinking about, the role of automation and AI, there's clearly going to be a very significant chunk of retail that is going to embrace that. And there's going to be clearly another chunk of retail that's not. It's going to be high touch, high experience. And the best example I can point to right now is in an in and out burger, in and out burger has always paid well above market rate for, for really fast food jobs. And people go there. Me included, literally go by far cheaper solutions and sit in pretty darn long lines because we want that experience.[00:55:16] And I love the fact that people like that experience. And I love the fact that a retailer has created an opportunity for fast food workers to actually become, real career opportunities and a whole lot of people that are going to be running companies in 10 or 15 or 20 years really got their start there under that training.[00:55:32] So the answer is, we're going to see it's going to be the future is going to be all of the above. The key thing is what do people want and what do people want from their [00:55:42] retail experience. That's also going to be the big driver. So if, if all of a sudden the next three or four years people say, you know, I like the human touch. I don't want to be greeted by an AI. Retailers will respond. I think there clearly will be a lot more automation and there's clearly going to be a lot more people involved.[00:55:58] Ron: I definitely agree with, Jeff. I think it will depend on the business, but I would say today where we sit in the way the client is behaving, that her expectation of engagement and the time spent in the store and the amount of energy that goes into these very human interactions has never been higher.[00:56:18] And that may be a surge of, having spent 18 months online and really craving that human interaction. But I don't think it's going to completely pendulum swing the other way. I think there will always be a need for great human engaged selling, educational, retail. And for me that, that the best version of that, not just [00:56:42] in luxury will be the ones that kind of set the bar for

Alex Edmans is a professor of finance at London Business School and the author of the book, "Grow the Pie: How Great Companies Deliver Both Purpose and Profit". He is an expert in corporate governance, executive compensation, corporate social responsibility, and behavioral finance. He has spoken at the World Economic Forum in Davos, at the World Bank Distinguished Speaker Series and in the UK House of Commons, and given multiple TED Talks. Alex graduated from Oxford University and then worked for Morgan Stanley in investment banking (London) and fixed income sales and trading (New York). After a PhD in Finance from MIT Sloan as a Fulbright Scholar, he joined Wharton in 2007 and was tenured in 2013 shortly before moving to LBS. Learn more about Alex at: alexedmans.com Timestamps: 0:00 - Introduction 05:51 - Laurie Hodrick's Influence on Alex 09:41 - What drives Alex as a Professor? 12:46 - Role of Technology in Dissemination of Knowledge 18:36 - About Alex's Book - Grow the Pie 21:10 - Addressing the Dilemma of Purpose vs Profits 24:23 - Short-term vs Long-term Value 29:13 - Grow the Pie Mentality for Individuals and Startups 32:25 - Using Metrics to get Feedback 37:10 - Can we rely on companies to stay committed? (Corporate Ethics) 45:18 - What does Alex's Utopia look like? Mentioned in the Podcast: 1) Laurie Simon Hodrick is a Visiting Professor of Law and Rock Center for Corporate Governance Fellow at Stanford Law School, a visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, and the A. Barton Hepburn Professor Emerita of Economics in the Faculty of Business at Columbia Business School. 2) 10 Questions: www.ft.com/content/c5c386a8-64fb-11e0-9369-00144feab49a 3) Mathew Syed - Matthew Syed is an author and highly acclaimed speaker in the field of high performance. He has written six bestselling books on the subject of mindset and high performance – Rebel Ideas, Bounce, Black Box Thinking – and has worked with many leading organizations to build a mindset of continuous improvement. 4) Quantified Self Revolution - The Quantified Self is an international community of users and makers of self-tracking tools who share an interest in “self-knowledge through numbers." quantifiedself.com 5) Merck & Co., Inc - d.b.a. Merck Sharp & Dohme outside the United States and Canada, is an American multinational pharmaceutical company and one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world. 6) Unilever - Unilever is an Anglo-Dutch multinational consumer goods company headquartered in London, England, and Rotterdam, Netherlands. 7) Paul Polman - Paulus Polman is a Dutch businessman. He is a former Procter & Gamble president for Western Europe. In 2006 Polman joined Nestlé as chief financial officer and became vice president for the Americas in February 2008 8) Alan Jope - Alan Jope is a Scottish businessman, and the CEO of Unilever since January 2019, succeeding Paul Polman. 9) Roy Vagelos - Pindaros Roy Vagelos, better known as P. Roy Vagelos or Roy Vagelos, is an American physician and business executive, who was president and chief executive officer and chairman of the American pharmaceutical company Merck & Co. Since 1995, Vagelos has served as chairman of the board of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/utopia-is-now/message

