The Penta Podcast Channel

On today's Macrocast, Penta President Matt McDonald is joined by John and Brendan from Markets Policy Partners and Matt Dell Orfano, Founder of Telamonius Ventures. The group first dives into November's job numbers, offering differing interpretations of what the data means for the state of the economy. The group then discusses the holiday shopping season and the outlook for the retail sector.Read Penta's GDP fact sheet for Q3 2022 here.

In this episode of What's at Stake, Bryan hosts Penta managing directors Stratton Kirton and Jonathan Graffeo, as well as senior associate Matthew Robbins, for a conversation on an eventful November for businesses and policymakers.ESG is top of mind for many business leaders, with sustainability issues featuring prominently at the G20 summit and the election of a new Republican majority in the House of Representatives. Meanwhile, an underwhelming COP27 conference raises important questions for businesses trying to tell their ESG stories: How are stakeholder attitudes about sustainability changing? And how should businesses tell their ESG stories in an evolving landscape?As Stratton, Jonathan, and Matthew explain, media and public attention to environmental issues is growing, even as advocates express disappointment at the lack of new actions announced at COP27. Jonathan breaks down how businesses can communicate their ESG priorities in a way that resonates across the ideological spectrum. Plus, the group discusses "the three Ms" of stakeholder engagement: measure, message, and monitor.Read Penta's new analysis on media coverage and partisan sentiments on ESG issues here.

What's at stake: a Penta podcast is taking a week off for the Thanksgiving holiday and will return with new content next week. In the meantime, tune in to one of our favorite episodes so far, released shortly after Penta's launch earlier this fall. The episode features a conversation between Penta leaders on the informational landscape for business leaders as they navigate complex stakeholder challenges. How do businesses understand what their stakeholders–be they employees, policymakers, shareholders, or others–want? What do stakeholder pressures look like today, in an era of growing concern for ESG issues and macroeconomic headwinds?

On this special edition of the Macrocast–published on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving–Penta Managing Director Jonathan Graffeo joins John and Brendan to discuss how prepared retailers are for Black Friday, whether shoppers will show up amid high prices, and what the Fed is doing to cool inflation. Plus, the group explores the potential macro implications of a brewing freight rail strike and a looming debt ceiling fight.

On Today's Macrocast, Stratton Kirton, managing director at Penta, joins Brendan and John of Markets Policy Partners to discuss the latest developments in the domestic and global economy. The group starts  by examining the current state of the U.S. retail market, noting that the pandemic trend of a preference for services and experiences over goods persists. The group also previews some of the retail sales trends likely to occur during the holiday shopping season. Stratton, John, and Brendan also discuss the latest in the crypto industry, including the current perception of the sector in D.C. and how regulators may handle crypto in the coming months. The conversation ends with a section about the state of the global economy following the COP27 and G20 meetings. 

In this edition of What's at Stake, Penta Senior Director Rebeca Buck and Managing Director Michael LaRosa sit down with Cody Keenan, former Director of Speechwriting for President Obama and author of "Grace: President Obama and Ten Days in the Battle for America." Cody speaks about his experiences in the Obama White House during some of the administration's most pivotal days. Ten days in particular saw several historic moments unfold, including the shooting in Charleston, South Carolina, and landmark Supreme Court decisions on marriage equality and the Affordable Care Act. Cody draws connections from President Obama's style to those of President Biden and others. Cody also shares advice for aspiring speechwriters and political operatives. How do you keep it together when the leader of the free world is your boss? And what was it like to write some of President Obama's most memorable speeches? Tune in to find out.Check out Cody Keenan's new book here.Read more about Cody here.

In this edition of the Macrocast, Tony bids farewell to the show and tackles a busy week of macroeconomic and political news with John and Brendan from Markets Policy Partners. The group discusses the implications of the midterm elections for financial markets and breaks down the October CPI data, which comes as a relief to inflation-battered investors. Plus, Tony, John, and Brendan predict what's next in the world of crypto following the stunning collapse of FTX.Find the October CPI data here.Read more about Markets Policy Partners here.

In this special midterm edition of What's at Stake, Penta Partner Andrea Christianson discusses Tuesday's election results with Senior Partner and former Senior Advisor to national Republicans, Kevin Madden and Managing Director and former Press Secretary to First Lady Jill Biden, Michael LaRosa. The group kicks off their discussion by analyzing the results of the election, including the absence of a "red wave," split ticket voting in several states, and the way voters thought about their choices between candidates. With Republicans likely to gain a slimmer majority than they had hoped for in the House of Representatives, Andrea, Kevin, and Michael discuss the implications of the results for Rep. Kevin McCarthy's agenda. Finally, the group looks ahead to the future. While the midterm votes are still being tallied, the 2024 election is essentially underway.

This week on What's at Stake, Penta's Bryan DeAngelis sits down with president Matt McDonald and partners Alberto Lopez Valenzuela and Christina Pearson to unpack the group's experience at last week's Fortune CEO Initiative conference in Palm Beach, FL. The group starts by discussing their favorite moments from the conference. They note how businesses have grown comfortable operating in uncertainty, and how ESG remains top-of-mind across sectors. The group also touches on the need to integrate ESG measurement into core corporate strategy as companies look for a more holistic way to measure their impact. Matt also recaps the roundtable discussion at the conference, which explored how businesses should understand their stakeholder landscape on a deeper level  to more effectively respond to demands, both during crises and on an ongoing basis. Bryan, Christina, and Alberto expand on how understanding the needs of investors, policymakers, employees, and consumers allows businesses to maintain a values-based, nuanced approach to communications across their company.Learn more about the Fortune CEO Initiative here.

On this week's edition of the Macrocast, Tony and Brendan are joined by Brai Odion-Esene, founder of SW4 Insights. The trio first discusses today's jobs report and this week's 0.75% rate hike from the Federal Reserve, pondering what the path ahead is for Chairman Powell and the rest of the FOMC. They then have a lively conversation about the dangers of the debt ceiling. Tune in!SW4 Insights About PageMarkets Policy Partners Five Minute MacroPenta Groups October Jobs Day Fact Sheet