Corner Office from Marketplace
by Marketplace
Kai Ryssdal’s Conversations From the Corner Office brings you inside the room with the business and cultural leaders transforming our economy. In this business leadership podcast, Ryssdal interviews experts and entrepreneurs on a wide range of topics from the news of the day, successes, failures and what’s next.
Episodes
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United States of Work
What do a small town doctor, a hair stylist, and the executive director of an independent movie theater have in common? They all run businesses that play key roles in their local economies, however small those businesses might be. These three people are part of a series we’re doing on…
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Running a contemporary art museum is a balancing act
Joanne Heyler, founding director of the Los Angeles contemporary art museum The Broad, takes Kai on a tour of the vaults where the collection that’s not on display is kept. They discuss both how art can reflect the economy and the business of running a museum.
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Janet Yellen and David Malpass on global economic slowdown
Despite unprecedented economic expansion in the U.S., the global economy is slowing down. On today’s episode, a wide-ranging conversation on what’s standing in the way of economic growth with Janet Yellen, former Chair of the Federal Reserve, and David Malpass, President of the World Bank Group....
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AMC’s Sarah Barnett on legacy TV in the streaming era
This season, you have a record 532 scripted TV shows to choose from. Netflix, Apple and cable networks are spending billions on marquee talent, intellectual property and reboots, some of them with the help of big data. AMC, however, is trying something different. Sarah Barnett took over as...
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How Feeding America provides 4 billion meals a year
About one in nine Americans lacked access to affordable nutrition last year, according to the USDA. Enter Feeding America, a network of tens of thousands of food banks, meals programs and more. CEO Claire Babineaux-Fontenot talked with us about how she uses her corporate background to run one of...
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Habitat for Humanity’s Jonathan Reckford on the business of helping
Since Jonathan Reckford became the CEO for Habitat for Humanity in 2005, the nonprofit housing organization has grown to help nearly 30 million people improve their housing conditions. “An interesting hybrid between a global corporation and a denomination,” he said. But as the world faces a…
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How Baby2Baby turned one photo into thousands of diapers
Kelly Sawyer Patricof and Norah Weinstein knew they wanted their nonprofit, Baby2Baby, to do big things to help kids living in poverty. But they didn’t realize that a photo featuring Jessica Alba and Nicole Richie at one of their first events would lead to a donation of 100,000 diapers and a...
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For Lisa Kaz, the LA Auto Show is a family business
Not long after Lisa Kaz graduated college with a computer science degree, she joined her grandfather in the auto show business. Today she’s the CEO of the LA Auto Show and the conference that happens immediately before, AutoMobility LA. She talked with us from the show floor about the challenges…
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David Nussbaum of America’s Test Kitchen on working with cooking superstars
David Nussbaum knows whatever he’s doing with “America’s Test Kitchen” is working when he attends events with hosts Bridget Lancaster and Julia Collin Davison. “You’d think I was with Michelle Obama and the ex-president,” he said. America’s Test Kitchen continues to grow, expanding from TV and...
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Ford and Jim Hackett’s big bet on an electric Mustang
When Jim Hackett became CEO of Ford Motor Co. in 2017, he pledged to make the automaker leaner and invest more in electrics and hybrids. The Mach-E, an electric Mustang SUV, is the first look at that investment and Ford’s strategy to take their best-selling brands and electrify them. An electric...
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For “The Walking Dead’s” Scott Gimple, a story needs sadness to make the happiness real
Scott Gimple was the showrunner for five seasons of “The Walking Dead” before becoming chief content officer for the entire franchise. And in that time, the series has become a content universe, with a spinoff series, video games and both a movie and another spinoff in the works. Kai Ryssdal...