Rock Center Shorts with SEC Commissioner Elad Roisman by Stanford Radio

Johanna tells us about her experience coaching JLo for the movie Hustlers and Super Bowl. She coached JLo for the famous pole dancing scenes in Hustlers and she also choreographed the Super Bowl pole dancing section. Joanna and Johanna met years ago. When Joanna hosted her first dance showcase, Johanna performed at her show. And now they have come together after 20+ years to talk about everything they have been working on since then. In this episode you will learn about:The steps that Johanna took to become the spectacular dancer she is.How things come full circle in life.How you can be happier by taking away the word “perfection” from your self development.The behind the scenes experiences working with JLo and traveling to multiple locations non stop.Embracing every experience and people you meet throughout your dance journey. Favorite Quote: “Perfection is a unicorn, it’s not real” Johanna gives you the behind the scenes of teaching a pop artist and how much traveling she had to do to be present at all times with her client. About Johanna:Johanna Sapakie’s passion for dance and love for choreography have always played animportant role in her life. Her diligent work ethic and dedication to the craft have gotten her far in the ever-expanding world of entertainment. While coming from a strong ballet background, Johanna is an athletic aerialist and dancer schooled in a variety of forms including contemporary, jazz, hip-hop, lyrical, tap, modern, partnering, point work and aerial & pole acrobatics. She was trained from a very young age and has worked with such master teachers as Joe Tremaine, Debbie Allen, Liz Imperio, Marguerite Derricks, Wade Robson and Savion Glover. More recently, on the performance side of her career, Johanna has been involved in many projects on stage and on camera including the newest Cirque Du Soleil shows in Las Vegas Michael Jackson ONE with Jamie King and Viva ELVIS with Vincent Paterson, Super Bowl LIV with Jennifer Lopez, Dancing With the Stars, the Arabesque Festival at the Kennedy Center, "One Love..." with Franco Dragone, Songs of Soul and Inspiration with, among others, Debbie Allen, Queen Latifah and Chaka Khan, MEIFF with Otis Salid, The Mexican Billboard Awards with Liz Imperio, Miss USA, The MTV Movie Awards, New Year’s Eve Live at Mandalay Bay, the first animated ringtone for "Boom di Boom di", the lead female pole acrobat in That Rogue Romeo’s music video "Domino", Jazz Dance World Congress, The Professional Dancers’ Society Benefit with Dick Van Dyke, Steps In Time for Disney’s California Adventure, Mental Head Circus with Terry Beeman, the Hysterica Dance Company with Bubba Carr, NY’s Performance Outlet with Dee Caspary, Gucci, Redken, Volvo and Tarbell Realty industrials, a featured female aerialist in Argentum Silvereye, photography for the Dance Resource Center and much more. Johanna has been a member of Liz Imperio’s Instincts Live Media Dance Company which has toured throughout the U.S. and Europe and Mark Meismer‘s Evolution Dance Company. As an artistic director and choreographer, Ms. Sapakie has worked on the re-release of Michael Jackson’s “Blood on the Dance Floor” music video, So You Think You Can Dance, Splendor for Franco Dragone, the major motion picture Hustlers and the music video “Medicine” for Jennifer Lopez, Miley Cyrus: Live in Concert, A Choreographers’ Showcase for Cirque Du Soleil, The Gioi Tinh Yeu with ASIA Music Group, Michael Jackson: A Tribute to the King of Pop and Michael Jackson at B.B. King’s Club, Jean Ann Ryan cruise lines, Viva Los Dodgers at Dodgers Stadium with the cast of tv’s Q’viva, the Upper Manhattan Lounge, Jazz Dance L.A., promotional showcases for EMI recording artists, choreography for professional dance companies, studios and schools around the world and much more. Also, Johanna has been an associate choreographer for Madonna: The Confessions Tour and Madonna: The Reinvention Tour, the Michael Jackson ONE birthday celebration for Cirque Du Soleil, Q'Viva: The Chosen with Jamie King for Fox and Univision, Latin on Ice for NBC, Your Mama Don't Dance for Lifetime Television, Filippa Giordano: The Prima Donna Tour, Premio Lo Nuestro, the Latin Grammy Awards, the feature film Dus, industrials, burlesque shows, animated ringtones, showcases and performances for recording artists Jennifer Lopez, Marc Anthony, Sheryl Crow, Olga Tañon, Aventura, Jenni Rivera, Los Tigres Del Norte and routines for the Los Angeles Clippers, to name a few. Along with performing and choreographing, Johanna takes much pride in her teaching. While always trying to expand her horizons, she teaches all forms of dance including contemporary, jazz, lyrical, ballet, hip-hop and tap. She has taught at studios all around the world for children and adults of all levels and abilities. Johanna also enjoyed teaching as part of the LADF family for many years and has guest taught at many other conventions. She has shared her knowledge and love for dance often at Edge Performing Arts Center and The Debbie Allen Dance Academy in Los Angeles and The Rock Center for Dance in Las Vegas, as well as many other places.  Johanna is also an accomplished aerial acrobat and performs on many different apparatus including tissú, lyra, spans, hammock, acro pole, and cube. Additionally, Ms. Sapakie performs a one-of-a-kind aerial dance act on an apparatus specially conceptualized and designed by Johanna herself called a double helix. She has performed and taught her aerial skills all over North and South America and the Middle East. She also was an integral member of the creation team of female acrobats for a unique spin pole act in Viva ELVIS and a one of a kind solo curved acro pole act in Michael Jackson ONE, both by Cirque Du Soleil. Follow Johanna:InstagramFacebookPole Reel 5 2018Helix 2017 Pro ShowForget Her Text: ANNIVERSARY to (323) 524-9857 to view our WATCH PARTY for our 20th Anniversary Maxt Out Dance Competition online! Follow us:Learn more: Dance Your LifeLearn more: Maxt Out Dance CompetitionInstagram @maxtoutdanceMaxt Out on FacebookTikTok @maxtoutdanceSign-up for our FREE Maxt Out at Home Dance Classes!Follow Joanna:Learn more The Get Up GirlJoanna Vargas on InstagramJoanna Vargas on FacebookTikTok @joannavargasofficialOperation Underground Railroad – OURRescue.org SUBSCRIBE TO OUR PODCAST ON iTUNES, SPOTIFY AND STITCHER! You like what you hear? Leave a 5 star rating and write a review. We want to know how much you love listening to our guests.

