Chris Varelas is the Founding Partner at Riverwood Capital Partners. Riverwood Capital Partners is a world-leading Private Equity firm that invests in high growth technology. With over 3 billion dollars in capital commitments Riverwood enables tech-related business scale into world-class organizations.

If that isn't enough, Chris is a board member for The Aspen Institute - an organization that works to build diverse and creative thought leaders who are designed to address the world’s most complex issues.

Prior to his work with Riverwood and The Aspen Institute, Chris worked at Citi as the Global Head of Technology, Media & Telecom Investment Banking, Head of Citi’s National Investment Bank, and a member of Citi’s Global Operating Committee.

Our CEO, Ross Overline, talks with Christine Anderson about how the reputation of finance and corporate governance have evolved over the years, her experience in the Clinton Administration press room, and the duties of her current role at Blackstone.

Christine Anderson leads Blackstone’s efforts related to Environmental, Social and Governance issues and she serves as the primary spokesperson for the firm, advising Blackstone’s senior leaders and business groups as well as companies across Blackstone’s portfolio on ESG matters.

This week on the podcast we had Jonathan Knee, a Senior Advisor at Evercore in the firm’s Corporate Advisory Business and Co-Director of the Media and Technology Program at Columbia Business School.

Before joining Evercore as a Senior Managing Director in 2003, Professor Knee was a Managing Director and Co-head of Morgan Stanley's Media Group. He was previously Publishing Sector Head in the Communications, Media and Entertainment Group at Goldman Sachs. Prior to becoming an investment banker, he was Director of International Affairs at United Airlines and served as Adjunct Professor of Law at Northwestern University. His writing has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, the Atlantic, and Jonathan is the author of The Accidental Investment Banker, The Curse of the Mogul, and The Platform Delusion.

Episode Segments

00:00 - Intro

06:20 - Jonathan’s Journey to Finance

09:10 - “What I liked about Banking”

10:20 - Jonathan’s role at Morgan Stanley

12:15 - Role at Columbia University

14:20 - Work with CEO of United Airlines

17:51 - What led to be being an “accidental banker”

22:57 - How to build transparent relationships 

31:50 - What Teaching is really about in finance

33:56 - Platform business delusions

40:00 - Rapid Fire Questions

In episode #14, Ross converses with Stephanie Cohen, Global Co-Head of Consumer and Wealth Management at Goldman Sachs.

Stephanie discusses the importance of giving everyone a voice, and how staying curious and embracing failure can lead a company to rapidly innovate - even an investment bank as large as Goldman Sachs.

Prior to assuming her current role, Ms. Cohen was the firm’s Chief Strategy Officer, where she drove strategy, Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A), strategic investing and partnerships for the firm. She led Launch With GS, Goldman Sachs’ $1 billion investment strategy which aims to increase access to capital and facilitate connections for women, Black, Latinx, and other diverse entrepreneurs and investors, as well as GS Accelerate, the firm’s in-house innovation engine. She is also a member of the Global Inclusion and Diversity Committee, serving as a Global Executive Sponsor of the Women’s Network.

Scott Kupor is a Managing Partner at Andreessen Horowitz (a16z). A16z is a leading venture capital firm based in Menlo Park, California, with more than $18B AUM, focusing on early stage tech companies.

Scott Kupor is the Managing Partner of Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), one of the world’s top venture capital firms. He has overseen the firm's rapid growth to more than 300 employees and more than $18 billion in assets under management. Prior to joining a16z, Scott worked for 8 years in a variety of roles at Opsware, an early SaaS company, before its sale to Hewlett Packard. Besides his role at a16z, Scott is the author of the Wall Street Journal best-seller, Secrets of Sand Hill Road: Venture Capital and How to Get It. He serves on numerous corporate, nonprofit, and education boards.

In today’s episode, Ross and Scott discuss Scott’s early journey from finance into the world of start-ups, venture capital, his role growing a16z from the founding with Marc Andreesen and Ben Horowitz, and his advice for anyone looking to be successful as early stage investors.

Sheila Bair, named the 2nd most powerful woman in the world by Forbes in 2008 and 2009, is a former Chair of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). She oversaw the organization from 2006-2011, notably during the Financial Crisis and its aftermath.

