Boardroom with Rich Kleiman

In this episode. Rich and Gianni review their first season of Out of Office and their incredible guests including Twitter’s Jack Dorsey, Netflix CMO, Bozoma St. John, and NBA Analyst, Mark Jackson. They discuss how the NBA’s cultural impact can’t be captured by traditional ratings measurements, how the podcast brought Rich and his mom closer together, and how Lebron’s Space Jam might become a classic for a whole new generation. Gianni also shares an impressive list of his Top Five Olympians.

Dusty Baker is a legend whose trailblazing career transcends baseball, but he’s got unfinished business. The 3x National League Manager of the Year is still chasing a World Series ring to pair with the one he won as a player with the Dodgers. As one of baseball’s most-respected and beloved figures, he was probably the only manager who could’ve successfully taken over the Astros job after the organization came under fire in the wake of a sign-stealing scandal.  Baker’s incredible life journey has been shaped by supportive parents, a stint in the Marines, and a close friendship with former teammate, Hank Aaron, who helped Baker, a California native, adapt to life in the segregated south. In this episode, Baker talks about his life-long love of hoops, what he learned from reading Hank Aaron’s hate mail, how he rates Mike Trout and Jacob DeGrom among baseball's all-time greats, and why America urgently needs to improve its capacity for forgiveness. 

As a four-time All-American, Paul Rabil led Johns Hopkins to two national championships, then became the biggest star in Major League Lacrosse. But Rabil was also a born entrepreneur who envisioned a greater platform for the sport, and better compensation for the players. With his brother Mike as co-founder, he launched the Premier Lacrosse League in 2019. The league fields over 200 of the world’s top lacrosse players in a tour-based system with significant venture backing and distribution on NBC Sports. Entrepreneur Magazine named him one of “Top 40 Most Entrepreneurial Athletes” and Fast Company included the PLL in its "Top Ten Most Innovative Company In Sports” list. Rabil talks to Rich and Gianni about his very humble entrepreneurial beginnings, his foundation work, and why he thinks the PLL will help broaden access and popularity for a sport often associated with rich kids and the Ivy League. He explains why he thinks the PLL can one day be as big as the UFC.

Rich's business partner, longtime friend and 2x NBA champion Kevin Durant joins Out of Office for an off-the-cuff conversation about his mentality coming out of this year's Nets playoff run, the way he approached the series against the Bucks, and what he really sees as the pivotal moments in his life and career. He and Rich talk through the craziness of his injury in Toronto, what he's learned from growing up as a naturally curious person, and his excitement around the Nets culture and the fandom the team has built in New York. Plus, looking ahead to the Olympics and his new obsession with baseball

This is a special episode where Rich and Gianni welcome Mark Ronson, one of Rich's long-time friends and a former business partner. Mark and Rich talk about the early years of their friendship and Mark's trajectory from being a seat filler at the Grammys to the shock of winning his first Grammy (for Amy Winehouse's Back to Black.) Mark discusses the importance of mentorship from icons like John Forte and Q Tip, the record label he and Rich partnered on, Allido, and their strange experience together when Mark DJ'ed Tom Cruise's wedding. Mark also goes deep on how producing for Amy Winehouse and Lily Allen changed the trajectory of his career and transformed him from a "New York DJ" to a "Grammy-award winning producer", ultimately doing work with some of the industry's biggest names, including Adele, Paul McCartney, Bruno Mars, and Lady Gaga (with whom he won an Academy Award & a Golden Globe for "Shallow."  Mark talks about his new project, Watch The Sound with Mark Ronson, a six-part docu-series on Apple TV+ that examines sound creation and revolutionary technology used to shape music and features acclaimed guests like Paul McCartney, King Princess, Dave Grohl, Adrock and Mike D from the Beastie Boys, Charli XCX and more. He also discusses his new podcast, The FADER Uncovered.  Mark is currently based in New York where he operates his record label, Zelig Records, home to Raissa, Issy Wood and King Princess. Ronson’s multiple honors include an Academy Award, seven Grammys, and a Golden Globe. 

