YouSaid · the spoken record

Henry Cornell

lines on the record: 45
first: 2020-05-15
most recent: 2020-05-15
sittings or episodes: 1
sources: podcast

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“I wish I was a little smarter about the digital revolution that was happening in the 80s and 90s. I remember when Microsoft went public and I bought a few shares, but I had no idea what they did. It just was one of those things that sounded exciting. And not really understanding Google and Yahoo and Amazon and Apple until they were already formed was probably a big miss on my part. My 14-year-old is teaching me, so I feel like I've got a great mentor there. And I think that's the one thing I did not put enough emphasis on this changing technology landscape.”
2020-05-15 · Masters in Business · Henry Cornell on Merchant Banking (Podcast) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“First, maintain a sense of humor and make sure you have lots of patience because you need both in order to be successful. I think I've found that broad-based liberal arts with an ability to understand the world in its totality. So read a book of poetry, read a novel, understand history, understand a little of science, just demonstrate a knowledge of the world and be open to trends and not locked into specific thinking. And obviously work, whatever relationships you have, your friends, parents, your parents, your college development group, because getting out and talking to as many people as possible is important to find a fit. Because I will tell you,”
2020-05-15 · Masters in Business · Henry Cornell on Merchant Banking (Podcast) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Well, Barbara Tuckman Guns of August, catastrophe 1914, Europe at war by Max Hastings. I mean, it's just History does move in circles, and so seeing how a nation's fell into cataclysm a hundred plus years ago, and I worry a little about it today with what's going on internationally, just reminds me of what to do because I am involved in Asia society and the Council on Foreign Relations and in a small way just try and remind people that we're not immune from making the same mistake twice.”
2020-05-15 · Masters in Business · Henry Cornell on Merchant Banking (Podcast) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Well, favorite books, I always go back at least once a year and I read on the road by Jack Kerouac, and the sun also rises by Ernest Temmingway just because they touched me when I was living in Paris, courtesy of Davis Polk in my 20s. And there are essential truths there. I've been reading a lot more history these days, the foibles of how we fell into World War I, because I worry a little bit about what's happening in the South China Sea. And then my kids, I pulled out some old Dickens for them. So we're plowing through Tale of Two Cities and great expectations. And so that's been the lockdown reading list for the last two months.”
2020-05-15 · Masters in Business · Henry Cornell on Merchant Banking (Podcast) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“The best sounding board on the planet. I lay it all out for her and her quintessential common sense and deep intellect. It's like, no, you're being stupid there. No, that sounds okay. So it's a combination of having true love at home and wonderful partners in your life that basically point out where you're acting like an idiot and try and set you on the right path.”
2020-05-15 · Masters in Business · Henry Cornell on Merchant Banking (Podcast) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Well, my first boss was Dan Nidick at Goldman Sachs, and he was tougher than tough but generous with his teaching. And he set me on my way. Steve Friedman made me a partner in 94, and Hank Paulson was kind enough to take me under his wing. And they were my formative mentors at Goldman Sachs. And then I met Bill Berkeley. Bill is the chairman of WR Berkeley Insurance, a spectacular investor, and a partner of mine and a very tough taskmaster. He is a little older than me, and he's up every morning at the crack of dawn and demanding the same frame from everyone, and he's terrific. My friend Farouk Bastiki, who runs the Kuwait Investment Authority, he has been a wonderful mentor for me over the years. And then frankly, my wife.”
2020-05-15 · Masters in Business · Henry Cornell on Merchant Banking (Podcast) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Well, as I mentioned, I've got five kids aged seven to fourteen, so I have rediscovered every Disney movie out there twice. And then I have tried to introduce them to some Hollywood classics, Casablanca, the Manoshot, Liberty Valence. And I'm a little less successful in getting them involved with the classics, but I've become reacquainted with my Disney childhood.”
2020-05-15 · Masters in Business · Henry Cornell on Merchant Banking (Podcast) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Poverty relief, but it's done by the citizens. So it's not imposed from above. It is Get involved in their neighborhoods. And it's a terrific organization, and it's continuing now that I have retired, so to speak, as their chairman.”
