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Goldman Sachs Chairman on Why Finance Adopts AI Differently | a16z
9 segments available
David Haber speaks with Lloyd Blankfein, former CEO of Goldman Sachs, about leadership, risk, and navigating moments of extreme uncertainty. Drawing on his experience leading Goldman through the financial crisis, Blankfein shares how organizations can build resilience, make decisions under pressure, and maintain culture while scaling. They discuss the importance of risk management as both a discipline and a mindset, the difference between being wrong and being reckless, and how great organizations balance taking risk with protecting against it. Blankfein also reflects on Goldman’s partnership culture, how it shaped decision-making and accountability, and what it takes to build enduring institutions over time. The conversation also touches on technology, from the role it played in transforming financial markets to the implications of AI today, including its potential, risks, and the challenges of operating in systems that are increasingly complex and harder to fully understand. Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 01:02 Twitter Snark And Risk 02:18 Calm In A Crisis 06:44 From Public Housing To Wall Street 23:36 Goldman Culture Tech And Partnership 37:25 Firm Over Fund Culture 41:14 Mentorship and Entrepreneurial Initiative 47:05 Crisis Proof Risk Management 56:11 AI Backlash and Career Wisdom Resources: Follow Lloyd on X: https://x.com/lloydblankfein Follow David Haber on X: https://x.com/dhaber Stay Updated: If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to like, subscribe, and share with your friends! Find a16z on X: https://twitter.com/a16z Find a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z Listen to the a16z Podcast on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5bC65RDvs3oxnLyqqvkUYX Listen to the a16z Podcast on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a16z-podcast/id842818711 Follow our host: https://x.com/eriktorenberg Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see http://a16z.com/disclosures.
Segments Timeline
Intro
"anybody who's investing, you know, you're doing two things. You're trying to make money for yourselves and your clients, and so you're trying to get out there and take risk, and you're also trying to ..."
Twitter Snark And Risk
"House Correspondent Center was amazing. Uh, I think for for the good of like the timeline, we need you back on on Twitter more often. >> I know. You know what it's a funny thing is I You would think t..."
Calm In A Crisis
"reported that you you know what like during the active shooter, like you lean over to the person next to you, you're like, you're going to you're going to finish that that salad. Is that was that a re..."
From Public Housing To Wall Street
"go backwards sometime obviously you um >> you know, you had a very modest upbringing. Um, you know, I was curious like, you know, uh, what role did like living near New York City or Manhattan maybe mo..."
Goldman Culture Tech And Partnership
">> I'm curious um you know how did how did you think about technology during your time at Golden and you know what role did it play kind of evolving the firm I'm sure it changed the markets business e..."
Firm Over Fund Culture
"bring them in. If we saw sourced opportunities that they wanted, we'd work that out. Um, and it's not always easy to work that out. But we were able to engage with our clients as peers and not merely ..."
Mentorship and Entrepreneurial Initiative
"heard from Oshoke was that um, you know, he he said you often believed in him more than he believed in himself. And that that's been the main driver for why he stayed at the firm so long, despite othe..."
Crisis Proof Risk Management
"present day but um um you know Goldman fared obviously incredibly well during the financial crisis you know and obviously earned public backlash I would argue unfairly you know as a result. >> As what..."
AI Backlash and Career Wisdom
"I would argue, but, uh, I think a lot of the technology companies are going to inherit a lot of the public flak that a firm Oh, the guaranteed. >> Right. Right. So, I mean, once upon a time, we were y..."