Radiate With Betty Liu

A group interview with Hollywood’s It boy Ben Silverman, founder and CEO of Electus. Ben is an uber hollywood producer known for hit shows like ‘The Office’ and ‘The Biggest Loser.’ He became head of NBC Entertainment before the age of 40, and his early success made him a hot target for criticism, something Silverman talks about at length. Joining us for this chat is Chris Burch, co-founder of Tory Burch and CEO of Burch Creative Capital. Both are great friends who’ve seen their share of struggles in the public eye. It’s a fascinating coffee talk conversation between two people who’ve achieved so much in their own careers.

From blocking tackles on the football field to blocking attacks at the president, meet the man who people say could get to just about anybody in the world with his Rolodex, Robert Wolf. Wolf spent decades in high finance, rising to the position of President of UBS Investment Bank and the CEO of its Americas Group, where he struck up a most unusual friendship with none other than the President of the United States. He's been called the rare, Wall Street Democrat, and he also left the world of banking to start his own firm, 32 Advisors which, of all things, has started a drone business. In this conversation, Wolf takes us through his career, how he came to be golf buddies with the President, and also what advice he would give the next generation of leaders. 

A very special episode featuring two amazing guests for our first live panel, which was held at the flagship retail store of a fashion startup called Of Mercer. Joining us was Susan Lyne, founder of BBG Ventures, the venture arm of AOL that backs women-owned companies. Also, on the panel was Daniella Yacobovsky, the co-founder of BaubleBar, the online jewelry retailer. Both women offer their unique insights into what it takes to build a new generation women leaders and what challenges they faced on their way to the C-Suite.

An amazing and emotional story this week from C1 Financial CEO, Trevor Burgess. Before launching the community bank in Florida, Trevor was a senior banker at Morgan Stanley where he took several well-known companies public including Chipotle. He took a chance leaving the security of Wall Street to go out on his own. But that's just one of the braver things Trevor has done. He's also widely recognized as the first openly gay CEO of a publicly listed bank. In this conversation, we talked about how he thrived despite discrimination and his childhood struggles when his mother had a hard time putting food on the table.

Sallie Krawcheck, CEO of Ellevate, opens up about her life and what has helped her to succeed. Before becoming an entrepreneur, Sallie was dubbed one of the last honest voices on Wall Street. She's led firms like Sanford Bernstein, Smith Barney, and the Roth Management Unit for Citi Group and Bank of America. She's spoken out publicly about being fired - twice. And in this conversation, Sallie talks about her transition out of wall street and what it was like for a woman to succeed in the boys club.

Joining us on Radiate this week is retail veteran Jay Margolis. Jay started his career as an assistant Merchandising Manager for the Manhattan Shirt Company, then went on to land bigger and bigger roles at brands like Liz Claiborne, Tommy Hilfiger, Esprit, and Reebok, and he now serves on the boards of Godiva and Sam Adams. His latest role, turning around the fashion brand Cache, which turned out, was a lot harder to do than he thought. In this conversation, we start by asking him about that struggle but quickly learn about his determination and how that has led him to many successes in life.

This week we've got Steve Schwarzman, founder and CEO of Blackstone, and one of the country's wealthiest people. He's a philanthropist, a Wall Street deal maker, and owns a variety of companies through his private equity firm including; the Waldorf Astoria Hotels, theme parks like Lego Land and Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum, and Crocs. But Steve wasn't born into money, he had to work his way up from the streets of Philadelphia to get to where he is today. In this conversation, we talk about a decision that changed his life at an early age, how he handles rejection, and what you can do to impress him.

This is our inaugural episode, and appropriately, we're kicking it off with someone who's practically seen it all. Andrea Jung is the CEO of Grameen America, a non-profit microfinance organization. Before that she was the CEO of Avon, one of the first woman CEOs of a major Fortune 500 company. She graced magazine covers and power lists over and over again. But then, it all came to a grinding halt. Sales begin to slow, the stock price fell and before long she left to start over. In this conversation Andrea talks about her upbringing, what she had to do to overcome as a woman in the corporate world, and the skills that helped her along the way.

Hosted by Betty Liu, Radiate will provide you with exclusive, unfiltered access to the world's most accomplished people in business, politics and society. What does it take to become a wildly successful entrepreneur or CEO? What is the path to success? What mistakes did people make and how did they overcome them? Betty and her guests answer all these questions and much more.