Matthew Barnes sits down with Bethany McLean - contributing editor at Vanity Fair, and co-author of The Smartest Guys in the Room, the definitive account of Enron's collapse.

In 2001, Bethany was the first journalist to publicly question Enron's valuation, publishing "Is Enron Overpriced?" in Fortune months before the company's implosion became one of the most notorious corporate bankruptcies in American history.

She went on to cover the 2008 financial crisis, co-authoring the book "All the Devils Are Here" with Joe Nocera.

In this conversation, Bethany reflects on the Enron story, the blurry line between visionary and fraudster, and the 2008 financial crisis.

For podcast enquiries please contact [email protected]

🔔 Subscribe for new conversations with leaders in business, finance, and beyond.

🎧 Also available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

🔗 Trinity SMF Podcast Spotify | https://open.spotify.com/show/2KCU3PAzG5vzeg6nKshDvk?si=3c1fd802e0064a2a

🔗 Trinity SMF Linkedin | https://www.linkedin.com/company/trinity-smf/

🔗 Trinity SMF Website | https://trinitysmf.com/

🔗 Host's Linkedin | https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewcmbarnes/

Trinity Student Managed Fund is Europe's oldest and largest student-run investment fund, with more than €800,000 AUM.

#bethanymclean #2008 #financialcrisis #enron #TrinitySMF

🎙 Trinity SMF Podcast | Brendan McDonagh | Lessons from 3 Decades in Global Banking

Matthew Barnes sits down with Brendan McDonagh - former Chief Executive of HSBC North America, former Deputy Chairman of AIB, and Chairman of PEAL Capital.

Brendan's career has spanned more than than thirty years in global banking, holding senior roles in seven countries, Brendan led HSBC out of the 2008 financial crisis.

n this conversation, he reflects on what it takes to lead through a crisis of that scale, the decisions made under pressure when the system was breaking, and the lessons that still hold for finance and leadership today.

Brendan also discusses his time at Trinity, his role on the advisory board of Trinity Business School, and his advice for students still at the university.

For podcast enquiries please contact [email protected]

🔔 Subscribe for new conversations with leaders in business, finance, and beyond.

🎧 Also available on Youtube and Apple Podcasts.

🔗 Trinity SMF Podcast - Apple Podcasts⁠🔗 Trinity SMF Podcast - Youtube🔗 Trinity SMF Podcast - Apple Podcasts⁠🔗 ⁠Trinity SMF - Linkedin⁠

🔗 ⁠Host's Linkedin⁠Trinity Student Managed Fund is Europe's oldest and largest student-run investment fund, with over €800,000 AUM.

#TrinitySMF #brendanmcdonagh #hsbc #banking #finance #2008financialcrisis #investmentbanking #leadership #podcast #trinitycollegedublin

🎙 Tune in to the Trinity SMF podcast with Emanuele Roncalli di Montorio-Veronese as he speaks with Trotter's Chiara Bertarelli

Chiara is the founder of Trotter. Chiara, a recent Harvard graduate, was inspired to create a travel social media platform while exploring South America with her friends in 2023. She wanted a centralized platform to help people search, plan, book, and share their travel adventures, while also connecting them with like-minded individuals. Since launching her app, she's expanded her vision and created a luxury lifestyle platform with a 24/7 concierge service, an itinerary planner, a social

🎙 Tune in to the Trinity SMF podcast with Emanuele Roncalli di Montorio-Veronese as he speaks with Ares’ Matthew Theodorakis
Mr. Theodorakis is a Partner and Co-Head of European Direct Lending in the Ares Credit Group, where he focuses on European direct lending, including portfolio management. Mr. Theodorakis is also a member of the Ares Credit Group's European Direct Lending Investment Committee and the Ares Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Council. Prior to joining Ares in 2010, Mr. Theodorakis was a Vice President at Evercore Partners. Mr. Theodorakis holds a B.A. from Washington and Lee University in Economics.

🎙 Tune in to the Trinity SMF podcast with Emanuele Roncalli di Montorio-Veronese as he speaks with Oaktree Capital Management’s Howard Marks

Mr. Howard Marks is the Co-Founder and Co-Chairman of Oaktree Capital Management, a global alternative investment firm with more than $200 billion AUM. His newsletters and memos about markets and economics are widely read on Wall Street and all around the industry. He has written the bestselling books Mastering the Market Cycle: Getting the Odds on Your Side and The Most Important Thing: Uncommon Sense for the Thoughtful Investor.

From 1985 until 1995, Mr. Marks led the groups at The TCW Group, Inc. that were responsible for investments in distressed debt, high yield bonds, and convertible securities. Previously, Mr. Marks was with Citicorp Investment Management for 16 years, where from 1978 to 1985 he was Vice President and senior portfolio manager in charge of convertible and high yield securities. Between 1969 and 1978, he was an equity research analyst and, subsequently, Citicorp's Director of Research. Mr. Marks holds a B.S.Ec. degree cum laude from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania with a major in finance and an M.B.A. in accounting and marketing from the Booth School of Business of the University of Chicago. 

🎙 Tune in to the Trinity SMF podcast with Emanuele Roncalli di Montorio-Veronese as he speaks with Citadel Securities’ Jim Esposito, President of Citadel Securities

Mr. Jim Esposito is the President of Citadel Securities. Jim was previously co-head of the Global Banking and Markets Division at Goldman Sachs. During his 29-year tenure at Goldman Sachs Jim served on the management committee, co-chaired the partnership committee, and was a member of the diversity and inclusion committee. Previously, Jim was co-head of the Global Investment Banking and Global Markets Divisions before they were combined and earlier in his career was co-head of the Global Financing Group. 