2020-05-15 · Masters in Business · Henry Cornell on Merchant Banking (Podcast) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Barry, I was the chairman for 15 years, and I did pass the baton, but I was honored to be associated with this. I was born and raised in the Bronx. I'm the first in my family to be born in the country, just raised by my mom. And this organization was started by Oz Eliot, and it basically helps the block associations, neighborhood groups throughout the city. They've touched 10,000 groups, so if you want to plant a garden, you need money to create an after-school program. You want to help feed the elderly. After 9-11, the hybrid section in the Bronx, which was my old neighborhood, had many people who were not documented working in the restaurants, in the trade center, and we were the first to get up there with checks to support their family. It is literally block by block, neighborhood by neighborhood.”
2020-05-15 · Masters in Business · Henry Cornell on Merchant Banking (Podcast) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“so that no Gold Star child ever has to worry about paying for tuition or paying for any type of schooling or anything. And that's the goal is to really support these guys in some way while we're back home and they're protecting the nation.”
2020-05-15 · Masters in Business · Henry Cornell on Merchant Banking (Podcast) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Was extraordinary to me. So I got involved early. The foundation supports the children, supports the families, and supports the men who come back, some of which have been wounded, injured, and all levels of support. And Robin King, who runs as the president of the organization, she's amazing. Her husband's a master chief. So we talk about tough. And it's an honor. It's actually one of the greatest honors of any of the philanthropies that I've ever been involved with to meet these men, to understand what they've done for the country, and in some small way letting them know that, God forbid they're felled in battle, their children, their families will be taken care of. And so it grew from tiny idea, 20-some-odd years ago, to today where we have a $90 million endowment. We would love to double that.”
2020-05-15 · Masters in Business · Henry Cornell on Merchant Banking (Podcast) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Well, you know, unfortunately, we all sleep comfortably in our beds. And as George Orwell said, rough men have to go out and defend the country. And the Navy seals, you know, there are men lost in battle. And you forget that these are husbands, fathers, sons. And when they come back to the States, it's their Gold Star families, they get a death benefit from the government. They get an American flag as a triangle. And thank you for your service. And I heard about this almost 20 years ago from a colleague of mine who grew up with one of the captains in charge of one of the SEAL teams. And I was flabbergasted that these warriors, these heroes, literally, their families were not really taken care of when they came back. And when you think about how they are deployed and they are the tip of the spear, it just...”
2020-05-15 · Masters in Business · Henry Cornell on Merchant Banking (Podcast) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“On the high line and how the whole meat packing district has exploded as an exciting center was just fortuitous for the museum. And it's in really good shape. Although right now, due to what's going on, it's closed down. But I know it will open back with a roar. And the board, it's a terrific board. And Adam Weinberg, who is the director of the museum, I love Adam. The board loves Adam. He has been a fantastic director. And he's the one who probably deserves, after Mr. Lauder, the most accolades for getting the museum downtown and making it a success, as well as the whole team at the museum. It's been, frankly, quite a wonderful time to be involved with the museum.”
2020-05-15 · Masters in Business · Henry Cornell on Merchant Banking (Podcast) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Well, the whole board was involved with the process. I think the Whitney board is like a family. We had a Medici, Leonard Lauder, who led the charge in supporting the museum. Just an unbelievable philanthropist, thoughtful, and the board followed his lead. And it was frankly a debate. You may recall the Whitney tried many different architectural ideas for the corner of 75th in Madison. And at the end of the day, the idea of moving downtown and creating your own environment was something that excited the board. And it was a bold move, frankly. I think Madison Avenue did roughly three to four hundred thousand visitors a year, and the museum now does well over a million, sometimes close to two, depending on what the exhibit is. Basically being one goalpost.”
2020-05-15 · Masters in Business · Henry Cornell on Merchant Banking (Podcast) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“There's always one or two that got away, but I will tell you I tend to look forward and some of the largest deals I did working with Rich Kinder, Kinder Morgan to take him private fifteen years ago was one of the highlights of my career, carrying his briefcase and learning from a master was an extraordinary achievement. Some of the things I was not able to do that I wanted to do in Asia have proved to be quite successful without our involvement, unfortunately. But back then I was not in a political position, so to speak, to sway the investment committee, and today I'm in a little bit of a different position. Looking forward, not looking backwards.”
