Stanford GSB: View From The Top

“It wasn’t luck. I worked every single second of the day – I was obsessed with it. I wanted independence for myself, for my family, and I didn’t want to go back to Jacksonville.”In 2022, Daniella Pierson was named the youngest, wealthiest, self-made BIPOC woman in the world by Forbes. The 28-year-old grew her first company, The Newsette, to a $200 million dollar valuation without taking on a single investor. As a one-woman operation, she advertised through word of mouth and ran the company from her college dorm room.She wasn’t just working against a full college course load. Pierson also battled OCD and ADHD diagnoses. Her mental health experiences would help inspire the mental fitness startup Wondermind, confounded with Selena Gomez in 2022. Two years later, Pierson is already onto her next project: Breadwinner, a financial literacy brand dedicated to helping young visionaries turn their barriers into building blocks. In this View From The Top interview, Pierson sits down with Zach Doherty, MBA ’24, to discuss her entrepreneurial journey, work life balance, and what’s next for Breadwinner. “This is my ecosystem of everything that I have proven in my story. None of my businesses have ever been me first.”Stanford GSB’s View From The Top is the dean’s premier speaker series. It launched in 1978 and is supported in part by the F. Kirk Brennan Speaker Series Fund.During student-led interviews and before a live audience, leaders from around the world share insights on effective leadership, their personal core values, and lessons learned throughout their career.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Jensen Huang, Founder and CEO of NVIDIA, discusses first-principles thinking, founding NVIDIA from washing dishes at Denny's, pioneering graphics technology, navigating leadership challenges, advancements in generative AI, and rapid-fire questions in an engaging and insightful interview.

Aicha Evans, CEO of Zoox, shares insights on leading in a dynamic industry, navigating corporate acquisitions, and the importance of having an irrational belief in startup success. She reflects on the challenges and opportunities in the autonomous vehicle industry, addressing regulatory issues, job security concerns, and the potential impact on driving roles. Evans also discusses the need to clean up the internet before advancing with AI, emphasizing the importance of addressing digital clutter for a safer digital environment. Additionally, she explores managing irritation and relationships at work, highlighting the significance of respect, boundaries, and personal growth.

Neal Mohan, CEO of YouTube, discusses the importance of authenticity for creators on the platform, his journey from the Midwest to India, leadership philosophy, and the future of YouTube with AI technology. He shares insights on supporting artists, navigating identity, and personal reflections on advice and memorable moments.

Guest Sarah Friar, CEO of Nextdoor, shares insights on taking strategic career risks, leveraging technology to unite people, and fostering strong communities. She discusses the importance of empowering individuals in companies to contribute diverse ideas and viewpoints, the value of human connection, and using AI to enhance user engagement and promote positive interactions on social platforms.

"I've seen unbelievable change happen in places that the world sees as not investible. Part of storytelling is doing the work of investing so that people can tell their own stories because of the changes they've made."In 1986 Jacqueline Novogratz quit her job on Wall Street and moved to Rwanda to help open the country's first microfinance institution. She then came to Stanford GSB in 1989, and, in 2001, founded Acumen, a nonprofit impact investing fund."We look at poverty always in terms of income, but poverty is so much more than income. Poverty is a lack of choice, it's a lack of opportunity, it's a lack of agency, it's a lack of feeling that you can contribute. Dignity is the opposite." In this View From the Top interview, Novogratz sits down with Kathleen Schwind, MBA ’23, to talk about her journey into impact investing and how the industry has grown in the last decade.  "We are in this moment of just extraordinary technological acceleration. Our challenge is to ensure that our moral reasoning, our moral imagination, our moral courage keeps pace with that acceleration." See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

"Now also in that meeting, I asked her, 'Could you introduce me to a few of your friends? I’d love to meet with them and talk about this idea.' Because every meeting has to get you to three other meetings. Never leave a meeting with someone without asking them for that introduction." In this View From The Top interview, Rent the Runway founder and CEO Jennifer Hyman shares stories from her first meeting with fashion-giant Diane Von Furstenberg and how she's worked to foster and maintain relationships with more than 1,000 retail brands. "If you’re an entrepreneur, effectively you are a salesperson. That’s your number one skill that you need to have," Hyman says.   Interviewed by Cyerra Holmes, MBA ’23, Hyman talked about how growing up with a sibling with a disability helped her become relentlessly optimistic in the face of insurmountable odds. And, just twelve years after business school and those first meetings with fashion designers, Hyman took Rent The Runway public, becoming the 30th woman to complete an IPO in the history of U.S. markets.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

“If you can create unreasonable expectations, people amaze you with their creativity.”In this View From The Top interview, Shantanu Narayen, Chairman and CEO of Adobe, spoke with Sankalp Banerjee, MBA ’23, about his personal evolution as a leader, including the last 16 years as CEO. Narayen discussed the importance of innovative thinking across multiple scales, seeking opportunities in setbacks, and finding creative inspiration. He also shared his perspective on the future of technology and digital experiences, including the impact of generative AI and data transparency. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In April and March of 2020, as shelter-in-place mandates swept the globe and travel halted, bookings on Airbnb plummeted. With an 80% revenue loss, the company had to lay off nearly a quarter of its workforce. "When you’re our size, and the business drops by 80 percent in eight weeks, it's is like being in an 18-wheeler going 80 miles-an-hour, and then you slam on the brakes," Airbnb co-founder and CEO Brian Chesky said. Chesky was interviewed by James Yan, MBA '23, for View From The Top, on the Stanford GSB campus."This is weeks after we were preparing for what was supposed to be one of the hottest IPOs in years. It was completely bewildering." Chesky was called upon to provide answers, guidance, and business decisions at a time when uncertainty ruled. But when there's only a blank slate, he says, it's time to deploy creativity.  "The hardest thing to manage in a crisis is your own psychology. People look in your eyes, and if you think you’re screwed, they see it in your eyes. You need to be optimistic. But it can’t be optimism that’s delusional. ... The optimistic mentality is the mentality you need to be creative. And you need to be creative because, in a crisis, you often have no good solutions."See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

“You know what kind of culture you have by how your employees are feeling on Sunday night when they think about getting ready to go back to work on Monday morning.”When Cynt Marshall was hired as the CEO of the Dallas Mavericks in 2018, she presented her vision: that the organization would become a global standard for inclusion and diversity. “I truly believe if you have an inclusive culture and a diverse group of employees, you can get anything done," Marshall says. "I’ve lived it. There’s a bottom line impact to having diversity, and having equity in your organization, and an inclusive culture.”In this View From The Top interview, Marshall sits down with Sankalp Banarjee, MBA ’23, to share stories of how she stepped into her authentic self as a leader, how she navigated personal and professional challenges, and how she keeps burn-out at bay.  “A lot of times people ask the question, ‘What keeps you up at night?’ I say, ‘No, to me, the question is, ‘What gets you up in the morning?’” Marshall was named one of 15 of the world’s most inspiring female leaders by Forbes in 2021. In March 2020 and several times prior, she was selected as one of the “50 Most Powerful Women in Corporate America” by Black Enterprise magazine.Stanford GSB’s View From The Top is the dean’s premier speaker series. It launched in 1978 and is supported in part by the F. Kirk Brennan Speaker Series Fund.During student-led interviews and before a live audience, leaders from around the world share insights on effective leadership, their personal core values, and lessons learned throughout their career.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.