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Doing a late night radio show at NBC Radio's headquarters...30 Rock Center in Manhattan was an EDUCATION in more than just doing national radio. It was an education in what to do when groups of beautiful young women wanted to have sex, but my Lady Wonder Wench's picture kept popping up in my head. If some of you guys have a similar problem, you might learn some interesting lessons from listening. And if some of you ladies might be concerned about what your guys are doing in the middle of the night...maybe you should give a listen too.

Doing a late night radio show at NBC Radio's headquarters...30 Rock Center in Manhattan was an EDUCATION in more than just doing national radio. It was an education in what to do when groups of beautiful young women wanted to have sex, but my Lady Wonder Wench's picture kept popping up in my head. If some of you guys have a similar problem, you might learn some interesting lessons from listening. And if some of you ladies might be concerned about what your guys are doing in the middle of the night...maybe you should give a listen too.

Gabby Reece is not only a volleyball legend, but an inspirational leader, New York Times bestselling author, wife, and mother.  The former professional beach volleyball player and Nike's first female spokeswoman is the definition of both athleticism and beauty.  Gabby won an athletic scholarship to Florida State University where she played two seasons before accepting offers from the modeling world.  During her time at FSU she set two school volleyball records that still stand today.  Gabby created with her husband big wave surfer and waterman Laird Hamilton, a company Extreme Performance Training, XPT.  XPT is a unique and powerful fitness training and lifestyle program featuring their unique water workouts, performance breathing, recovery methods and high-intensity and endurance training for people of all fitness levels and backgrounds.  Gabby's most recent book, My Foot Is Too Big for the Glass Slipper, boldly shares her personal story of real-life ups and downs of motherhood and career in order to encourage women worldwide to challenge traditional norms and find personal happiness.  Gabby’s challenge to feminist definitions of the modern women sparked huge media interest, resulting in appearances on The Today Show, Rock Center with Brian Williams, Live from the Couch, Dr. Oz, Katie Couric, E! Chelsea Lately, The Jeff Probst Show and The Better Show, to name a few, she was also co-host of The View and appeared on Access Hollywood. Gabby’s health and fitness tips have appeared in Shape, Men’s Fitness, and Elle magazines.  She has been a contributing editor for Yahoo Health, and has written for The Huffington Post and the Los Angeles Times Magazine.A pro in front of the camera as a TV host, early in her television program hosting career, she won a huge following by taking risks road-lugging, white water kayaking, drag racing, surfing, and sky diving on “MTV Sports” and “The Extremists with Gabrielle Reece” and later she was a commentator at the 1998 Goodwill Games. She has hosted ‘Insider Training’ on the Fit TV/Discovery channel, she was a featured host of ESPN and NBC’s “Gravity Games”, and in the spring of 2016, Gabby became the host of NBC’s new hit fitness competition series “STRONG,”. She has regularly appeared on Good Morning America, The Today Show, the Ellen Degeneres Show and Chelsea Lately, as well as other top tier entertainment shows. She has also appeared in several feature films, where she played a pro beach volleyball player in ‘Cloud Nine’ with Bert Reynolds (2004), a guest star in ‘North Shore’ (2004) and as a physical trainer in the film ‘Gattica’ (1997). Gabby began modeling in high school and throughout her college career. She traveled to New York and Italy in between competing and training. She was only a sophomore at Florida State University when Elle named her “One of The Five Most Beautiful Women in The World”.  She has graced the cover of Sports Illustrated for Women, Travel & Leisure Golf, Women’s Sports & Fitness, Outside, Elle, Shape, Self, Harpers’ Bazaar, Volleyball, Fitness, Life, Vogue, Experience Life and People, and has worked with the most elite photographers in the world.Gabby and Laird have 3 children and reside in Kauai, HI and Malibu, CA.