2020-05-15 · Masters in Business · Henry Cornell on Merchant Banking (Podcast) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“But we have virtually no balance sheet risk because we have protected the balance sheet by over equitizing the position. Many firms in the last 10 years have used leverage to their advantage and report and have achieved high IRRs. But at a time when a punch comes out of left field, that capital structure is not going to be in a position to take advantage of the environment or possibly not even survive. And so I'm an optimistic person by nature, but I'm an optimistic person whose glass is always half empty, not half full. And so I'm always trying to hope for the best, but preparing for the worst. And that's the philosophy in our firm. And so that's why at this moment in time, and as I said, we have issues we are dealing with.”
2020-05-15 · Masters in Business · Henry Cornell on Merchant Banking (Podcast) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“It is quite attractive to borrow because borrowing has been historically in this last decade incredibly cheap and covenant light, which frankly allows for excess. Throughout my career, I have been afraid of leverage, and I have always over-equitized and under levered when I was at Goldman and certainly now as a new fund, as a young firm, we didn't want to make a mistake. And so our average leverage in our entire portfolio is 3.9 times. We have no subordinated securities, no mezzanine debt. We over-equitize everything because I can't predict when a meteor will hit the planet or a virus will shut down the U.S. economy. And so our portfolio certainly has some operational challenges.”
2020-05-15 · Masters in Business · Henry Cornell on Merchant Banking (Podcast) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“And I always check as to whether I've actually made money as opposed to just IRR because IRR is quite you can manipulate IRR. So if I put a dollar to work today and within nine months, I pull out one point one times or 1.15 times my capital, I'll have a 20% IRR. But if I get a bill for $100 to pay my car or to pay my mortgage, they're not going to take my 20% IRR. They want the cash. And so you need a balance as you're putting both together.”
2020-05-15 · Masters in Business · Henry Cornell on Merchant Banking (Podcast) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Well, it's an excellent question, and there are many opinions on how this should be measured. I try and balance IRR with MOIC, multiple of invested capital. IRR is a wonderful tool for measuring performance against other asset classes. But at the end of the day, you can't pay electric bills with IRR, you pay them with cash or your MOIC. And so I understand that many folks that manage liabilities for unions or universities measure themselves and their folks get paid on IRR, but you have to fall back on MOIC at some point because you need the cash to actually pay your bills when due. No one's going to accept IRR. So I think frankly, IRR has become more of a tool and gets more focus.”
2020-05-15 · Masters in Business · Henry Cornell on Merchant Banking (Podcast) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Well, everyone always tries to double money plus. Some people will advertise 20% plus. Some will say depending on the asset class and the style of investing, you know, a premium of 500 basis points to the 10-year treasury, which today does not look that dramatic given how low the treasury is. So it really depends on who you talk to. I've always been a fan of Mr. Buffett, Bill Berkeley at WR Berkeley. These geniuses have basically been making 15 to 20 percent returns their entire career. So effectively doubling plus every five years with very low failure rates and very high success rates. And that's basically the strategy that I learned at Goldman and that we are certainly employing at Cornell Capital.”
2020-05-15 · Masters in Business · Henry Cornell on Merchant Banking (Podcast) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“We are headquartered at 499 Park Avenue, which is the corner of 59th in Park, and our Hong Kong office is in the Bank of China building.”
2020-05-15 · Masters in Business · Henry Cornell on Merchant Banking (Podcast) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Yeah, I think production is in full swing. There was probably two or three weeks when it was in short supply, but that has been completely taken care of.”
2020-05-15 · Masters in Business · Henry Cornell on Merchant Banking (Podcast) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Well, hand sanitizers now, you can't walk into any building or any establishment and not have hand sanitizers. So I think that market was already strong, and now it has exploded because I have them in my car. I'm sure you do and listeners. You have them in the home, you have them in every office, every bathroom. And so they were managing brilliantly, and now their business has dramatically improved because of the public safety issue around contamination. So that will probably only continue. And many brands are launching sanitizers, and it's probably a growth area for the next few years.”
