LSE Focal Point Podcast

Join us for another insightful episode at Focal Point with Sonny Kalsi, Co-CEO of Bento Green Oak (BGO), a global leader in real estate investment management with $85B AUM. Previously, he was Global Co-Head of Real Estate Investing at Morgan Stanley and co-founded Green Oak Real Estate, growing it to $12B AUM before its 2019 merger with Benton Kennedy. A Georgetown University graduate, Sonny is ac...

Join us for another insightful episode at Focal Point, where today we are joined by Dagfinn Lunde, a veteran in shipping finance with over four decades of experience. Dagfinn was previously the Head of DNB New York from 1990 to 1995, the Head of Intertanko, and a board member at DVB Bank, where he oversaw the shipping and offshore division from 2000 until the end of 2013. He is also the founder of...

Join us for another exciting episode at Focal Point with Brian Klinksiek, Global Head of Research & Strategy at LaSalle. Previously, he led LaSalle’s European Research & Strategy and spent 17 years at Heitman across Hong Kong, London, and Chicago. Brian holds a BA from Stanford and an MBA from Chicago Booth and is active in real estate industry groups. Recorded in February 2025

Join us for another insightful episode at Focal Point, where we’re joined by Ruulke Bagijn, the Global Head of Investment Solutions and Head of AlpInvest at Carlyle. Previously, she held leadership roles at PGGM, AXA Investment Managers, and ABN AMRO. Ruulke holds a Master’s in Economics from Erasmus University Rotterdam and serves as a Board Member of the Netherlands-America Foundation. A strong...

Join us for an engaging episode at Focal Point with Mortimer Menzel, Managing Partner at Augusta and Company, a leading financial advisory in renewable energy. Previously, he worked at Goldman Sachs and Bruckhaus Westrick. Mortimer holds a Bachelor of Laws from LSE and serves on the Board of Trustees for Schroeder 1905. Recorded in December, 2025

Join us for an insightful episode at Focal Point with Mark Aedy, Managing Director and Chairman of EMEA and APAC at Moelis & Company. With over four decades in banking, Mark previously led EMEA Corporate and Investment Banking at Bank of America, Merrill Lynch and held senior roles at Deutsche Bank and NatWest. A Durham University graduate, he is also a Visiting Fellow at Oxford, a Non-Executi...

Join us for another exciting episode at Focal Point where today we are joined by Raj Koneru, the Founder and CEO of Kore.ai. Prior to his current role, Raj was the CEO and founder of Kony, a leader in cloud-based mobile app development, and also co-founded ITouchPoint, Seranova, and Intelligroup. Raj holds a degree from the Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani, India. Recorded in Nove...

Join us for another insightful episode at Focal Point, where today we are joined by David Atterbury, the Head of EMEA and a Managing Director at HarbourVest Partners. Prior to his current role, he was the Director of Private Equity at Abbey National Treasury Services and worked in advisory services at PwC. David holds a Bachelor of Science with honours in International Management and French from t...

Join us for another insightful episode at Focal Point, where today we are joined by James Pang, the CEO at Pacific Radiance Ltd, a global shipping conglomerate supporting the offshore oil, gas, and renewables sectors. Prior to his current role, James was the Acting CEO of Pacific Radiance in 2020 and previously worked in mergers & acquisitions in Boston as well as at Standard Chartered Bank in...

Join us for another exciting episode at Focal Point, where today we are joined by David Bailey, the Executive Director for Prudential Policy at the Bank of England. Prior to his current role, he worked at the Financial Services Authority, the UK’s consolidated financial regulator at the time, and at JP Morgan. David holds a degree from Durham University. Recorded in June, 2024

Join us for another engaging episode at Focal Point, where today we are joined by Tera Allas, the Director of Research and Economics at McKinsey & Company in the UK and Ireland office. Prior to her current role, Tera has held senior roles within the UK Government’s Department for Business, Innovation & Skills and the Department of Energy and Climate Change. She holds an MBA from INSEAD and...

Join us for a thought-provoking conversation with Mike, the head of the EMEA Financing Group within Investment Banking at Goldman Sachs. Prior to his current role, Mike was the global co-head of the Alternative Capital Solutions Group and previously led the EMEA Credit Finance team. Earlier in his career, Mike was head of EMEA Leveraged Finance. He joined Goldman Sachs in 2006, was named managing...