Start of Episode [1:31]Luck and skill: "Without luck nothing good happens" [3:21]Joe's experience as a Commissioner of the Securities and Exchange Commission [5:33]Transition from the S.E.C. to Stanford Law School [8:16]The story of Financial Engines [11:04]Taking Financial Engines private [14:54]The Oracle Derivative Litigation Case (2003) [17:17]The KKR board [20:19]The story of Stanford's Directors' College [23:31]Federal-forum selection charter provisions and the Sciabacucchi case [27:34]Elon Musk's coverage of D&O insurance for Tesla directors [32:24]The rise of stakeholder capitalism and ESG [37:55]Global warming [40:38]Conflicts of interests in public and private companies [43:17]Control in startups [48:28]Rapid-fire questions [50:57]Joseph A. Grundfest is the William A. Franke Professor of Law and Business at Stanford Law School and is a Senior Faculty of the Rock Center for Corporate Governance at Stanford University. Professor Grundfest is a nationally prominent expert on capital markets, corporate governance, and securities litigation. __ Music/Soundtrack (found via Free Music Archive): Seeing The Future by Dexter Britain is licensed under a Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License 

Teresa Gwizdala, The ROCK Center for Youth Development.

Lo talks about his mentors Shellye Archambeau & Ken Coleman (Mentor to Ben Horowitz) & starting Plexo Capital, a venture fund formed inside GV (formerly Google Ventures). The fund is based on GV's strategy to increase access to differentiated deal flows and seeks to make investments into women and minority seed stage VCs. This Live show was broadcasted from Studio at Rock Center! Plexo Capital invests as an LP into emerging seed stage VCs and also invests directly into select companies sourced from the Plexo Capital VC Network.  www.CharlieNYC.com

On this episode, Dr. Anita Sands shares her thoughts on digital transformation—what's going on and how directors can stay up to speed. With a masters in public policy and management and a Ph.D. in atomic and molecular physics, and as a non-U.S. member on several U.S. boards, Dr. Sands brings a unique perspective from the worlds of science, technology, and directorship. Dr. Sands is a member of the boards of Service Now, Symantec, Pure Storage and she is an advisory board member for Thrive Global and Docusign. We also hear from researchers Brian Tayan from Stanford's Rock Center for Corporate Governance and Annie Kors from the Diligent Institute on a newly released report on how directors are engaging with stakeholders. On this episode we discuss: Tectonic shifts in demographics, business models, and operating models “Ambidextrous leadership,” in which directors balance the predictability expected of today's directors with exploration into the future Moving past diversity and inclusion to belonging Gaining awareness of unconscious bias The power of AI and machine learning to perform board responsibilities more efficiently and effectively Research on how directors are responding to stakeholders' interests  Checkout these resources we mentioned during the podcast: Governance in the Digital Age: A Guide for the Modern Corporate Director A Human's Guide to Machine Intelligence Dr. Anita Sands' “Wisdom Cards” on LinkedIn Stakeholders Take Center Stage: Director Views on Priorities & Society from the Diligent Institute You can find more interviews like this on our Corporate Director Podcast, hosted by Dottie Schindlinger and Meghan Day. To hear this episode, and many more like it, you can subscribe to the podcast on our website, or on Apple Podcasts, or on Spotify.