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Powerhouse producer Eva Price on the business of Broadway
Eva Price quit her job at ABC News at 26 to chase her dream of becoming a theater producer. Fifteen years later, with three Tony Awards, more than 18 Broadway credits and a place on the Broadway League’s board of governors, she’s a theater powerhouse. She took home a Tony this year for an edgy…
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Dick’s Sporting Goods’ Ed Stack on taking a stand
When Dick’s Sporting Goods CEO Ed Stack took over the family business, it was only two stores. Now the company has over 700 stores, making it one of the biggest sports retailers in the country. Stack recounts all this, as well as the company’s decision to cut back on gun sales following the...
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Dany Garcia runs one of the most influential companies you probably haven’t heard of
Competitive bodybuilding, The Rock, and how you build an enterprise around a person: a conversation with Dany Garcia, CEO of The Garcia Companies.
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What if all learning happened online?
Coursera is one of the largest companies offering “MOOCs” — that is, massive open online courses. Launched in 2012 by two Stanford professors, Coursera partnered with universities to offer college courses for free. In the years since, Coursera has grown to offer certificates and even full college...
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How the CEO of Slack uses Slack
Slack is a workplace messaging platform that allows users to communicate with co-workers across the country, share files instantaneously and react to news about free doughnuts with the perfect GIF. Since its launch in 2013, it’s been popularized in workplaces around the country and around the...
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Would you drink whiskey made by Pabst?
Pabst Brewing company is perhaps best known for Pabst Blue Ribbon or PBR, a beer the 175-year-old company has sold for over a century. But while the beer name and its signature blue ribbon label may have stayed pretty much the same for decades, the company itself hasn’t. Nearly two decades ago…
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Hearst’s Steven Swartz on going digital and diversifying
Hearst was founded in 1887 by William Randolph Hearst, it started out as a single newspaper, the San Francisco Examiner. Now, Hearst is one of the largest media companies in the world, with holdings in dozens of magazines, newspapers, and television networks. Some might be surprised to know that...
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Poshmark’s Manish Chandra talks resale at scale
Poshmark is an app where you can either buy items from other users or try to sell unwanted items like clothes, handbags, shoes, or home decor. Think of eBay, but with more social aspects where people could follow each other’s “closets,” and comment or share the listings they like. It started bak…
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How to build a streetwear brand without selling out
The word “streetwear” might summon a few images in your head — Kanye West and his high-end Yeezy sneakers, stylish Supreme T-shirts and more. But once upon a time, streetwear was less a mainstream fashion statement and more of an expression of smaller, alternative subcultures like skateboarding,...
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The CEO of Lands’ End knows exactly who his customers are
Lands’ End is a 56-year-old American company that made its name in the catalog business. In the digital age though, it’s had to adapt. Jerome Griffith became CEO in 2016. At the time, the company needed a change after years of declining sales and more than a decade under the ownership of Sears....
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The co-CEOs trying to disrupt scrubs
Health care employs more people in the United States than any other industry. About 11% of all all private-sector workers work in health care. Heather Hasson and Trina Spear’s company Figs is out to reinvent and disrupt the uniforms that many of those workers wear: scrubs. We talked with them at...
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The brains behind “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”
Amy Sherman Palladino and her husband, Dan Palladino, are deep in production for season three of their hit show on Amazon, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.” It’s the story of Midge Maisel as she pursues a career in stand-up comedy in 1960s New York. The pair have already won a ton of awards for the...
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Delta CEO Ed Bastian on why he’s spending big on airports
When we last talked with Ed Bastian in 2016, he had only just been appointed CEO of Delta Air Lines. This time we caught up with him at Los Angeles International Airport as he stepped off a flight from Atlanta. He talked about the company’s plans to spend billions on remodeling and updating...
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Jane Rosenthal is a film producer with a side gig as a CEO of the Tribeca Film Festival
Running the Tribeca Film Festival is Jane Rosenthal’s side hustle. Rosenthal co-founded it with her producing partner, Robert De Niro, in the aftermath of 9/11 when few visitors wanted to make their way downtown. Her more than 50 credits include movies like “Meet the Parents,” “Bohemian Rhapsody”...
