Conversations with Mike Milken

David Feinberg, Vice President, Google Health; Advisory Board Member, FasterCures

Esther Krofah, Executive Director, FasterCures

“What we've really tried to do is get information out there to the public, to researchers, to public health folks, so they can make better decisions about what's happening so that we can all get through this.” – David Feinberg

When the history of COVID is written, David Feinberg and Esther Krofah will be among those rightfully celebrated for their work in furthering public understanding and private collaboration throughout the pandemic. As head of Google Health, Dr. Feinberg oversees the tech giant’s efforts, including contact tracing and mental health support. As Executive Director of FasterCures, Krofah forges cross-sector partnerships and oversees the organization’s COVID-19 Treatment and Vaccine Tracker, a publicly accessible, real-time tool to understand the latest research and developments.

“We've seen a tremendous amount of collaboration with regard to COVID,” she tells Mike. “As we think about other disease conditions, we realized that we don't have to work in silos. We can come together to share data, make libraries available, and collaborate on medical research that can accelerate these efforts going forward.”

“There were a lot of hedge fund blogs out there saying software is going to get destroyed. … And guess what happened? Our recurring revenue stream was really nearly untouched in a pandemic. Corporate customers paid their subscription software revenue, but they didn't pay rent. It was more stable than real estate.”

To this day, Orlando Bravo would rather have played Wimbledon than become the first Puerto Rican-born billionaire. As a teen, he was a top-40 junior player; as an adult, Bravo eventually co-founded Thoma Bravo, a private equity firm specializing exclusively on software deals. Forbes recently called him “Wall Street’s best dealmaker.” He may also be one of its most generous: In the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, Bravo chartered planes to Puerto Rico carrying $10,000,000 in essential goods and committed an additional $100,000,000 to foster entrepreneurship and economic development on the island.

As he tells Mike, “After the hurricane in Puerto Rico … that was my personal moment in philanthropy where I understood for the first time that if I didn't do anything about it, nobody else was going to.”

George Yancopoulos

Co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer, Regeneron 

Joseph Vinetz

Professor of Medicine, Yale University; Infectious Disease Physician

Tal Zaks

Chief Medical Officer, Moderna 

“We're going to need vaccines to create as widespread herd immunity as we can, but we're also going to need drugs that are targeted against the virus that can provide immediate protection and also treat those who are already sick. So we have multiple clinical trials ongoing with our antibody cocktail, both for prophylaxis or prevention and also for treatment.” – George Yancopoulos, Regeneron

Three world-renowned bioscience leaders join Mike Milken and Prostate Cancer Foundation (PCF) chief science officer Howard Soule for a conversation on the state of the COVID-19 challenge, herd immunity, and unique approaches to developing safe and effective vaccines, antibodies, and other treatments. Recorded on August 29 as part of a PCF event, this conversation is especially notable as it describes the antibody cocktail that would later be administered to President Donald Trump after he contracted the virus. 

Moderna’s Tal Zaks is optimistic that scientists are on the verge of a breakthrough that we’ll learn more about very soon. “In the coming months,” he tells Howard, “expect data from us and potentially some of the other vaccine companies that also have started phase 3 trials that will conclusively demonstrate that these vaccines can work. I hope all of them succeed because I don't think a single company can carry the weight of what's needed to protect all of us and all those who need it.”

“It goes back to opportunity and jobs.… Government can only do so much. The private sector needs to step up and ensure that they are creating opportunities for a broad swath of the population who don't have those opportunities.”

When Maria Bartiromo became the first journalist to report live from the floor New York Stock Exchange in 1995, she was well on her way to another honor: the first female journalist to be inducted into the Cable Hall of Fame. Throughout her career, the two-time Emmy Award winner has interviewed presidents, policymakers, and CEOs, but always with an ear for what her audience needs to know.

“I want to make sure to get from that person, the one thing that will resonate for broad, big groups of people,” she tells Mike. “Their words will impact people and they will perhaps move the needle on something like income inequality or something like giving that person the courage to stick their neck out and try something new.”

“There was this ventilator company that needed help. We realized there was one part on the ventilator that was very similar to the way a transmission is designed and they were having quality issues with it. We brought in transmission engineers and they figured out a way to improve the part and the ability to produce it.” 