Teresa Giwzdala, the ROCK Center for Youth Development. Get involved: therockc4yd.org teresa@therockc4yd.org (989) 835-2542

2011: Kate Snow is a veteran of “Dateline NBC” who jumped ship to guide rookie newsmagazine host Brian Williams through these early days of “Rock Center.” Okay, that may not be how anyone will officially explain the situation at NBC News, but who you gonna believe? Them or Mr. Media?

You've heard of crowdfunding to get a product or service off the ground. But what if you actually want to crowdfund VC or Angel Funding? Can you truly bring startup funding to the masses? Kendrick Nguyen is doing just that through his company Republic. Getting into the world of VC or Angel Funding as an investor can be hard to do. It's often limited to accredited investors who are millionaires and billionaires. That's changing through Republic. They are helping worthy startups find the funding they need to get their dreams and ideas off the ground through investments from every day people. In today's episode we discuss: Crowdfunding, VC and Angel Funding, Capital for Business, Mission Driven Entrepreneurship, Blockchain and Crypto / Cryptocurrency, Entrepreneurship, and funding startups.Today's Episode is sponsored by: Mighty Travels, OpportunityInChina.com, and Flocksy.About Kendrick Nguyen:Kendrick Nguyen is CEO and co-founder of Republic, an investment platform that provides both accredited and non-accredited investors around the world with curated startup investment opportunities. Republic also facilitates compliant investing in blockchain-enabled projects under the brand Republic Crypto. Republic is an affiliate of AngelList and CoinList, the latter of which he is a founding adviser. Prior to Republic, Kendrick served as General Counsel and Venture Hacker at AngelList and, before that, Fellow of Stanford Law School and the Rock Center for Corporate Governance at Stanford University. Formerly a securities attorney, Kendrick has been working on several initiatives aimed at defining a compliant but pragmatic protocol for conducting compliant coin offerings and has briefed the SEC, Congress, and foreign regulators on this issue. He frequently lectures on the topics of the intersection of law and entrepreneurship, and his views have been cited in a number of court decisions and publications. An immigrant from Vietnam, Kendrick has a strong interest in improving access to capital for underserved entrepreneurs in the US and beyond. About Republic:Republic is an investment platform for startups to raise capital and for everyone to invest in startups. Our highly curated platform hosts a diverse set of equity and crypto-focused offerings, with minimum investment amounts as little as $50. Anyone can invest in the startups they believe in for the chance to earn a return. Republic operates under U.S. equity crowdfunding regulations and is under the supervision of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.S. Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. To date, the acceptance rate of companies applying to fundraise on Republic is well below 10%, while funding success rate exceeds 90%. For additional information, please visit: www.republic.co @joinrepublic www.facebook.com/joinrepublic

Introduction: Born in Brooklyn, Scott Panzer, a Vice Chairman at Jones Lang LaSalle, graduated from the University of Miami with a bachelor’s degree in Biology and Chemistry as well as an M.B.A. in Finance and Accounting. It can be said that Scott was actually the inspiration for the phrase “The Decision” that LeBron James made popular in 2010, when Scott decided to take his talents (and his then 13 member team) over to JLL in 2009. Since becoming a service provider in 1992, he has closed well over 35 million SF of assignments encompassing all facets of real estate, with an emphasis on tenant representation, agency leasing and consulting. In 2011 and 2013, Scott was named JLL’s #1 Broker Worldwide, with some of his plum assignments including that of NBC Universal’s 1.4MM SF deal at 30 Rock Center, AXA Equitable’s 800,000 SF lease restructuring of their New York Headquarters and representation of the iconic Solow Building at 9 West 57th Street. When Scott is not working, he enjoys travelling, restoring and racing cars, flying his plane and spending time with his family. Episode Notes: At 3:05, Scott Panzer notes that he likes to look at history because it helps him understand what he is really doing as he moves forward in life. At 3:50, when asked about mastering his craft, he said, “It’s really taking yourself from the fire into the pot and getting into that mix of soup and figuring it all out.” At 5:48, in regards to adding value, Scott talks about Sun Tzu’s 5th century BC book The Art of War. At 6:27, he touches upon luck, taking advantage of that luck, being at the right place at the right time, and how he ended up in the real estate industry in 1986 after stints at both Reader’s Digest and Maxwell Communication Corporation. At 9:00, Scott discusses a philanthropic foundation he founded in 2017 and the importance of paying it forward. At 10:08, he describes his negotiating style as “chameleonish” and compares negotiation to chess and intellectual sparring. At 13:14, Scott points out that stress is the #1 disrupter of the body’s ecosystem and how stress can consume you if you don’t compartmentalize it. At 14:40, he discusses his life, work and “me time” balance, along with his passion to race cars, fly his personal plane and travel. At 16:45, Panzer highlights the positive impact Jack O’Hara, then Chairman of Reader’s Digest, and his other mentors had on him during his career. At 18:40, he notes how the mindsets of today’s younger generation differ compared to when he was in the early stages of his career. At 22:49, Scott stresses the importance of sleep and being alone with your thoughts. At 26:05, he advises that, “I don’t measure myself against others.” At 26:26, Scott takes us through his morning routine (scarring visuals aside!). At 28:56, Panzer closes out the podcast with, “I would want to end your segment as if somebody was giving the eulogy about me.”

