LSE Focal Point Podcast

Join us for another exciting episode at Focal Point where today we interview Pierre Lagrange! Mr Lagrange has had a varied and fascinating career. He is the Non-Executive Chairman of Huntsman which he acquired in 2014. Huntsman is one of the oldest and most prestigious tailors on London's Saville Row and is also the setting for the Kingsman film franchise. Before acquiring Huntsman, Mr Lagrange co-founded famous hedge fund GLG Partners, later acquired by Man Group in 2010. Mr Lagrange started his career at JP Morgan, where he worked in government bond sales and trading. After working at JP Morgan, Mr Lagrange moved to Goldman Sachs where he managed global equity portfolios. Recorded in November 2020.

Join us for another exciting episode at Focal Point where today we interview Dietrich Becker! Mr. Becker is a Partner and Head of Perella Weinberg Partners’ Advisory business in Europe. Prior to joining Perella Weinberg Partners in 2006, Mr. Becker served as Co-Head of Morgan Stanley’s Global Industrial Group. Mr Becker advised on the hostile takeovers of Mannesmann by Vodafone, the largest M&A deal in history and began his investment banking career with Merrill Lynch in 1991. Recorded in December 2020.

Join us for another exciting episode at Focal Point where today we interview Andrew Hill! Mr Hill is an Associate Editor and Management Editor at the Financial Times and was named Business Commentator of the Year in 2016. Andrew is the author of Leadership in the Headlines and also writes in the FT's fortnightly satire Work Tribes. In 2014, Andrew conceived the "Strategy Live" concept for The 125, the FT's forum for next-generation leaders and in 2005 he helped launch the FT Business Book of the Year Award - the most prestigious literary prize of its type. Recorded in November 2020.

Join us for another exciting episode at Focal Point where today we interview Jay Bregman! Mr Bregman is the CEO & cofounder of Thimble, a start-up designed to make insurance simpler for small businesses which has now raised over $30M from investors. Prior to Thimble, Jay founded Hailo, a ride-sharing company in London backed by investors such as Sir Richard Branson, Hailo was acquired by Daimler, the automotive company behind Mercedes Benz and was rebranded to FreeNow. Recorded in December 2020.

Join us for another exciting episode at Focal Point where today we interview Michael Seibel. Mr Seibel is the CEO and partner of Y Combinator, Y Combinator is a start-up accelerator headquartered in California that has helped launch the likes of AirBnB, DropBox, Twitch and Reddit. Prior to working at Y Combinator, Michael co-founded Justin.tv/Twitch and was also CEO of Socialcam which he later sold to Autodesk in 2012. Recorded in November 2020.

Join us for another exciting episode at Focal Point where today we interview Dr. Colin Light! Dr. Light is a Partner at Strategy& as well as the UK Strategy& Consulting Practice leader and a member of the EMEA Strategy& leadership team. Prior to his work at Strategy&, Colin was a Partner at PWC in Hong Kong and Mainland China as well as having been the Interim Chief Corporate Development and Operations Officer at HTC as a secondment from PWC. Recorded in October 2020.

Join us for another exciting episode at Focal Point where today we interview Stephen Newton! Mr Newton is the CEO and Founder of Elixirr with the vision of building the best consultancy firm in the world. Prior to founding Elixirr in 2009, Stephen was a managing partner at Accenture, a partner in Financial Services at IBM as well as a Global Account Principal at KPMG. Recorded in September 2020. 

Join us for another exciting episode at Focal Point where today we interview Benoît Durteste! Mr Durteste is the CEO and Chief Investment Officer of Intermediate Capital Group (ICG), a global alternative asset manager with over €45BN of assets, specialising in financing private debt, credit and equity. Benoît has had considerable experience within financial services, prior to working at ICG, Benoît was a Managing Director for Swiss Re in their London Structured Finance division and also worked within BNP Paribas Leveraged Finance among other firms.  Recorded in October 2020.

Join us for another exciting episode at Focal Point where today we interview Mary Nicholson! Ms Nicholson is the Head of Responsible Investment and Managing Director at Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets (MIRA). Mary has worked with Macquarie in a variety of roles for over 15 years and prior to Macquarie, she worked within audit at PWC. Recorded in October 2020.

Join us for another exciting episode at Focal Point where today we interview Ian Stewart! Mr Stewart is a Partner and Chief Economist at Deloitte,  where he advises Boards and companies on macroeconomics. Ian devised the Deloitte Survey of Chief Financial Officers and writes a popular weekly economics blog, the Monday Briefing. Among his previous roles, Ian was also the Chief Economist for Europe at Investment Bank Merrill Lynch. Recorded in September 2020.