2020-05-15 · Masters in Business · Henry Cornell on Merchant Banking (Podcast) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Manufacturing with R&D because we have three laboratories that are constantly creating new compounds to make things better, more ecological and just better for people”
2020-05-15 · Masters in Business · Henry Cornell on Merchant Banking (Podcast) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Well, they manufacture. They don't own any brands. We will manufacture for SD Lauder, for L brands, for L'Oreal, for Johnson& Johnson. We are a contract manufacturer. So we own no brands, but we support brands with, you know,”
2020-05-15 · Masters in Business · Henry Cornell on Merchant Banking (Podcast) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“It's about 300 million having acquired the world's largest packaging asset and then acquiring another personal and house care business and taking them to China and partnering with my old friends at Alibaba. And so our ability, when you first get the phone call to have the creativity and the vision about what value you could add, which is a horrible concept, value-add value add everyone talks about it, but it's actually true. You sit there and say, what can I do to this? What in my experience or in my relationships will allow me to take this very fine company and double or triple its opportunities going forward? And it takes time to develop that. And so far, we've only owned it for a year and a half. And way ahead of plan, even with a setback that everyone's experiencing because of the virus.”
2020-05-15 · Masters in Business · Henry Cornell on Merchant Banking (Podcast) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“And you see what the opportunity could be. And so taking our investment in KDC, which is the largest manufacturer of skincare, it was dominant in North America. and we realized that because of our Asia strategy, we could actually help take them to Asia and we could do it in a very effective manner. And one of the things we do because we're small and we've told our investors that we will create a very focused portfolio where we will routinely commit 10 to 15 percent of our capital in each investment and we have a very large co-investment which has been secret to our ability to punch above our weight. So for every dollar of investment in the fund, there's a dollar and a quarter of co-invest, which lowers the cost for my LPs, but it also allows them to put more capital to work, which they're all interested in doing. And so understanding we could take KDC internationally was one of the reasons why we were very aggressive in buying it. And when we bought it, we had roughly $100 million of EBITDA. And today on a run rate basis,”
2020-05-15 · Masters in Business · Henry Cornell on Merchant Banking (Podcast) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Well, after we put the Ouija board away and realize it could be a good opportunity, you basically are looking, you put your lines in the water and you know what you'd like to do. So for example, our expertise is an insurance. So many of the fig departments on Wall Street and many of the insurance executives that I know are very kind to call us with many ideas. And in our portfolio, we have two insurance investments. We also are very interested in consumer industrial. And so we own the company that produces Pyrex and the Instant Pot and Corel dishes. We also own the world's largest manufacturer of skincare, also Purell and Haircare. And so when these calls come in, you understand whether it fits the criteria you like. And then you spend time.”
2020-05-15 · Masters in Business · Henry Cornell on Merchant Banking (Podcast) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Is created. And those personal relationships where they've had a good experience when you were a sponsor and back them is just fantastic recommendation to someone else who's thinking about capital alternatives and looking for a financial partner. We also, because of the time I spent at Goldman Sachs, have a pretty good relationship with the other houses on the street. And half the world is in auction these days. So we maintain a strong presence with Wall Street generally just to hear what's going on. But it's the key, I think, to our success so far is really having proprietary deal flow from our CEO network.”
2020-05-15 · Masters in Business · Henry Cornell on Merchant Banking (Podcast) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“When you consider I've been doing this now somewhere between 35 and 40 years, and at Goldman Sachs personally led an investment into 100 plus companies, which probably means I spoke to 300 to 500 CEOs over my career. When I left Goldman and retired in 2013, I spent literally two to three years calling every CEO I ever met and just letting them know that I was free. I was hopeful that they would call me back. And frankly, for every call I made, I got to back. And once you can get into the CEO network and they understand what you would like to do and they understand how you would like to do it, that reference John will call Jane who will call Jack who'll call Susan and all of a sudden deal flow.”
2020-05-15 · Masters in Business · Henry Cornell on Merchant Banking (Podcast) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Merchant banking is probably investing at a later stage than venture capital, which could literally be an idea. An engineer comes in with a new mousetrap, experienced people who understand what it could do, will back it even before it has any revenues. And it's a pre-revenue concept or just possibly small revenue concept. Whereas more traditional merchant banking, it's established. There's revenue. There's a business plan. There's a need for capital, for growth, for acquisition, for foreign establishment. And so it's just a difference in timing, if you will, between coming in at inception and coming in with a little more maturity and a track record.”