Tony-Award winning Broadway producer, Ken Davenport explains how to invest in theater productions and other valuable lessons he's learned along the way. Guest Biography Ken Davenport is a Tony-Award winning Broadway producer whose productions have been produced internationally in over 25 countries around the world. In addition to his own work, Ken was recently named the Executive Producer of North America for Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Really Useful Group. Ken was featured on a national commercial for Apple’s iPhone, named one of Crain’s “Forty Under 40″ and is one of the co-founders of TEDxBroadway. He created the best-selling Broadway board game Be A Broadway Star and runs a number of theatrical websites including DidHeLikeIt.com and its respective smartphone app. His blog, TheProducersPerspective.com, has been featured in Vanity Fair, New York Magazine, The Gothamist and more. He has written articles for Forbes, Mashable, and many others. Ken’s unique production and marketing style has garnered him international attention, including two front page articles in the NY Times and features on MSNBC, Rock Center, Fox News, BBC, and his favorite, a mention in Jay Leno’s monologue on “The Tonight Show.” Upcoming projects include his original musical Gettin’ The Band Back Together, which premiered at George Street Playhouse and will appear on Broadway in July 2018, Mass Appeal, and the revival of The Great White Hope. Show notes: http://www.inspiredmoney.fm/040 In this episode, you will learn: Why and how to invest in theatrical productions. Ken's thoughts on marketing given that his unique marketing style has garnered international attention, including articles in the NY Times, MSNBC, and a mention in Jay Leno’s monologue on “The Tonight Show.” A whole bunch of tips -- from how to better ask for money, more effective networking, and more. Find more from our guest: TheProducersPerspective.com (blog) davenporttheatrical.com The Producer's Perspective Podcast with Ken Davenport Twitter Instagram Youtube LinkedIn Facebook Mentioned in this episode: TEDxBroadway.com The Awesome 80s Prom Once On This Island My First Time Gettin' The Band Back Together Crowdfunding Godspell broadwayinvesting101.com Books: Books by Ken Davenport Thanks for Listening! To share your thoughts: Leave a note in the comment section below. Share this show on Twitter or Facebook. To help out the show: Leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts. Your ratings and reviews really help, and I read each one. Email me your address, and I'll mail you an autographed copy of Kimo West and Ken Emerson's CD, Slackers in Paradise. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts. Special thanks to Jim Kimo West for the music.

The Office for Religious Life hosted Ted Koppel, 2018 Mimi and Peter E. Haas Distinguished Visitor, in conversation with The Rev. Professor Jane Shaw, Dean for Religious Life on how to lead a meaningful life at Stanford Memorial Church Journalist Ted Koppel was the anchor and managing editor of ABC News' Nightline for 26 years, becoming the longest-serving news anchor in U.S. broadcast history. After leaving ABC in 2005, Koppel and his colleagues produced 20 hours of documentaries for the Discovery Network where he served as managing editor. Since then he has worked as a contributing analyst for BBC America and a special correspondent for the NBC News magazine program, Rock Center.

In this episode, Angelo speaks with Vivek Wadhwa, a Fellow at the Rock Center for Corporate Governance at Stanford University and also at the Pratt School of Engineering at Duke, where he’s a Director of Research. Angelo and Vivek discuss his predictions on a jobless future saving mankind, ethics of gene editing, and the disruption of industries.

