Out of Office

Reality TV stars are freezing their eggs on camera. Lawmakers in DC are debating federal protection for IVF. Hundreds of millions of dollars are being invested in slick startups that market fertility treatments for all. But this rapid growth has revealed cracks in the system. Misconception, a new series from Bloomberg’s Prognosis, follows reporter Kristen V. Brown on her own intimate journey as she uncovers the business of fertility. Along the way, she finds a fractured industry — a profit-driven field of medicine that thrives on dueling messages of hope and fear as people gamble everything for a chance at a baby.

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Sandro Pierri had no clue what mutual funds were when he first ventured into the world of finance. Today, the boy who grew up in a small Italian village sits at the helm of BNP Paribas Asset Management, overseeing half a trillion euros. He credits people always taking a bet on him early on in his career, and he wants to pay it forward. In this episode, Pierri reflects on his career, lessons from his mistakes, and what he really thinks of the ESG “gold rush.”

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The pandemic-induced carnage that swept through live entertainment didn’t spare one of the most recognizable names in the industry. Cirque du Soleil’s revenues went from millions to zero in two days as lockdowns forced the company to cancel shows. Its executive vice-chair, Daniel Lamarre describes how they got through this difficult time, what years of working in entertainment have taught him about creativity and trust, why it’s a good idea to lock creative people in a room – and he tells us what working in the circus has taught him about leadership.

Today's episode is a replay from Feb 17, 2022.

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A legend in the tech industry, the former CISCO CEO reveals why a chat with a young girl at a work function turned out to be a pivotal moment in his professional and personal life. In this candid and informal chat, John talks about disruption, dyslexia and why he’s always motivated to do the right thing. 

Today's episode is a replay from June 9, 2022.

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At the start of the pandemic, Julia Hartz realized she might lose everything she had spent 14 years building. So the co-founder and CEO of Eventbrite activated her mamma bear. She got fierce. She moved fast. And she kept the live events platform alive. In this episode, Julia Hartz talks about how she got the publicly traded company back from the brink of shutting down, shares why working at a local cafe as a teenager was transformative, and explains why her North Star as a business leader is the often overlooked quality of consistency.

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More than 30 years ago, a new mom, tinkered with creating lipsticks from her bedroom in a New York City suburb, found a chemist who manufactured it for her and they split the $15 earned per tube, evenly. So it began Bobbi Brown’s journey that made her a global, household name. Bobbi sold her company in 1995, and after waiting out a 25-year non-compete period, she is back for her second innings. She recently launched Jones Road, a clean beauty brand. Bobbi admits it is not for everyone. It’s for those who want to enhance their natural beauty - the no-makeup-makeup look. In this episode, Bobbi talks about her phenomenal career, why family remains her strength, what makes a woman beautiful and the story behind WTF, her new foundation which is such a rage.

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In the early days of her career, Marg Franklin took the formidable CFA exam. It didn’t go according to plan. An exhausted new mother, she dozed off, only to wake up two hours later. Eventually, she passed it and today, she’s the first woman to be the President & CEO of this 75-year-old institution. In this episode, Marg talks about how courage shapes leadership, what working in a bike store taught her, why she believes neither women - nor men - can have it all and what she really thinks about the CFA exam. 

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When Hugh Evans was 14, he spent one night in a Manila slum as part of a school trip.

Surrounded by crawling cockroaches and rancid garbage, he tossed and turned while his host, a local boy, slept soundly. Hugh realized the only reason the boy slept there, and not in his comfortable Melbourne home, was a lottery of fate. Hugh made a vow to himself that night - he would dedicate his life to eradicating extreme poverty. As the co-founder and CEO of Global Citizen, Hugh is spearheading a movement to overcome poverty via actions, not charity. In this episode of Out of Office, he explains how Global Citizen operates, the difference it's making, and why celebrities from Chris Martin to Beyonce to Miley Cyrus are supporters.

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Hours after the earthquake that flattened parts of Turkey and Syria, celebrity chef and founder of World Central Kitchen, José Andrés turned up in Istanbul. Since then, he’s been driving to the worst-hit areas, collaborating with local restaurants to feed quake survivors. They are currently serving more than 260,000 meals a day. Andres talks to us from Turkey about why he rushes to the frontlines of crises, and the power of sharing a plate with a stranger.

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Carolyn Childers grew up in a town so small it had no traffic lights. Now, the club she co-foundered - Chief - connects more than 20,000 women in business across the US and has 60,000 more on the waitlist. Chief opened its first overseas branch in the UK in January 2023. Childers explains what membership at Chief gets you, learning through failure, and why the notion that women can have it all is a trap.

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