SALT Talks

Three leaders in the HealthTech space joined our roundtable to discuss their careers investing in healthcare, technology and wellness industries. Dr. Vishal Gulati is a partner at Draper Espirit, a leading European venture capital firm; Noor Sweid is founder of Global Ventures, a Dubai-based, growth-stage venture capital firm focusing on investing in emerging markets; and Vasudev Bailey, PhD, is a partner at ARTIS Ventures, a long-term venture partner.

In this conversation, we discuss the debate between investing in healthcare to make money vs. guaranteeing it as a right is a false choice, how investments in cutting edge health technology has placed a premium on data which has become the currency in healthcare, and the application of artificial intelligence used to assist and transform existing medical practices.

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To learn more about this episode, including podcast transcripts and show notes, visit salt.org/talks

Moderated by Anthony Scaramucci. 

Josh Harris is the co-founder of Apollo Global Management, one of the world’s largest alternative investment firms. Harris is also principal owner and managing partner of the NHL’s New Jersey Devils and NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers, and also a general partner in Crystal Palace of the English Premier League. 

Harris learned early on his career, during the 1990 financial crisis, how to identify opportunities in moments where others panic. Some of those first examples involved buying big companies with bad balance sheets, deleveraging and ultimately saving the business all while generating great returns. Harris evaluates the current pandemic, its economic fallout and the civil unrest borne out of persistent systemic racism.

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To learn more about this episode, including podcast transcripts and show notes, visit salt.org/talks

Moderated by Anthony Scaramucci. 

Afsaneh Beschloss is the founder and CEO of RockCreek, a women-founded leading investment firm investing globally with a focus on sustainability. Previously, she was a partner at the Carlyle Group, Treasurer and Chief Investment Officer of the World Bank, and worked at Shell International and J.P. Morgan. Ms. Beschloss has advised governments, central banks, and regulatory agencies on global public policy, energy and financial policy.

Beschloss’ globe-trotting career started with a childhood in her native Iran pre-revolution that went on to include multiple stints at the World Bank. An early interest in ESG investing, which has become increasingly the focus of investment portfolios, saw Beschloss as a pioneer in industries like renewable energy. 

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To learn more about this episode, including podcast transcripts and show notes, visit salt.org/talks

Moderated by Anthony Scaramucci. 

Jason Wilson of SALT-partner ETFMG, home of MJ which is the world’s largest cannabis ETF, hosted a virtual roundtable on the future of cannabis and its investing opportunities. Joined by Wilson are three leaders in the cannabis space: David Culver of Canopy Growth, Patrick Martin of Cozen O’Connor and Eric Huey of Platinum Advisors.

The guests offer their perspectives as governmental cannabis regulation experts to discuss all the ways the rapidly growing cannabis industry will affect jobs, tax revenue and elections among many other impacted areas. Cannabis retail stores’ designation as an essential business all over the country has highlighted the increased acceptance and product demand. With impending state budget shortfalls, cannabis legalization is likely to only quicken, especially in states like New York and Pennsylvania. “Governors are now desperate for revenues,” 

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To learn more about this episode, including podcast transcripts and show notes, visit salt.org/talks

Moderated by Anthony Scaramucci. 

Michèle Flournoy is the Co-Founder & Managing Partner of WestExec Advisors. She was also the United States Undersecretary of Defense for Policy from 2009-2012 under President Obama, where she served as a principal advisor to Secretaries of Defense Robert Gates and Leon Panetta. At the time of her confirmation, Michèle was the highest-ranking female official in the Pentagon.

“We can’t afford to divorce ourselves from the world.” While isolationism has its merits, we should be using our presence to shape the direction of the world, instead of enacting large-scale regime change. We need a core set of principles as it relates to countries like Russia and China. Smart or smarter engagement is the way forward, not lack of engagement.

What region worries Michèle the most? The Asia Pacific and Indo Pacific. This area will have the greatest impact on our economy, as our prominence as their primary security partner clashes with China’s position as the primary trading partner.

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To learn more about this episode, including podcast transcripts and show notes, visit salt.org/talks

Moderated by Anthony Scaramucci. 

Sam Zell is the Founder & Chairman of Equity Group Investments, a private investment firm that invests in real estate markets. He is also the Chairman of four NYSE-listed companies: Equity Residential, Equity Lifestyle Properties, Equity Commonwealth and Covanta Holding Corporation.

“Things are looking better than they did three months ago, but not good enough to be optimistic.” Sam anticipates a U-shaped recovery, at least until a vaccine arrives, while noting that the pandemic has acted as an accelerant to the themes that have begun changing the economy. That said, fossil fuels are likely not going away.

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To learn more about this episode, including podcast transcripts and show notes, visit salt.org/talks

Moderated by Anthony Scaramucci. 

Marc Lasry is the Chairman, Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founder of Avenue Capital Group, as well as the Co-Owner of the Milwaukee Bucks. Marc expressed confidence and optimism in the post-pandemic future. 

“Companies are talking about hiring back over 50% of employees. With two-thirds of GDP being consumer spending, it will be much more difficult for the economy to recover with high unemployment.”

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To learn more about this episode, including podcast transcripts and show notes, visit salt.org/talks

Moderated by Anthony Scaramucci. 

Stephen K. Benjamin, mayor of Columbia, SC since 2010 after getting his political start at age 29 in Governor Jim Hodges cabinet. Michael D. Tubbs is the mayor of Stockton, CA and was the city’s youngest ever to hold the office at 26. Benjamin and Tubbs each represent their city’s first-ever African-American mayor. 

Both mayors offer their thoughts on some of the most pressing issues around racial inequity and civil unrest. They share their unique perspectives on the history of institutional racism and how it manifests today. “The conversation we're having about, not just police brutality, but really about equality under the law, has been a 400-year conversation in this country.”

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To learn more about this episode, including podcast transcripts and show notes, visit salt.org/talks

Moderated by Anthony Scaramucci. 

Philip Hammond is a UK Cabinet Minister and key member of the British Government for almost a decade. Leading four departments over nine years and rising to the second most powerful job in government, he is one of only three people to serve continuously in the UK cabinet from 2010 to 2019, serving under Prime Ministers David Cameron and Theresa May. 

In this conversation, Hammond explains his decision to leave his cabinet role as Chancellor of the Exchequer when Boris Johnson became Prime Minister because of Johnson’s openness to a no-deal Brexit. Hammond explains the economic, cultural and political factors that combined to bring about Brexit, and its consequences. “There's been a lot of resentment in the U.K. at the creeping encroachment by Brussels over our everyday lives… And it was really a reaction to that, a feeling that people wanted to restore sovereignty to our own parliament, make our own decisions, and control our own borders.”

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To learn more about this episode, including podcast transcripts and show notes, visit salt.org/talks

Moderated by Anthony Scaramucci. 

Three leaders in the structured credit space, Clayton DeGiacinto of Axonic Capital, TJ Durkin of Angelo Gordon and Chris Hentemann of 400 Capital to discuss the state of structured credit following the COVID-19 pandemic.

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To learn more about this episode, including podcast transcripts and show notes, visit salt.org/talks

Moderated by Anthony Scaramucci.