2020-05-15 · Masters in Business · Henry Cornell on Merchant Banking (Podcast) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Well, I think, frankly, throughout history, In its essence, it is supporting growth. It is supporting the establishment of companies. If successful, it creates jobs. It creates wealth. And it has a long-term perspective. You really can't buy a company and build a company and do it in 30 days. Some of my most successful investments we have owned for well over a decade. And frankly, but for the terms of each fund, these are things that I would own forever. And there are some of the investments where I was able to take stock, which I own forever and will own forever. And I think that aspect of business building, of the effect in communities, the effect on labor forces, and how it can build globally makes it an attractive asset class. And frankly, I think the returns over the last few decades”
2020-05-15 · Masters in Business · Henry Cornell on Merchant Banking (Podcast) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“It was a good time to leave, and it was nice to have the time to think. And your comment about small versus large, it was very interesting to go from running a, lack of a better term, an army division to a platoon of Navy SEALs. And I sit on the board of the Navy SEAL Foundation, so I don't take that lightly. And, you know, a platoon of seals can take over a city just like a division. Having senior folks who I've worked with throughout my career, so we actually could finish each other's sentences, we knew how we took our coffee, was also a very exciting opportunity to get the band back together again and have a focused strategy and have a small group of investors who would write large checks, frankly, and support our activities.”
2020-05-15 · Masters in Business · Henry Cornell on Merchant Banking (Podcast) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“With a tin cup, but spent literally two thousand thirteen, fourteen and fifteen thinking about how the landscape had changed, looking at the lessons of a lifetime, what worked, what didn't, since I could create my own ethos in a new enterprise, what would my business principles be? John Whitehead, I think, in the late 70s, sat down and wrote the business principles of Goldman Sachs, which has guided generations and not that I'm John Whitehead, but I took a page out of his playbook and put down my own thoughts of Chairman Mao and kind of put that into action. And so today we have over $3 billion. We've got an up and running Hong Kong office that focuses on Asia as well as New York City.”
2020-05-15 · Masters in Business · Henry Cornell on Merchant Banking (Podcast) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“After 30 years at Goldman, it was a wonderful run. Some of my best friends, I met my wife at Goldman life experiences I'll treasure forever. But it was time to hand the baton to a new generation. And one thing I had noticed is when you're in your 50s, people think you're at the very top of your game and you've still got a lot of energy and all that wonderful experience. And when you're in your 70s, they tend to say, you know, would you join my board? And I was like, I realized I had a window of about a decade plus. And so I wanted to form Chapter 2. I got married a little later in life and have five young kids. And sitting around in my library in my gym shorts is not exactly an inspiration for your children, and I'm genetically engineered to work. So I knew I had to do something. And I was very fortunate to have a number of financial partners, so I didn't have to run around.”
2020-05-15 · Masters in Business · Henry Cornell on Merchant Banking (Podcast) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“To the states, continued investing in insurance. That was a very good lesson. Started a couple of insurance companies from scratch, and that worked out pretty well, started investing in the energy sector, both upstream prospecting, deep sea oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico and off the coast of Africa, as well as continuing this consumer industrial focus because the States is consumer paradise. And it was, if you pick your spots appropriately, you can back companies that can go out and grow in excess of GDP.”
2020-05-15 · Masters in Business · Henry Cornell on Merchant Banking (Podcast) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“If I go back to when we were building it in China, what was very apparent is that the consumer sector was going to take off. And we invested in a bicycle business, partnered with giant bicycle out of Taiwan when they were building factories in China. We owned an interest in the largest pork company in China, in apple juice company, the world's largest manufacturer of sneakers for Nike, Reebak, and Adidas. And one of my mentors, Steve Friedman, called me and he said, you know, insurance is a very good proxy for wealth creation in a country. So I studied hard, and then we wound up making an investment with the ping-on insurance company in 1994 at a very low valuation and just watched the company explode in growth over the next decade. And when I came back,”
2020-05-15 · Masters in Business · Henry Cornell on Merchant Banking (Podcast) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“In my dictionary, virtually none. It's really making investments to go out and support growth, support businesses. I think merchant banking has a historic precedent in British terminology of the 19th century, and private equity is something that was developed in the last 30 years. I remember the first time I was in Beijing and saw PIA on the back of an airplane. I was like, wait a minute, the principal investment area? No, Pakistani International Airways. So, you know, you have to keep your terms straight.”
