This week, we speak with Mark Wiedman, head of global client business at investing giant Blackrock. We discuss the debate brewing inside the world’s largest asset manager over how quickly artificial intelligence will transform the economy, and the opportunities in decarbonization. He joined the firm in 2004 to help start the Financial Markets Advisory business. He ran Blackrock’s iShares & Index Investments from 2011-19, an era where Blackrock’s assets scaled up to 8 trillion dollars, nearly half of which was its index and ETF business.
Previously, he served as senior adviser to the undersecretary for domestic finance at the US Treasury. He also led BlackRock’s 2008 creation of PennyMac, now the No. 2 US mortgage bank, and served on its public board from 2013 to 2019.
He also explains why the investing theme of ESG is being replaced with a move towards Decarbonization. Few know what the “S” or “G” stands for, where Decarbonization is self-explanatory. It presents a huge investing opportunity. Its become increasingly popular in Europe.
A list of his favorite books is here; A transcript of our conversation is available here Tuesday.
You can stream and download our full conversation, including any podcast extras, on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and Bloomberg. All of our earlier podcasts on your favorite pod hosts can be found here.
Be sure to check out our Masters in Business next week with Liz Ann Sonders, Chief Investment Strategist at Schwab. She also sits on the Investment Policy Committee. helping to oversee the $8.5 trillion on the Schwab platform. She is has been named one of the “25 Most Powerful Women in Finance” by American Banker.
Mark Wiedman Favorite Books
My Years with General Motors by Alfred Sloan
Dune by Frank Herbert
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
