Out of Office

As a kid, Sebastian Siemiatkowski often felt life was unfair. The son of immigrants, he watched his parents struggle to find work and pay for groceries. Today, he runs a highly successful business that allows you to “buy now, pay later” and his company Klarna is one of the most valuable fintech startups in the world. Originally recorded as part of the 2021 Bloomberg Equality Summit.

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Italian couture house Valentino’s sales are almost back at pre-pandemic levels. With a renewed focus on its iconic rock studs and V-logo, Jacopo Venturini has started to turn things around after just one year as CEO. The star merchandiser fell in love with fashion early. As a young boy, he would devour fashion magazines for inspiration and pick out clothes for school before going to bed. Not one to conform, he says being different was challenging but also a gift. Venturini continues to lead with his own unique style — maintaining a low profile while leading one of the world’s most recognizable fashion brands.

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In one of our most popular episodes from this year, the poster boy for online education talks about remote learning during the pandemic, the social return on education, why parents around the world use his videos - Bill Gates included - and why he doesn’t go a day without meditating. Out of Office brings you all that with Sal Khan, the founder of Khan Academy.

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Kamal Ahmad is the founder of the Asian University of Women. Based in Bangladesh, it’s for students from displaced communities - a large number come from Afghanistan. As the Taliban took over, Ahmad had one goal: to evacuate students and alumni who were back in Kabul. We hear the extraordinary story of escape from Kamal and one of the students. Both insist they’ll never give up on educating and empowering the women of Afghanistan.

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Qatar Airways is rated the world’s best airline. Behind its success: boarding school discipline and no bullshit. The Group CEO, His Excellency Akbar Al Baker brings his trademark candor to this podcast. He talks about customer service, rebuilding after the pandemic and why he is OK with some employees being scared of him.

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PBS CEO Paula Kerger is pressing ahead with some of the most ambitious changes in programming that the public television network has seen in years. A harsh open letter from filmmakers prompted most of the change. A Nebraska rancher took care of the rest.

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One of Europe's most successful entrepreneurs, Mark Dixon talks about the importance of starting early. The founder of the serviced office group IWG shares the lessons learned from running his first business: “Dial A Snack.” As a teenager, Mark would bike around his village selling sandwiches made in a rented kitchen. Mark explains how that experience, plus stints as a miner, farmhand, and bartender in various parts of the world, shaped him as a businessman and a leader. He talks candidly about failure, the future of work, and why the ocean is the one place he feels free.

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Sonu Shivdasani, the Founder and CEO of the sustainable luxury resort group Soneva, says he has been fortunate enough to experience many crises in his life. Having lived through SARS, the tsunami, a cancer diagnosis and now the pandemic, Sonu opens up about the power of positive thinking and explains how that influences him and his business, which offers guests the ultimate luxury: a chance to slow down, live sustainably and get sand between their toes.

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Author and Bloomberg journalist Brad Stone takes us behind the scenes of a company that changed the world. In his new book, Amazon Unbound, Stone tracks the most important business story of our time — the unprecedented rise of Amazon and its billionaire founder Jeff Bezos. He talks about writing during the pandemic, what surprised him about the company he knows inside out, and achieving a personal goal: gifting his book to his 103-year-old grandmother.

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The President and CEO of Hyatt Hotels Corporation has had a tough year. Covid-induced lockdowns brought the hospitality industry to its knees. But, there are green shoots of recovery. Mark Hoplamazian tells us why he is optimistic about the new era and explains why he will continue to lead his giant workforce the only way he knows how to: with empathy. He says it’s a quality he developed through a close relationship with his mother, the rock who guided and supported him through the loss of his father, and whose deep influence helped make him the success he is today.

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