Jim earned a Bachelor of Arts from Brown University and an MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College. Jim is a Trustee at Brown, serves on the Board of Overseers at Tuck and is a board member of Beat the Streets New England.

🎙 Tune in to the Trinity SMF podcast with Emanuele Roncalli di Montorio-Veronese as he speaks with Nathalie Dompé, CEO of Dompé Holdings and Co-CEO of Dompé Farmaceutici

Nathalie Dompé is Co-CEO of Dompé farmaceutici. Nathalie is responsible for the oversight, market development, and strategic approval of all new drugs launched by Dompé in the United States. She explores new opportunities for the company through interactions with other business leaders in the pharmaceutical and high tech industries.

Nathalie is concurrently CEO Dompé Holdings, a diversified holding company in Europe with business interests in pharmaceuticals, agriculture, and hi-tech. She sits on the board of several companies including Movendo, Philogen and Dompé farmaceutici. Nathalie graduated with Honors in Business Administration from Bocconi University in Milan.

📢 Don’t miss this episode!

🎙 Tune in to the Trinity SMF podcast with Emanuele Roncalli di Montorio-Veronese as he speaks with John S. Daly, Former Chairman of Global Equity Capital Markets at Goldman Sachs, Co-Founder and Partner of 25madison and Board member of the National Treasury Management Agency

John was a partner at Goldman Sachs, where he worked for 32 years, before retiring in 2021. Immediately before his retirement, John served as Chairman of Global Equity Capital Markets and previously held leadership roles in Goldman’s Financing Group in both Hong Kong and New York; and served on Goldman’s Firmwide Commitments Committee. He started at GS after earning an MBA at Wharton Business School. Prior to business school, John earned degrees in Mechanical Engineering and Mathematics from Trinity College Dublin and worked as an engineer at General Electric.

Post retirement, John co-founded 25madison - an incubation and venture investing firm focussed on the healthcare, AI and industrial/supply chain sectors. He is also a board member of the National Treasury Management Agency in Dublin and Chairman of the Investment Committee of the Irish Sovereign Wealth Fund. He is a member of Trinity College Dublin’s Provost Council and serves as a board member for The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, the Irish Arts Centre in New York City, TMRW Sports (parent of TGL - the indoor golf league). He is also a Senior Advisor to Veriten - a research, investing and strategy firm focused on the energy sector. *This episode was Recorded in March 2025"*

 Tune in to the Trinity SMF podcast with Emanuele Roncalli di Montorio-Veronese as he speaks with Martin Gilbert, Co-Founder & ex-CEO of Aberdeen Asset Management and Chairman of Revolut, Toscafund, and River Global PLC (formerly AssetCo).

Martin co-founded Aberdeen Asset Management in 1983, transforming it into a global asset management powerhouse through organic growth and strategic acquisitions. Under his leadership, assets under management (AuM) grew from £70 million to £312 billion by 2016. Following the 2017 merger with Standard Life, he became co-CEO of Standard Life Aberdeen, later serving as Vice Chairman until 2020. Beyond Aberdeen, Martin has held key roles across finance and business, including Chairman of Revolut, AssetCo, and Toscafund, as well as Non-Executive Director at Glencore plc. He has served on multiple advisory boards, including British American Business and the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

Recognized as one of the world’s top-performing CEOs by Harvard Business Review, Martin has received awards such as City AM’s Personality of the Year and Asset Management CEO of the Year. He holds honorary degrees from the University of Aberdeen, Robert Gordon University, and Heriot-Watt University, and is an Adjunct Professor of Finance at Imperial College Business School. Born in Malaysia, Martin earned an MA in accountancy and an LLB in law from the University of Aberdeen before qualifying as a chartered accountant with Deloitte. His career journey—from law firm investment departments to leading a global financial giant—offers invaluable insights into leadership, finance, and business strategy.

 Don’t miss this episode!

🎙 Tune in to the Trinity SMF podcast with Emanuele Roncalli di Montorio-Veronese as he speaks with Mr. Anthony Scaramucci, Founder & Managing partner of SkyBridge; Founder & Chairman of SALT

Anthony Scaramucci is the founder and managing partner of SkyBridge, a global alternative investment firm, and the founder and chairman of SALT, a global thought leadership forum and venture studio. He co-hosts The Rest Is Politics US podcast and also hosts Open Book, a podcast interview series featuring some of the brightest minds in business, politics, entertainment, and more.Prior to founding SkyBridge in 2005, Scaramucci co-founded the investment partnership Oscar Capital Management, which was sold to Neuberger Berman in 2001. Earlier in his career, he worked in Private Wealth Management at Goldman Sachs & Co.

In 2022, Scaramucci was ranked #47 in Cointelegraph’s Top 100 Influencers in Crypto and Blockchain. In 2016, he was ranked #85 in Worth Magazine’s Power 100: The 100 Most Powerful People in Global Finance. In 2011, he received Ernst & Young’s New York Financial Services “Entrepreneur of the Year” Award. Scaramucci is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) and serves on the board of the Federal Enforcement Homeland Security Foundation. He is also the author of five books.Scaramucci served on President Donald J. Trump’s 16-person Presidential Transition Team Executive Committee and briefly held roles in 2017 as Chief Strategy Officer of the Export-Import (EXIM) Bank and White House Communications Director.

A native of Long Island, New York, Scaramucci holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Tufts University and a Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School.