Out of Office

The CEO of Pfizer recalls the moment he realized Pfizer had the first Covid vaccine — it was emotional. Albert Bourla believes nothing is impossible if you have faith, believe and try... an optimistic view shaped by his family’s experience of surviving the Holocaust. Bourla opens up about his parents, becoming a household name, his life as a veterinarian, and his journey from academia to the corpo...

Chris Hyams did not have the typical journey to the c-suite. Over the years, he aspired to be an architect, a professional musician, and a software engineer. But it was the time he spent teaching kids with emotional challenges that shaped his approach to leading a large company like the job site Indeed, where he’s been CEO since April 2019. His management style, steeped in empathy, has not only he...

Academy and Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Eva Orner's latest documentary, Burning , takes an unflinching look at the devastating wildfires that ravaged parts of her home country, Australia. Now Orner wants audiences to do something to tackle climate change: she wants you to vote.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy inform...

As a kid, Sebastian Siemiatkowski often felt life was unfair. The son of immigrants, he watched his parents struggle to find work and pay for groceries. Today, he runs a highly successful business that allows you to “buy now, pay later” and his company Klarna is one of the most valuable fintech startups in the world. Originally recorded as part of the 2021 Bloomberg Equality Summit. Learn more abo...

Italian couture house Valentino’s sales are almost back at pre-pandemic levels. With a renewed focus on its iconic rock studs and V-logo, Jacopo Venturini has started to turn things around after just one year as CEO. The star merchandiser fell in love with fashion early. As a young boy, he would devour fashion magazines for inspiration and pick out clothes for school before going to bed. Not one t...

In one of our most popular episodes from this year, the poster boy for online education talks about remote learning during the pandemic, the social return on education, why parents around the world use his videos - Bill Gates included - and why he doesn’t go a day without meditating. Out of Office brings you all that with Sal Khan, the founder of Khan Academy. Learn more about your ad-choices at h...

Kamal Ahmad is the founder of the Asian University of Women. Based in Bangladesh, it’s for students from displaced communities - a large number come from Afghanistan. As the Taliban took over, Ahmad had one goal: to evacuate students and alumni who were back in Kabul. We hear the extraordinary story of escape from Kamal and one of the students. Both insist they’ll never give up on educating and em...

Qatar Airways is rated the world’s best airline. Behind its success: boarding school discipline and no bullshit. The Group CEO, His Excellency Akbar Al Baker brings his trademark candor to this podcast. He talks about customer service, rebuilding after the pandemic and why he is OK with some employees being scared of him. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See...

PBS CEO Paula Kerger is pressing ahead with some of the most ambitious changes in programming that the public television network has seen in years. A harsh open letter from filmmakers prompted most of the change. A Nebraska rancher took care of the rest. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

One of Europe's most successful entrepreneurs, Mark Dixon talks about the importance of starting early. The founder of the serviced office group IWG shares the lessons learned from running his first business: “Dial A Snack.” As a teenager, Mark would bike around his village selling sandwiches made in a rented kitchen. Mark explains how that experience, plus stints as a miner, farmhand, and bartend...

Sonu Shivdasani, the Founder and CEO of the sustainable luxury resort group Soneva, says he has been fortunate enough to experience many crises in his life. Having lived through SARS, the tsunami, a cancer diagnosis and now the pandemic, Sonu opens up about the power of positive thinking and explains how that influences him and his business, which offers guests the ultimate luxury: a chance to slo...

Author and Bloomberg journalist Brad Stone takes us behind the scenes of a company that changed the world. In his new book, Amazon Unbound , Stone tracks the most important business story of our time — the unprecedented rise of Amazon and its billionaire founder Jeff Bezos. He talks about writing during the pandemic, what surprised him about the company he knows inside out, and achieving a persona...

The President and CEO of Hyatt Hotels Corporation has had a tough year. Covid-induced lockdowns brought the hospitality industry to its knees. But, there are green shoots of recovery. Mark Hoplamazian tells us why he is optimistic about the new era and explains why he will continue to lead his giant workforce the only way he knows how to: with empathy. He says it’s a quality he developed through a...

