Journey Through the Growth Economy

CG’s Consumer Analysts Susan Anderson, CFA (who covers Health, Wellness and Beauty) and Brian McNamara, CFA (who covers Home, Outdoor and Auto) return to the podcast during the early innings of Q1 2025 earnings season to discuss early takeaways from company commentary as well as notable data or trends to help listeners better understand the current environment. The conversation touches upon import...

Following the CG Digital Assets Symposium, CG Senior Analyst Joseph Vafi, CFA joins Director of Research and Investment Strategy Michael Graham to discuss the evolving landscape for digital assets as broader participation expands across institutions and retail investors. Vafi breaks down the key themes from the symposium that featured ~16 fireside chats such as regulation, software, and stablecoin...

Aaron Jagdfeld, CEO of Generac, joins CG Senior Sustainability Analyst George Gianarikas to discuss his path from public accounting to his ascension at Generac. He describes how his curiosity to understand the innerworkings of a P&L and his passion for manufacturing inspired his tenure at Generac. Jagdfeld walks listeners through the most meaningful moments of his career, the biggest challenge...

James Litinsky, Founder, Chairman, and CEO of MP Materials joins CG Senior Sustainability Analyst George Gianarikas to discuss his journey from his JD/MBA, his tenure on Wall Street, to his discovery of Mountain Pass, a rare earth mining and processing site in California. Litinsky walks us through the highlights of his investment career, including how he established JHL Capital Group LLC (an alter...

Ahead of Trump’s anticipated reciprocal tariff announcements, termed “Liberation Day,” we invite Owen Tedford, Senior Research Analyst at Beacon Policy Advisors to discuss the evolving landscape of Trump’s trade policy and the goals behind tariffs. Tedford breaks down the recent history of tariffs since Trump’s first term, a framework for how to consider permanent tariffs vs. tariffs as a means fo...

Eric Allison, Chief Product Officer of Joby Aviation joins CG Senior Analyst Austin Moeller (covering eVTOL Aircraft, Urban/Regional Air Mobility and Sustainability) to discuss the company’s plans to transform urban transportation by taking to the air and reducing travel time. Mr. Allison walks us through the long-term vision of the company, their target markets, and how they manage the manufactur...

Jeremy Andrus, CEO of Traeger, joins CG senior analyst Brian McNamara, CFA, who covers Home, Outdoor and Auto, to discuss his career journey and passion for building disruptive consumer products. From Harvard Business School to becoming a CEO and brand-builder of Skullcandy, to taking leadership at Traeger, the original wood pellet grill brand, Andrus discusses his experiences with “grinding it ou...

RJ Scaringe, CEO of Rivian, joins senior analyst George Gianarikas at the Canaccord Genuity 2025 Sustainability Summit to share his journey in building Rivian from the bottom up as a lover of automobiles and advocate for sustainable energy. Scaringe also describes his mission to electrify vehicles, acknowledging global competition and the role of natural resources. The pair delve into important to...

In light of fourth quarter earnings and recent economic data, senior analysts Susan Anderson, CFA (who covers Health, Wellness and Beauty) and Brian McNamara, CFA (who covers Home, Outdoor and Auto) join the podcast to discuss the latest trends and themes in the consumer sector. Susan highlights changes in the consumer’s relationship with wellness and beauty, and Brian discusses the evolving housi...

Kyle Mikson, CG Senior Analyst covering Diagnostics & Life Science Tools, returns to the podcast with Director of Research and Investment Strategy Michael Graham to discuss updates to the space following his panel discussion recapping the Precision Medicine World Conference (PMWC), his related research report, and the confirmation of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and H...

Nikolas Badminton, Chief Futurist and author of Facing Our Futures: How Foresight, Futures Design and Strategy Creates Prosperity and Growth joins CG Director of Research Michael Graham to discuss potential outcomes for the future of global power dynamics, technology, and climate change. Badminton introduces us to the futurist framework of how to strategize and analyze the future by considering va...

Raj Talluri, CEO of Enovix, joins CG senior analyst George Gianarikas to discuss his career journey from digitizing cameras, to building the internet of things business at Qualcomm, introducing cameras in Nokia cell phones and running the mobile division at Micron; all before joining Enovix as CEO. Looking back on his career trajectory, Talluri describes what drew him to each company and business,...

Professor Andrew Dessler of Atmospheric Sciences, director of Texas A&M’s Texas Center for Climate Studies and author of two books ( The Science and Politics of Global Climate Change: A Guide to the Debate and Introduction to Modern Climate Change)  joins CG Senior Analyst George Gianarikas to present evidence on the reality of climate change. Professor Dessler argues against climate change sk...

In his second (nonconsecutive) term, President Trump has issued an unprecedented number of sweeping executive actions targeting immigration, trade, taxation, the economy, healthcare, and a variety of social issues. Some of these actions hold significant long term potential to incite change; others may be posturing with little hope of gaining traction. Join our conversation with policy expert Steph...

George Sakellaris, founder and CEO of Ameresco, joins CG Senior Analyst George Gianarikas to share how positive thinking, determination and bravery lead him to achieve his goals and build a successful company. George walks us through his journey to America, delving into electrical engineering and taking the right risks when opportunities presented themselves. George’s strong support for energy eff...

Marla Beck, CEO of the Beauty Health Company joins CG Senior Analyst Susan Anderson to share her love of beauty and entrepreneurship as well as the rise of the “medicalization of beauty”. Marla shares her entrepreneurial journey through consulting at McKinsey, Harvard Business School, private equity, and eventually founding Bluemercury, one of the first one-stop beauty sites and stores. She also d...

Join us for this lively discussion with CG Managing Director and Senior Analyst Kyle Mikson, CFA, as we explore the evolving life science research tools and healthcare diagnostics landscape, including a fresh look at the bioprocessing sector, and how Trump appointees may impact funding for the NIH. Kyle Mikson, CFA, is a Managing Director and Senior Analyst covering the Medical Tools and Diagnosti...

Charles Goodhart, the British Economist, Professor, and co-author of The Great Demographic Reversal: Aging Societies, Waning Inequality, and an Inflation Revival joins us to discuss demographic shifts in the U.S. and around the world that every investor should be aware of.  From his early years living in the U.S. during  WWII to working as a Finance Professor at the London School of Economics, cra...

Ryan Moore was instrumental in early funding for DraftKings when it was solely a daily fantasy platform, and as a board member has helped the company evolve through the repeal of PASPA and the ensuing dramatic growth in the US Online Sports Betting (OSB) market. From humble beginnings being raised by a single dad and after a standout career as a linebacker for the Princeton Tigers, Ryan clocked me...

The inaugural episode of our Journey Through the Growth Economy podcast is hosted by CG Senior Analyst George Gianarikas, who leads our Sustainability research efforts and has been covering and investing in the technology and sustainability sectors for over 20 years. His very special guest is T.J. Rodgers, founder of Cypress Semiconductor and active board member at several companies including Enov...