Join us for another enlightening episode at Focal Point, where today we are joined by Benoit Valentin, Head of Private Equity Fund Investments, Head of Impact Investing, Head of Partnership Solutions and Deputy Head of EMEA at Temasek. Prior to his current role, he was a Partner at Cinven, a European private equity fund, and held key roles at Goldman Sachs. Benoit holds a distinguished career in f...

Join us for another engaging episode at Focal Point where today we are joined by André Lacroix, the CEO at Intertek Group, one of the world’s leading FTSE 100 companies. Prior to his current role, he was the Chairman and CEO of Disneyland Paris, the President of Burger King International, and the CEO of Inchcape. André holds a degree from ESCP Europe, Paris’ premier business school, graduating in...

Join us for a thought-provoking conversation with Sasha Wiggins, the CEO of Barclays Private Bank and Wealth Management. Prior to her current role, Sasha Wiggins joined Barclays in 2002 after working at a stockbroking firm and has since held various roles including CEO of Barclays Ireland, Chief of Staff to the Group CEO, and Head of Public Policy and Corporate Responsibility. Recorded in June, 20...

Join us for another brilliant episode at Focal Point where today we are joined by Xavier Robert, CIO of Bridgepoint. Xavier has a long and successful career in private equity, having joined Bridgepoint in 1998. Before that, he had worked at Total and Ernest and Young. He is a graduate of Ecole des Mines studying Engineering.  Recorded in April, 2024

Join us for another insightful episode of Focal Point, where today we are joined by Sanjit Biswas, CEO of Samsara. Prior to his current role, Sanjit was the co-founder and CEO of the wireless networking company Meraki, which was acquired by Cisco for $1.2 billion in 2012. Sanjit has been recognized as an MIT Technology Review “Innovator Under 35” honoree. He holds a B.S. in Computer Systems Engine...

Join us for another engaging episode at Focal Point where today we are joined by Renaud de Lesquen, CEO of Givenchy. Prior to his current role, de Lesquen began his career at Lancôme, a L'Oréal brand. He joined Dior in 2012, taking control of the brand's operations in China. In 2019, he was promoted to CEO of Dior Americas. He is a graduate of ESCP Business School. Recorded in February, 20...

Join us for another superb episode at Focal Point where today we are joined by Lisa Petrelli, Country Head and Head of Global Markets for Canada at UBS. Before her current role, Lisa started her career at Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse, and Goldman Sachs as an Equity Trader. She obtained her Bachelor’s at the University of Toronto in Political Science and her Master’s in Political Economy at Wilfri...

Join us for another insightful episode at Focal Point where today we are joined by Terri Loska, CEO at Dartmouth Partners. Before her current role, Terri has a rich background in recruitment, having joined the Cornell Partnership, a consulting and PE recruitment company out of university. Terri graduated from The Queen’s College, Oxford University with a 2.1 degree in Literae Humaniores. Recorded...

Join us for another fabulous episode at Focal Point where today we are joined by Peter Oppenheimer, chief global equity strategist, and head of Macro Research in Europe at Goldman Sachs. Before his current role, Peter worked at HSBC and James Capel. He had a long and successful career in research, having joined Goldman in 2002. Peter is also an LSE alum, having graduated from here in 1985 with a f...

Join us for another thought-provoking episode at Focal Point where today we are joined by Heather Kennedy Miner, Chief Operating Officer and Managing Director at Advent International. She started her career in investment banking at UBS, before starting a nearly two-decade journey at Goldman Sachs. Heather completed her Bachelor’s in Finance at the Carroll School of Management at Boston College, an...

Join us for another engaging episode at Focal Point where today we are joined by Andrew McCaffery, Global CIO, Asset Management at Fidelity International. Throughout his career, he has held roles including Managing Director at UBS, Founding Principal of BlueCrest Capital Management’s Alignment Investors division, and a range of senior roles at Aberdeen Standard Investments. Andrew graduated from T...

Join us for another incredible episode of Focal Point, where today we are joined by Eric Kutcher, Senior Partner and Chief Financial Officer at McKinsey & Company. Prior to his current role, he began his career as a process engineer at Intel. He then joined McKinsey in 1997, amassing over 27 years of experience. Eric holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in engineering from Cornell University....

Join us for another superb episode of Focal Point, where today we are joined by Dean Frankle, Managing Director and Partner at BCG. Prior to his current role, Dean began his career at HSBC in management positions spanning London, New York, and Hong Kong. He subsequently earned his MBA at Harvard Business School before joining BCG in 2010. Dean holds a degree in Government and Economics from LSE, g...