Just before this interview was recorded, General Motors announced it had completed a contract with the federal government to supply 30,000 ventilators for COVID patients. It’s just one example of how Chairman and CEO Mary Barra sees her mission as more than just leading a car company. A proud GM employee for nearly 40 years, Barra is grateful for the opportunities and mentorship that helped prepare her to be the first female CEO of a major auto manufacturer – and she’s determined to pay it forward.

“We talked about wanting to be the most inclusive company in the world,” she tells Mike. “But I'm quick to say I want every company to be there because if we all provide inclusive work environments, we will change the environment in the country and beyond. … We're looking very comprehensively at General Motors and how we drive change [and] create an environment where everybody can bring their true self to work.”

“You've got to think big to solve problems. … Some of the present bills [have] the potential to solve the major inequality problem in the United States.” (Friedman) “Given the historically low rates, what we're saying is the government can be the catalyst for effecting long-term change.” (Wilson)

As co-CEOs of EJF Capital, Manny Friedman and Neal Wilson oversee more than $6 billion in assets, with clients in 22 countries and offices on three continents. Their innovative strategies focus on trends driven by regulatory change, which could soon deliver an infusion of capital to banks in underserved communities – if current legislation passes.

“Often in a democracy you need a crisis to get a focus, but we have the focus right now,” Friedman tells Mike. “We also have a lucky break of zero interest rates. We must enact this legislation, which will allow these institutions long‐term capital that can't go away so that they can affect these communities.”

“Every society is more fragile than we realize, and every society can be taken advantage of. So I think it's incumbent on everyone to fight for community, to recognize the humanity of everybody. … It’s what keeps us safe, and it's what gives the future to our kids.”

Just out of college in 1982, Peter Laugharn joined the Peace Corps, setting him on a lifelong journey of service. Today, with more than 25 years of leadership – including seven years at the Firelight Foundation and six years at the Bernard van Leer Foundation – Laugharn is President and CEO of the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation. Established in 1944, the foundation administers the largest annual humanitarian award in the world and focuses on vulnerable populations around the world, including the homeless in Los Angeles and children in Africa. 

“Both Africa and the States have challenges in front of them in terms of rethinking their futures,” he tells Mike. “And I think they have to be done both at a systems and policy level, but also at a level that allows individuals to fully invest and build with one another.”

“Throughout our organization, we're continuously pushing on how do we continue to add diversity, and I think we're a young enough group where that has always been the way we've approached the world. … Our culture has been that diverse groups make better decisions.”

Todd Boehly strives for an organization as diverse as the holdings of Eldridge Industries itself. As co-founder, chairman, and CEO, he manages and builds companies in wide-ranging sectors including technology, credit, insurance, real estate, sports and entertainment. His foray into film financing and distribution yielded a Best Picture Oscar for 2017’s “Moonlight.” His purchase of the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2012 has resulted in seven consecutive division championships and two National League pennants.

“One of the greatest joys for me was being able to teach my young three boys about Jackie Robinson through the Dodgers,” he tells Mike. “And I think that that's given them more of a sense of responsibility, a sense of equity, a sense of making sure that they think about the future of the country. … I think that the Dodgers ownership gave us a great opportunity and a great responsibility to make sure that we continue to think about funding businesses and ideas and themes that come from all diverse places.”

“We need to have an organization that reflects the millions and millions of guests we serve each and every day. From the bottom up we've made a commitment to diversity and inclusion. Of the 1,900 stores we run in the United States, over half are led by female store directors, over a third are diverse, and we build that pipeline in the organization.”

For more than three decades, Brian Cornell held executive roles in the consumer goods sector. But when he became chairman and CEO of Target in 2014, he says his business career really began. Because of the broad array of goods that Target sells, Cornell knows that his stores are to vital to communities across America – especially during difficult times. He feels a special obligation to treat his 400,000 team members as extended family.

“How do we make sure we're taking care of them? We're investing in them, we're mentoring and developing great talent in the organization, and that hasn't stopped during the pandemic. … We haven't lost focus for even a moment on the purpose of our company during the challenging times that we've faced in the last six months.”