Author: Sam Arnold

Armando Iannucci: “There Are no Rules Anymore” Mr.Armando Iannucci, I couldn’t help but notice that your films tend to be set in the past, and your most recent television series was set in the future… Armando Iannucci: Yes! Am I running away from the present? (Laughs) That’s what Armando Iannucci was going to ask. Is the world right now too surreal for you? Armando Iannucci: Well, it’s a number of things. I’ve done about 10 years of very, very contemporary political comedy, and so inevitably after that you want to do something different. But I also thought that what is…

Netflix is pledging 2 percent of its cash holdings to provide “economic opportunity for Black communities.” The company plans to initially commit up to $100 million, but the quantity could grow alongside its cash holdings over time. The streaming behemoth announced the first $35 million of that money would be allocated into two areas: $25 million will be used to establish the “Black Economic Development Initiative,” a fund that will invest in Black financial institutions and aid Black community development corporations. The other $10 million will be administered to Hope Credit Union to help provide new economic opportunities to underprivileged communities in…

Data protection is very important. Google is making changes to give more attention to this sensitive matter. Google will start deleting collected and stored information on user activities by default. CEO Sundar Pichai announced such improvements in the company blog.  Google introduced auto-deletion for periods of 3 months or 18 months last year. Users can also delete their history on their own. Now, Google will start deleting Location History and Web & App Activity every 18 months. The default duration for YouTube History is 36 months. Users can decide to turn the settings off anytime.  But this will not be…

Maverick Carter, a high school teammate who has helped build the star’s off-court empire, says people must ask, “What do we want to change?” in the wake of nationwide protests. When LeBron James began building his business empire, he didn’t turn to a professional talent agency or an established Hollywood manager. He went to his childhood friend Maverick Carter. The two grew up together in Akron, Ohio, and were basketball and football teammates in high school. Mr. Carter interned at Nike after college, and began looking after Mr. James’s business interests in 2006. Though there were doubters along the way, it’s worked…

BILL NIGHY: “IF EVERYBODY LAUGHS, JOB DONE” Mr. Bill Nighy, what do you do to ease the stress in difficult times? Bill Nighy: I really have two major enthusiasms: I listen to music and I read. I listen to soul music and blues music, I look for the stuff you can live with. I have several playlists, I have one called “Certain Soul Chords,” which is what I would call soul music, but most people these days call R&B. And I have one playlist which is all the versions, I think, ever made of a song called “Be Thankful For What…

Liz builds companies that tackle taboo topics. She founded her first social venture at age 15 focused on dating abuse and domestic violence education in schools. The org has been running (on its own) for nearly half her life. After graduating with a BBA from Parsons the New School for Design, she ran Special Projects for DoSomething.org, one of the largest global orgs for teens and social change. Then, she joined the founding team of Crisis Text Line as the Director of Communications. She oversaw brand, PR, marketing, strategic partnerships, and business development— growing the org to 12,000 volunteers, 76…

Joey Bergstein, the chief executive of Seventh Generation, has focused on meeting a surge in demand for his company’s products. As the chief executive of a company that makes toilet paper, Joey Bergstein has been through an intense few months. Mr. Bergstein, who runs Seventh Generation, has watched the coronavirus pandemic send demand for his company’s products — which also include household cleaners and paper towels — skyrocketing. The company has faced supply chain disruptions and limitations on how much it can produce but is scrambling to fulfill orders, which remain higher than normal. At the same time, with protests…

Mr. Scully, how much of the art that you create do you keep for yourself? I keep a lot! And sometimes when I see certain paintings from my New York era, for example, come up at auction paying, I try to get them back. Sometimes I can’t, they go too high, but if I can do it, I like to get them back, they’re important to me. I have a very close relationship with them. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_R8aj6OwsI&ab_channel=SeanScullyStudio Do you still have your early pieces as well? Sean Scully: Oh, yeah. I have them from all periods. I can’t hang much in…

Now, this is a part of the cannabis business that I’m intrigued to know more about…I have a very personal reason why the work of respected counsel Jeffrey Welsh resonates with me. I grew up in an extremely conservative part of New Jersey where time stands still since cannabis prohibition took hold in the 1940s.  There, cannabis is vilified instead of celebrated. Stigmas abound in this divided county— where cannabis arrests are more common than jay-walking tickets. That’s why I wish there were more individuals like Mr. Welsh in the world. The engagement of individuals like him will push the removal of…

Complexity is the defining business and leadership challenge of our time. But it has never felt more urgent than this moment, with the coronavirus upending life and business as we know it. For the next few weeks, we’ll be talking to leaders about what it takes to lead through the most complex and confounding problems. Today we talk with Laurie Cooke, President, and CEO of the Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association (HBA) about the coronavirus and its effect on her, on the HBA, and on the advancement and impact of women in the business of healthcare. Cooke is a senior healthcare industry executive and…