Event Highlights
The Bloomberg Businessweek – Day 1
May 17, 2021
By Bloomberg Live
In a first-of-its-kind event experience, we bring the magazine to life. Over the course of five days, the Bloomberg Businessweek will explore the HOW TO’s of technology, culture, creativity, entertainment, global affairs, health care and science.
We kick off the event on Monday with a focus on Companies and Industries. During this time of incredible disruption, companies and industries globally have shown us how to turn adversity into opportunity. We’ll share the top solutions and lessons learned from companies on how they have adapted to not only survive, but thrive.
Click here to view video of today’s event.
Speakers included:
- Steve Hatfield, Global Future of Work Leader, Deloitte
- Boris Jordan, Executive Chairman, Curaleaf
- Jay Leno, Host, Jay Leno’s Garage
- Scott Kirby, CEO, United Airlines
- Joe Lichtenberg, Global Head of Product Marketing, InterSystems
- Cynthia Marshall, CEO, Dallas Mavericks
- Cameron Minges, President, Financial Center First Credit Union
The Bloomberg team included:
- Bret Begun, Senior Editor, Bloomberg Businessweek
- Aeriel Brown, Photo Director, Bloomberg Businessweek
- Hannah Elliott, Staff Writer, Bloomberg Businessweek
- James E. Ellis, Assistant Managing Editor, Bloomberg Businessweek
- George Ferguson, Senior Airline & Aerospace Analyst, Bloomberg Intelligence
- Jason Kelly, Chief Correspondent, QuickTake
- Carol Massar, Anchor, Bloomberg Businessweek TV and Radio
- Chris Nosenzo, Creative Director, Bloomberg Businessweek
- Brooke Sutherland, Columnist, Bloomberg Opinion
- Joel Weber, Editor, Bloomberg Businessweek
We began our event with an exciting behind-the-scenes look at how the Bloomberg Businessweek cover comes to life each week. Remember, Businessweek covers are known to be bold, edgy and, well, memorable.
Joel Weber, Editor, Bloomberg Businessweek, presented the audience with two options for the How To issue, one designed by the art team (a visual of a woman with eight arms, trying to do multiple things at once) and one by the editorial team (a collage of words). Who gets the final say? The audience! He announced that decision would come at the end of the day.
If you are even thinking about buying a classic car, who better to turn to for advice than Jay Leno, Host, Jay Leno’s Garage? While giving Hannah Elliott, Staff Writer, Bloomberg Businessweek a tour of his 140,000 square foot garage, he explained the philosophy that guides his purchases. “It’s really the basic supply and demand. The stuff I am looking for, there aren’t any, so even if you find the pieces of one, you buy them,” he said. “If you buy something that goes up in value, great! If it goes down, you weren’t going to sell it anyways,” Leno said.
In a session that focused on driving customer success with analytics, Joe Lichtenberg, Global Head of Product Marketing, InterSystems, was in conversation with one of his company’s longtime customers, Cameron Minges, President, Financial Center First Credit Union. Lichtenberg asked Minges how his business fared during the pandemic, Minges, “We asked ourselves one question, what do our members need most? And the answer was, they need quicker access to their money. And they need peace of mind.” He said that’s what his company focused on and they were able to reach out to their members and offer help through a platform built on an Intersystems network.
In the next session, Scott Kirby, CEO, United Airlines, told Brooke Sutherland, Columnist, Bloomberg Opinion, that climate change is “the biggest issue that faces our generation.” He talked about the company’s commitment to going 100% green by 2050 without relying on carbon offsets. Carbon offsets are hard to achieve, he said. There has been 4,000-times increase in annual carbon emissions since the industrial era began. “Most of the carbon offset projects are about planting trees. There’s not room on the planet to plant 4,000 times as many trees. That simply can’t be the answer,” Instead, he emphasized we have to move on to harder solutions that include using sustainable aviation fuel.
In a conversation with James E. Ellis, Assistant Managing Editor, Bloomberg Businessweek, Boris Jordan, Executive Chairman, Curaleaf, the largest cannabis company in the U.S. spoke about the growing acceptance and the strong growth of the cannabis industry. Pointing out that cannabis has been used by people for over a thousand years, Jordan said, “I knew there was natural pent-up demand.” As states began to legalize its use, Jordan said, “We were taking customers that were using cannabis and buying it illegally, probably in many cases, an unsafe product, we were going to move them from that market to the legal market, where the product is tested, regulated and is legal. I believe that people would rather buy something that is legal, than illegal and safe rather than unsafe. And that thesis has proven correct because the growth has been astronomical across the board.”
Cynthia Marshall, CEO, Dallas Mavericks, spoke about the changes her business has had to make to cope with the restrictions imposed by the pandemic. Responding to a question by Jason Kelly, Chief Correspondent, QuickTake, Bloomberg, about which changes are here to stay, Marshall said she will continue to allow employees to work from home if they want to. “We got to meet people where they live,” she said. In addition, Marshall said she will press ahead with an online merchandising strategy because that was very successful over the last year. She will keep new health and safety protocols in place and continue to focus on digital content. “We are not going to throw out the good and great stuff that some of this bad and ugly stuff caused us to do,” she said.
We wrapped up with a final word from Joel Weber and Carol Massar, Anchor, Bloomberg Businessweek TV and Radio. Having taken in feedback from the audience about the cover for the How To Issue, Joel announced the winner in the battle between the art team and the editorial team. The winner… the cover designed by the art team. (We wish the editorial team better luck next time!)
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