The FDIC, founded in 1933 as a part of the New Deal to restore confidence in the banking system, is one of two government agencies that supply deposit insurance to those who bank with American financial institutions. Prior to this role, Sheila had myriad roles in academia and a brief stint running for Congress. After retiring from the FDIC, Sheila re-entered academia and became the first female President of Washington College and today serves on a number of boards and governance committees.

In today’s episode, Ross and Sheila discuss Sheila’s early career, her interest in economics, and what led her to her job at the FDIC. They then continue into a conversation about her tenure as Chair of the FDIC in the backdrop of the monolith Financial Crisis and the FDIC’s role in that crisis. Finally, they discuss Sheila’s post-FDIC career, including her stint as President of Washington College as well as her interest and involvement in Scholars of Finance.

Ray Cameron is the Head of the Strategic Partner Program - The Americas, and the Head of Corporate Client Strategy - The Americas at BlackRock. Prior to this, Ray had been Head of Investment Stewardship for 3 years. Before joining BlackRock in 2018, Ray worked in a variety of roles across Wall Street for over 20 years, including firms such as Lehman Brothers, Morgan Stanley, and Barclays.

Ray holds a Bachelors of Business Administration from the University of Texas, Austin and a Masters of Business Administration from the Cox School of Business at Southern Methodist University.

In today’s episode, Ross and Ray kick off their conversation with a discussion of Ray’s career and his appointment to leading roles at BlackRock. They then segue into a conversation about Ray’s core values and key lessons he’s learned throughout his career. Finally, they spend the remainder of the episode chatting about stewardship and steps that BlackRock, the leading asset manager by AUM globally, is taking to address current trends.

Tony Paquette is the Chief Financial Officer at Point72, a leading hedge fund with over $22bn in assets under management. Prior to joining the firm in 2020, Tony was at SoFi, a publicly traded FinTech company in Silicon Valley, as a Business Unit Leader overseeing International, New Business, Treasury, Regulatory Operations, and the firm's application for their bank charter - to name a few.

Before SoFi, Tony was at J.P. Morgan, where he was a Managing Director and the Global Head of Funding & Liability Management. Further, he held portfolio management roles in the Chief Investment Office at J.P. Morgan, and in Treasury & Corporate Investments at Bank of America - all after beginning his career as a research analyst covering the Technology sector at Goldman Sachs.

Tony and Ross worked together at SoFi and have since become close friends. In addition, Tony is on the Advisory Board at SOF.

Tony holds a bachelor's degree in Business Economics and Organizational Behavior and Management from Brown University. In addition, Tony was on the varsity football team at Brown.

In today’s episode, Ross and Tony kick off the conversation with a discussion of mentorship and cultivating rewarding mentor/mentee relationships. Further, Tony discusses the intersection of sports and leadership as well as some of his principles on being an effective leader. Finally, they shift the conversation to discuss Tony’s involvement in SOF.

Kofi Bruce is the Chief Financial Officer at General Mills where he has worked for over 12 years in various roles at the firm. Prior to joining General Mills in 2009, Kofi worked at EcoLab and at the Ford Motor Company in various financial positions.

Kofi holds an undergraduate degree in international relations from Stanford and a masters in business administration from the Ross School of Business at University of Michigan.

In today’s episode, Ross and Kofi discuss Kofi’s early career arc and what eventually led him to General Mills. Further, they spend the bulk of the time discussing values and people based leadership as well as diversity in the finance industry. Finally, they pivot the conversation and discuss Kofi’s work outside of General Mills and his involvement in SOF.

Scott Mather is the CIO of U.S. Core and Sustainable Investing at PIMCO where he helps oversee over $2.2 trillion in AUM.

He is a member of the Investment Committee and a portfolio manager. Scott also oversees the firm’s global ESG portfolio integration and sustainable investment activities and previously, he was head of global portfolio management.

Prior to joining PIMCO in 1998, he was a fixed income trader specializing in mortgage-backed securities at Goldman Sachs in New York.

Scott has 26 years of investment experience and holds a master's degree in engineering, as well as undergraduate degrees, from the University of Pennsylvania.

In today’s episode, Ross and Scott spend the majority of the conversation focused on ESG investing, some of its benefits, some of its trade offs, and what you all can be doing right now to invest in a sustainable way.