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RERUN: Jamie Dimon on what keeps him up at night
Jamie Dimon led JPMorgan Chase & Co. through the financial crisis. Today, it’s the largest bank in the United States, managing nearly $3 trillion – more than the gross domestic product of several countries. Now, though, he’s more worried about cyber security. And yes, he does know what he wants…
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The IMF’s Christine Lagarde knows you’re anxious about the future
One of the few women leading global economic policy today is Christine Lagarde, the head of the International Monetary Fund. She says the biggest problems of our day, from cyberthreats to climate change, can’t be solved “by turning inwards, by looking at your belly button.” She describes herself…
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How Duolingo’s CEO harnessed our game addiction for good
You already know Luis von Ahn’s work. He helped create CAPTCHA, the technology that helps control spam on the internet and crowd-sources humans to help computers read and digitize old text. In 2012, he co-founded Duolingo, a free language learning app. To him, the app was meant to solve “this...
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Why no Wall Street CEO went to jail after the financial crisis
Millions of people lost their homes, their jobs and their savings during the financial crisis. The resulting recession destroyed over $30 trillion of the world’s wealth. Although the crisis grew out of big banks’ handling of mortgage-backed securities, no Wall Street CEO served time for it. So…
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Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg on manufacturing in America today
Dennis Muilenburg started as an intern at Boeing in 1985 and never left. The aerospace company is America’s largest exporter, the Defense Department’s second-biggest contractor, and since Muilenburg became CEO, its annual revenue topped $100 billion for the first time. We visited the company’s...
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Goodyear CEO Rich Kramer talks about changing the tire shopping experience
If you own a car, then you know that taking it to the shop can be a pain. But the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company wants to make it easier to understand how the rubber — literally — meets the road. One of the largest tire companies in the world, Goodyear has been around for over 100 years. Chairman...
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Inside the business of basketball with Los Angeles Lakers CEO Jeanie Buss
The Los Angeles Lakers are more than just a basketball team. They are also a global brand worth $3.3 billion, one of the most successful franchises in the NBA and fundamentally an entertainment company with outsized influence. Lately though, the team has struggled to deliver on the court, missing...
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SpaceX’s Gwynne Shotwell says we’ll be on Mars within 10 years
SpaceX may be the face of the private space industry now, but it wasn’t always that way. In the 16 years since its founding, the company went from curious newcomer to leading the sector. And the reason? It’s made a business out of building and launching affordable, reusable rockets, attracting...
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Glassdoor CEO says where you work is one of the most important decisions of your life
Glassdoor is one of the world’s largest job and recruiting sites. It’s probably best known as a place where you can rate your employer and get salary information for different companies. Before co-founding Glassdoor, chief executive Robert Hohman started his career as a software developer at...
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AEG CEO says the company is recession resistant
AEG is an international sports and entertainment company. It owns and operates, or is affiliated with, more than 120 of the world’s biggest venues and entertainment districts, such as the O2 Arena in London, Mercedes-Platz in Berlin, the Barclays Center and PlayStation Theater in New York, and…
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Kaiser Permanente’s CEO on the evolution of health care
It’s open enrollment time for health care plans, so we’re talking to Bernard Tyson, CEO of Kaiser Permanente, one of the country’s largest health care and hospital organizations. He sat down with us to explain the dilemma of health insurance costs and what patients are getting with their…
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Why Charles Schwab’s CEO strives for “less revenue per dollar.”
At the dawn of the financial crisis, Walt Bettinger took over as president and CEO of Charles Schwab from the company’s founder and namesake. “It was an intense period. At that point in time, your actions weren’t likely to change the trajectory of your company,” Bettinger said. But under his...