Al Harrington was such a basketball late bloomer in high school, his own mother wouldn’t come to his games. What was the point if her son was riding the bench? But hard work and a growth spurt turned Al Harrington from so-so hooper to the nation's top high school player by his senior year. In '98, he was a McDonalds All-American, and the Gatorade and USA Today Player of the Year. Drafted out of high school in the 1st round pick by the Indiana Pacers. Harrington reveals the profane warning that Larry Bird, the Pacers Head Coach, barked at him when he showed up late for his first team meeting. Harrington describes what he learned from veteran teammates like Antonio Davis and Reggie Miller that helped forge professional habits over his 16-year NBA career with multiple teams. Harrington talks to Rich and Gianni about his surprising entry point into the cannabis business, which began with Harrington’s search for ways to help his grandmother, Viola, cope with her glaucoma and diabetes symptoms. Harrington later met with then-NBA commissioner, David Stern, and managed to change Stern’s opinion about the dangers of cannabis. That meeting paved the way for the NBA to set the tone for how pro leagues take a more tolerant stance on marijuana use by players. In this powerful episode, Harrington drops many gems, including his stunning estimate of the number of NBA players who used marijuana when he started in the league in the late ‘90s, a number he believes has held steady to this day.

In this episode, Rich and Gianni have lots to discuss. In a week of major headlines, they get into Naomi Osaka’s decision not to do media interviews at the French Open, which led to a fine, and ultimately to her decision to withdraw. Rich and Gianni tackle the complex sides of her decision, and what it means for one of the world's most influential athletes to declare her mental health a priority over competing in an event. They also give props to super agent, Rich Paul of UTA/Klutch Sports, following the New Yorker’s deep-dive on how he's impacted the business of basketball and helped fuel the player empowerment movement. They also chat about recent developments in the Crypto and collectibles space, and tease a big announcement on Sabrina Ionescu’s collab with Boardroom. Rich also gets personal, talking about challenging periods in his own life that have given him far greater empathy for people, including rich athletes, contending with mental health challenges. And of course, Rich and Gianni marvel at KD's performance in the playoffs, and the Nets tougher matchups going forward.

In 2012, as a high school junior from Flint, Michigan, Claressa Shields qualified for the Olympics and won a Gold medal in boxing. She won another in 2016, becoming the first US boxer to win gold at consecutive Olympic Games. As a pro, she's undefeated, and widely-regarded as the best female pound-for-pound boxer in the world. Seeking a new challenge, she's signed a deal with the Professional Fighters League and is now training for her MMA debut. On June 3rd, ESPN+ begins streaming a 4-part series about her bid to become an MMA fighter, with a live broadcast of her bout on June 10th.  Her compelling story has also been the subject of a documentary, “T-Rex: Her Fight for Gold" and is being developed into a motion picture written by Oscar Winner, Barry Jenkins, to be directed by Oscar-nominee, Rachel Morrison, the cinematographer of Black Panther. In this episode, she talks to Rich and Gianni about her tough upbringing in Flint Michigan, her father's role in introducing her to boxing, her admiration for Serena Williams, and the challenges of training in multiple disciplines to prepare for her first MMA fight. 

Haley Rosen was a collegiate soccer star at Stanford University, and went on to play professionally both in the US and Europe. But after an injury-shortened career, she moved back to Silicon Valley to work in tech. But motivated by the dearth of coverage of women's sports -- 44% of athletes are women, yet they only garner 4% of sports coverage -- she kicked off an Instagram page called Just Women's Sports. The page attracted a following, and convinced Rosen it could be scaled into a business. The solo founder and her team have now attracted a rabid fan base and venture investors including Spark, Andreessen Horowitz, Greycroft, and yes, 35 Ventures. Rosen talks to Rich and Gianni about how the rising visibility of women's sports and athletes in 2020 helped fuel her business launch; her appreciation for Kevin Durant's enthusiastic support for the platform, and much more.

On this episode of Out of Office, Rich and Gianni talk to Acorns co-founder Noah Kerner, who has extensive experience in founding and growing start-ups. This episode will cover Noah's career trajectory, including how he and his team have grown Acorns including throughout the challenges of the last year. Previous guests / episodes in line with the overall ethos of this episode include Dan Fleyshman(founder, Elevator Studio), Gary Vaynerchuk, & Dave Grutman (Groot Hospitality), all of whom built their businesses as start ups.