As a second wave of Covid-19 ravages India, one of the country’s best known journalists, Barkha Dutt, continues to shine a light on the pandemic's grave impact on the marginalized. Dutt recently lost her father to the disease. Covering this story is now personal. Through her exhaustive reporting from the frontlines, she’s giving voice to the hundreds and thousands of others who don't have one. She...

The founder and CEO of luxury skincare brand, Tatcha, speaks about the importance of starting a conversation about uncomfortable topics. Racism. Sexism. Invisibility. Vicky shares her personal and professional story of being an Asian American entrepreneur, citizen, and mom and explains why, for the first time in her journey, she’s done being invisible. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://w...

The President and CEO of Hewlett Packard Enterprise talks about his journey from call center to the corner office. A multi-faceted personality, Antonio Neri discusses how his experience in the Falklands war has shaped his views on life, why connectivity is the world’s greatest equalizer and, though he's also a professor of art, explains why being a CEO comes first. At least for now. Learn more abo...

Bloomberg Live features Howard Schultz in this special live episode of Out of Office. There’s no corporate talk here. Instead, we ask questions newsmakers usually don’t get asked when they’re in the office. We speak to the former CEO of Starbucks about the influences on his personal life that have defined his views on public service, equality, racial harmony, doing business with China and his visi...

From tutoring a cousin in math to creating an online platform that provides anyone, anywhere in the world a free top-notch education, Sal Khan, the founder of Khan Academy, talks about why money should never come in the way of children’s learning. The poster boy for online education talks about remote learning during the pandemic, the social return on education, why parents around the world use hi...

The entrepreneur who shot to fame with the makeover series “What Not To Wear” talks about founding a makeup business, Trinny London, at 50. With her trademark raw honesty that’s won her a loyal tribe of global followers, Trinny Woodall takes us through her professional journey that took her from a less than exciting stint in commodities to building a beauty empire. She talks about creating stackab...

Growing up, Rocco Forte knew how well his father’s business was doing by the calibre of their summer holidays. The more successful, the more exotic they were. His relationship with his father moulded him and steered him towards becoming a hotelier. The Chairman of Rocco Forte hotels talks to us about learning the business from the ground up, why one of the most boring periods of his life was ultim...

Mother, stepmother, entrepreneur, author and globally recognised luxury handbag designer Anya Hindmarch joins Mallika Kapur for this special, live episode of Out of Office. The force behind the iconic "I'm not a plastic bag" tote discusses the accessory she's designed for healthcare workers in the UK, explains why closing stores - while bad for morale - has been good for her business, how the pand...

A young boy who picked up life lessons from his grandmother, a woman with a limited education, now heads a globally renowned healthcare company. Vas Narasimhan, the CEO of Novartis, tells us why he keeps a picture of his grandmother on his desk and talks about his Indian American identity. He shares how he’s navigating the pandemic and why he jumped into the Rhine River. Learn more about your ad-c...

We got close. We got personal. And we heard from a wide range of global leaders as they navigated one of the most tumultuous years in memory. During these candid conversations, we heard about the influences that define today’s leaders. Whether it’s dealing with death threats, spending time in a monastery, creating a band with colleagues, an early job on a factory floor, or keeping their businesses...

The Co-founder and CEO of chocolate brand Hotel Chocolat, Angus Thirlwell talks about going full circle, from growing up in the Bahamas to owning a cocoa plantation in Saint Lucia 30 years later. He talks about retaining that West Indies link, why low-cost travel was a tipping point for premium chocolate, and how the bigger chocolate players need to be taken to task when it comes to paying cocoa f...

As a young boy, his mother pushed him around in a stroller through civil rights marches. That memory and his parents' activism played a key role in shaping the values of the President and CEO of PayPal, Dan Schulman. He tells us about how those beliefs guide his decisions as a business leader, the benefits of starting his day with martial arts, and why he’s partial to blue jeans and cowboy boots....