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Why RuPaul is the ‘Queen of Queens’
It’s hard to think about about the term “drag queen” and not think of RuPaul. He is probably best known for hosting “RuPaul’s Drag Race” (for which he’s won three Emmys, including this year’s award for best reality TV competition), but he’s also created an industry out of the drag world, which…
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The RealReal CEO Julie Wainwright isn’t afraid of growing too fast
Would you buy a used luxury brand handbag? Maybe a watch or some shoes? Think Gucci, Chanel, Louis Vuitton, to name just a few. Julie Wainwright, CEO of The RealReal, knows pre-owned luxury goods are a big market, which led her to start her company. “We should be over a billion [dollars in sales]...
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JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon doesn’t think he has too much power in this economy
Jamie Dimon has been at the helm of JPMorgan Chase since 2005. As the largest bank in the United States, it manages nearly $3 trillion — more than the gross domestic product of several countries. Dimon is also the longest-serving chief executive on Wall Street. “It is a scary place to be,” he…
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Who is Michael Ovitz?
You may not know the name Michael Ovitz, but you almost certainly know his work. For years, he was one of the most powerful people in Hollywood, the deal-making talent agent behind “Jurassic Park,” “Ghostbusters,” “Tootsie,” “Rain Man” and “Schindler’s List,” to name a few. Creative Artists…
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NerdWallet wants to help you with finance
It started with a simple Google search to compare credit cards, but when nothing helpful turned up, an idea was born. Tim Chen is the founder and CEO of NerdWallet, a financial advice website with more than 100 million yearly users. While struggling to compare credit cards online, he got the idea...
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Chegg CEO on shifting the company from textbooks to digital
When Dan Rosensweig took over as CEO of Chegg back in 2010, the company was mainly known for textbook rentals. The Chegg of today looks a little different. The company went public in 2013 and transitioned into subscription-based tools likes bibliography services, AI paper editors and tutors. We…
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The men’s fashion company that’s part apparel, part big data
Subscription box services may be the big apparel movement right now, but tech and data are allowing at least one company to go in a very different direction: custom tailoring. Colin Hunter is the CEO and co-founder of high-end men’s fashion company Alton Lane, and his goal is to make that retail...
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Movie theater subscription service Sinemia is determined to make it work
You’ve probably heard of MoviePass, the subscription-based movie ticket service — yeah, the one having a lot of problems recently. Sinemia offers a similar ticket plan through their mobile app, but with a different business model. It’s not a household name yet in North America, but Sinemia’s...
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The CEO who killed Archie and brought the brand back to life
Archie has always been a part of Jon Goldwater’s life. His father, John, co-created the iconic character and the rest of the Riverdale gang. But under the younger Goldwater’s tenure as co-CEO, the “Archie” of today looks pretty different from the “Archie” of yesteryear. From introducing the…
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RERUN: Travel tips from the CEO of Marriott, Arne Sorenson
Arne Sorenson is only the third CEO in Marriott’s history and the first not to have “Marriott” as his surname. In 2016, he oversaw the company’s multi-billion dollar merger with Starwood Hotels and Resorts, making Marriott the largest hotel chain in the world by far. Sorenson joined host Kai...
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The CEO of Zillow says we’re missing millions of homes (thanks to the recession)
Spencer Rascoff has been at Zillow, the company familiar to many a person searching for a home or apartment, pretty much from the beginning. Since 2005, he’s weathered the housing crisis and another housing boom. And as CEO, he’s leading the real estate/tech/data company into a new market: buying...
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Behind every Dunkin’ Donut stands this CEO
Nigel Travis has run Dunkin’ Donuts and Baskin-Robbins as CEO of Dunkin’ Brands since 2009. And he’s as surprised as the rest of us at the resurgence of doughnuts. In this interview, Travis talks about how his background in human resources makes him a better CEO, why it’s so difficult to find...
About this show
Kai Ryssdal’s Conversations From the Corner Office brings you inside the room with the business and cultural leaders transforming our economy. In this business leadership podcast, Ryssdal interviews experts and entrepreneurs on a wide range of topics from the news of the day, successes, failures and what’s next.
Hosted by
Marketplace