2020-05-15 · Masters in Business · Henry Cornell on Merchant Banking (Podcast) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“In the time, I would say from 2000 up until 2010, so as we got through the financial crisis, it was a small group, but on a per pound basis, we're definitely punching way above our weight. The firm supported the effort and was roughly 20% of the capital, and then you had partners and employees also co-investing. So roughly 30 cents of every dollar was family money, so to speak. So when you went to talk to other folks to join you, it was effectively investing with Goldman Sachs. And that was a very powerful fundraising tool. And we were, frankly, very profitable for quite some time. And it worked out for our investors and certainly worked out for the firm.”
2020-05-15 · Masters in Business · Henry Cornell on Merchant Banking (Podcast) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Actually, when I moved to Hong Kong in 92, I ran both the real estate private equity group as well as the corporate equity group. And when I moved back to the States, I just focused on corporate equity. And you may recall at the time, everybody was doing dot-coms. And frankly, there were so many investments. I'm not sure anyone really knew what the right hand was doing to the left hand. And again, I went to Hank and said it's really a little crazy and I would like to get back to basics, focus on traditional merchant banking, consumer industrial strategy. We had strong presence in financial institution investing. I helped to create the energy investing platform. So we went back to the future, so to speak, and did not do what we didn't know, but did what we did know. And so turn that around in 2010.”
2020-05-15 · Masters in Business · Henry Cornell on Merchant Banking (Podcast) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Well, it was frankly extraordinary luck to be present at the creation of history. I was fortunate literally to watch China go from Mao suits to blue suits, bicycles to cars. And the greatest explosion of human creativity, human wealth creation, I think in history because it was just unleashed. And the appetite for knowledge, the desire to build was extraordinary and to be in a position where I had a checkbook and could be the financial partner in building out and up the country was an extraordinary experience. And even when I moved back to the States, I still continued to run Asia. And it's an important part of my firm strategy today. So it's a lifelong gift, frankly.”
2020-05-15 · Masters in Business · Henry Cornell on Merchant Banking (Podcast) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Of GS capital partners. And Hank Paulson was ultimately the boss on that. And Hank said, how would you like to go to Hong Kong and open up Asia for us? And I said, Hank, don't want to really run investment banking anymore. I really want to get involved in this investment effort. And his comment, you don't really know anything about investing. And I said, well, you've got no one else who wants to go. So it was a mutual agreement went down and we had about 10 people at the time. When I left in 2000, we were well over 1,000. So it was extraordinary to have been in Japan as it rose and then watched that crash and then get to China as Deng Xiaoping opened up the country.”
2020-05-15 · Masters in Business · Henry Cornell on Merchant Banking (Podcast) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Well, coming to Tokyo in 88 was without a doubt the hottest city on the planet. I was fortunate to have worked on a lot of Japanese deals while I was in the States, and my boss asked me if I would go and see if I could build relationships in Japan. So at age 32, I kissed my mother goodbye, hopped on a plane, and it was crazy. I mean, if you recall at the time, there was a book a week being published saying Japan was going to take over the world. The real estate value of the imperial palace was more than the state of California on paper. And a hamburger cost 50 bucks. So it was like the best party you ever went to in college. But by 1991, it was like the worst hangover you had in college. People were talking to themselves, walking down the street. authorized the creation”
2020-05-15 · Masters in Business · Henry Cornell on Merchant Banking (Podcast) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“So I hadn't taken a math course in college, and all of a sudden I'm knee-deep in financial terms. So it took me a while to get up to speed, but then it finally made sense to me.”
2020-05-15 · Masters in Business · Henry Cornell on Merchant Banking (Podcast) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Well, I thought, frankly, the hand of God had come down and touched me when I got the job at Davis Polk. I went to a small law school and I was the first one that ever got there and I couldn't believe my good fortune. They were kind and sent me to London for a while and had me doing lots of stuff in New York. But my last review there, they said, you know, you're the lawyer, not the banker on the deal. And that set off a bell in my head. interviewed around the street and liked the ethos at Goldman Sachs, which was not as concerned about where your parents came from or what college you went to, but what you could add to the team. And so I was fortunate to get that job. In the spring of 1984, and it was difficult, frankly, the first year or two. I went to a, shall we say, progressive college where you got to choose your own curriculum, which is dangerous for an 18-year-old.”
2020-05-15 · Masters in Business · Henry Cornell on Merchant Banking (Podcast) · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source