Talks at GS

Lando Norris, 2025 World Drivers’ Champion and McLaren racer, and Zak Brown, McLaren Racing CEO with decades in motorsport leadership, discuss team-first culture and resilience. They talk about adapting to new technical rules, translating driver feedback into car development, battery and driving adjustments for the 2026 car, and how cross‑functional parts of the organization fuel performance.

Harry Stebbings, founder of 20VC who turned a bedroom podcast into a media and investment powerhouse. He explains why building distribution and brand can win allocation in competitive deals. He outlines his “science of content,” using clips and AI to capture attention. He argues relationships and emotional honesty attract founders and makes the case that Europe is a huge opportunity.

Henry Schanzer, hidden as a child in France and now a longtime storyteller, and Bernie Schanzer, who survived hiding with his brother and dedicates his life to remembrance, share their memories. They discuss childhood escape, clandestine rescue networks, life on a protective farm, reunification after the war, and the moral duty to remember and honor those who risked everything.

Julie Kim, CEO-elect of Takeda and longtime biopharma leader, talks precision medicine and AI-driven drug development. She explores how individualized therapies strain current trial and regulatory models. She outlines using AI, robotics, and real-world data to speed R&D and improve access. She also discusses sharpening Takeda’s growth story while keeping a patient-first culture.

Sir Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London and long-serving political leader focused on housing, transport, climate, skills, and growth, discusses London’s global strengths in finance, culture, and innovation. He highlights priorities like AI and frontier tech, transport and air quality improvements, and strategies to build talent and inclusive growth for the city’s future.

Steven Mnuchin, former U.S. Treasury Secretary and ex-Goldman Sachs partner, offers sharp perspectives on credit cycles, AI-driven CapEx and data center buildouts, and fiscal trajectories. He discusses private credit resilience, trade and China strategy, COVID-era decision making, and the regulation of cryptocurrency and stablecoins.

Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Walter Piatt, a three-star Army general turned CEO of Wounded Warrior Project who spent 42 years leading service members and veteran programs. He discusses the charity’s origins delivering care packages, leadership lessons shaped by empathy, retraining for unexpected challenges, the complex mental-health needs of returning warriors, and how mindfulness boosts focus and resilience.

Lloyd Blankfein, former CEO and Senior Chairman of Goldman Sachs who led the firm through 2008 and launched major social programs, shares stories from Brooklyn to Wall Street. He discusses risk management, contingency planning for rare crises, the evolution of partnership culture after the IPO, and why he wrote a memoir. The conversation touches on leadership lessons and preserving institutional values.

Larry Cunningham, director of the John L. Weinberg Center and corporate governance scholar. He recounts discovering Weinberg’s 1948 thesis and why those ideas still resonate. He outlines boards’ top functions like CEO selection, capital allocation, and disclosure. He discusses shareholder activism, limits on small-shareholder proposals, and why Delaware remains dominant for corporate law.

Pieter van der Does, co-founder and co-CEO of Adyen, a payments fintech scaling global merchant payments. He shares Adyen’s origin story and why they built every layer in-house. Listens about engineering-led culture and hiring standards. Discusses AI in authorizations, fraud, KYC, and trends like shopper identity, omnichannel and least-cost routing.