Learn the story of this year’s Rock Center tree–it’s an interesting one! Thanks to everyone who’s given to the show at MyChristmasStocking.net/contribute. If you want to be on the show, call (323) 487-12-25, tell what Christmas is to you, say Merry Christmas to someone you love, or whatever! Join us on Facebook, on Twitter (@XmasStocking), and Pinterest. Click here to download the […]

I feel like I am now preparing for Santa's visit, by installing a parking meter on the roof by the chimney. I bought an artificial Christmas tree. The Fed Ex guy just brought it. It's not like the traditional aluminum tree. This one is genuine green plastic. With the lights already installed. I don't know if I should have done it. For the last couple of years, we bought small trees that were growing in little pots. We planted them outside after New Years, and they both promptly died. Not what we had in mind. As a perspective, I worked at NBC radio for years. The studios were in the RCA Building at Rock Center in NY...right behind the Rock Center Christmas tree. We used to walk right under the tree to go to work every night. My Lady Wonder Wench was in favor of having a tree roughly that size of our own each year. Needless to say, that didn't quite work out either. We cut down our own trees a couple of years. Those were the years that I lifted our daughter Kris up on my shoulders so she could put our special star on top. That was fun. But I always hated to see the tree die after a few weeks in our living room. I think I'm making too much out of the fact that we have an artificial tree this year. I hope so. I'm a grandfather now and I remember my grandfather's Christmas trees. He had electric lights, but he also had some real candles on his tree. It was a Christmas tradition that we'd gather around the tree...the whole family. He lit the candles and we all sang Silent Night. One verse in English and the second verse in the original German. We called my grandfather Grosspop. He left his home in Germany when he saw Hitler coming. He wasn't having any part of that. He was proud to be an American citizen. And he was just as proud of his German traditions. So we sang Silent night, holy night and then Stille Nacht, heilige nacht while the candles burned. Then he'd count to three and everybody would blow out the candles and he'd turn on the electric lights.

I feel like I am now preparing for Santa's visit, by installing a parking meter on the roof by the chimney. I bought an artificial Christmas tree. The Fed Ex guy just brought it. It's not like the traditional aluminum tree. This one is genuine green plastic. With the lights already installed. I don't know if I should have done it. For the last couple of years, we bought small trees that were growing in little pots. We planted them outside after New Years, and they both promptly died. Not what we had in mind. As a perspective, I worked at NBC radio for years. The studios were in the RCA Building at Rock Center in NY...right behind the Rock Center Christmas tree. We used to walk right under the tree to go to work every night. My Lady Wonder Wench was in favor of having a tree roughly that size of our own each year. Needless to say, that didn't quite work out either. We cut down our own trees a couple of years. Those were the years that I lifted our daughter Kris up on my shoulders so she could put our special star on top. That was fun. But I always hated to see the tree die after a few weeks in our living room. I think I'm making too much out of the fact that we have an artificial tree this year. I hope so. I'm a grandfather now and I remember my grandfather's Christmas trees. He had electric lights, but he also had some real candles on his tree. It was a Christmas tradition that we'd gather around the tree...the whole family. He lit the candles and we all sang Silent Night. One verse in English and the second verse in the original German. We called my grandfather Grosspop. He left his home in Germany when he saw Hitler coming. He wasn't having any part of that. He was proud to be an American citizen. And he was just as proud of his German traditions. So we sang Silent night, holy night and then Stille Nacht, heilige nacht while the candles burned. Then he'd count to three and everybody would blow out the candles and he'd turn on the electric lights.

Back when he was completing a double major in theater and broadcasting, Fred Bock dreamed that he'd be able to make 30 Rockefeller Center his workplace. He made that dream into a reality, one that has included working on Rock Center, Today Show, Nightly News, Football Night in America, Macy’s Fourth of July Fireworks Spectacular, Carson Daly New Year's Eve and Saturday Night Live at the NBC studios there. Most significantly, he also became the lighting designer and lighting director for The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon. Along the way, he was nominated for 3 Prime Time Emmy Awards for his work on Late Night With Conan O'Brien; lit the U.S. Open Tennis Tournament, ESPNU, Difference Makers and NFL Draft Confidential for ESPN; and has been involved with numerous NBC Upfronts. For much of his career, he has been a part of the FLDA team, specialists in lighting design for multi-camera television production.

  We have 3 guests for this show! Sisters Zaziwe Dlamini-Manaway and Swati Dlamini are the granddaughters of Nelson and Winnie Mandela and the stars of the new reality television show, “Being Mandela,” which is launching on COZI TV on February 10 at 9 PM ET (re-airs at midnight ET).  The show follows the next generation of the former first family of South Africa through the experiences of Zaziwe and Swati, giving viewers a window into their daily lives, close knit family, conflicts and personal aspirations. Rock Center with Brian Williams news correspondent Kate Snow reports on sisters who are the fastest endurance runners in the country. Snow addresses the issue many may be asking, are their parents pushing them too far? Meet Kaytlynn and Heather Welsch who have participated in more than 200 grueling races in the past 2 years, on rugged trails and over steep hills, tree roots and rocks. Most weekends, they either train or compete. They both want to win, and they both want to beat each other. But is so much running healthy for young girls.   ROCK CENTER WITH BRIAN WILLIAMS” MOVES TO ITS NEW TIME SLOT – FRIDAYS AT 10P/9C    

Charlie Engle, ULTRArunner This question isn’t, “What did we talk to Charlie Engle about?” The question is, “What didn’t we talk to Charlie Engle about?” Recently released from federal prison and featured on Rock Center with Brian Williams, Charlie Engle grants us an all-access – anything goes interview. From life … The post Charlie Engle Interview appeared first on Ultrarunnerpodcast.com.

There is a new epidemic in America: babies born addicted to the prescription painkillers their mothers abuse while pregnant. Kate Snow reports on this very disturbing problem on the July 5th edition of Rock Center with Brian Williams on NBC.

  ATTN: Our show has launched a crowd funding project to expand our reach. Visit www.invested.in type in FILM FESTIVAL RADIO in their search box and pls. consider a donation, which start @only $5.00..thank you for supporting this show! NBC news correspondent Kate Snow reports tonight on a major health care story about "permanent Patients. It's a growing problem that may be becoming worse.  Watch tonight on Rock Center With Brian Williams

COMING UP ON ROCK CENTER W/ BRIAN WILLIAMS– WEDNESDAY, MARCH 28 AT 10P/9C In the post-recession economy credit is tighter than ever. Kate Snow reports on pawn shops, the new kind of 21st century business that is quite the trend again - providing some with much-needed loans.

Every year, 25,000 teenagers from around the world come to the U.S. as part of the high school foreign exchange program. In a “Rock Center” investigation, Kate Snow reports on charges that dozens of students were sexually abused by host parents. Did the State Department and companies administering the program do enough to stop it? Rock Center with Brian Williams airs March 14th @ 10pm (eastern)

We welcome 2 guests for this show! Lisa Myers from Rock Center with Brian Williams. On Jan. 30th edition of the news show Lisa takes an unprecedented look inside the normally secretive world of biomedical research on chimpanzees. Lisa Myers gains exclusive access to a Texas research lab, where scientists say their work helps save human lives.And Kate Snow travels to the “I-4 Corridor” in Florida...a crucial battleground along the road to the White House. Both stories airs on Rock Center with Brian Williams, January 30th @ 10pm (eastern)

Kate Snow reports on Zynga, the social gaming company that just went IPO, is Wall Street's newest billion dollar baby. Best known for its virtual gamesWords with Friends, Farmville,Mafia Wars and Cityville, it's CEO and founder Mark Pincus is making no apologies for his drive and intensity. Rock Center With Brian Williams airs Mondays @ 10pm (eastern).

COMING UP ON ROCK CENTER WITH BRIAN WILLIAMS– MONDAY 12/19 AT 10P/9C Kate Snow goes into Spain for an investigation on a scandal that has shocked Spanish society—allegations that over four decades, organized networks stole newborn babies from their mothers and sold them to other families.

News veteran and Rock Center correspondent Harry Smith will chat about his exclusive interview in-depth profile of former White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel in his new role as Mayor of Chicago. The interview will air November 21st at 10pm (eastern) on NBC's Rock Center with Brian Williams news magazine show.

Rock Center with Brian Williams premieres October 31st @ 10pm (eastern) on NBC. Broadcast live from the historic Studio 3B in Rockefeller Center, the weekly, hour-long newsmagazine will be built around the week's most provocative events, compelling coverage, and newsmaker interviews. In this new venue, Williams and NBC's trusted global news division will take viewers deeper into the world's most talked-about stories. Foreign correspondent Richard Engel will chat with us about his role on the new show.

(pls. excuse loud conference call music in the first 2 minutes of show..it goes away quickly) Kate Snow, from Dateline NBC is now part of the team of correspondents for the new primetime magazine hour program ROCK CENTER. premieres Oct. 31st @ 10pm (eastern) The new broadcast, led by “NBC Nightly News” anchor and managing editor Brian Williams, will feature the talented correspondents and anchors of NBC News, MSNBC and CNBC.  Snow has been a correspondent for “Dateline” since joining NBC News a year and a half ago. She will continue to serve as a fill-in for Williams on “Nightly News,” and contribute to all platforms of NBC News. Here's a preview of Kate's first story: http://rockcenter.co/sUvYtO