What Does It Take to Run Goldman Sachs During a Meltdown? With Former CEO Lloyd Blankfein

Intelligence Squared

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4.2 • 1.2K Ratings

🗓️ 4 March 2026

⏱️ 46 minutes

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Summary

What does it take to lead one of the world’s most powerful banks when the global financial system is on the brink of collapse? As CEO for Goldman Sachs from 2006 to 2018, Lloyd Blankfein was at the helm as the global financial system teetered on collapse. He successfully steered the company through the most devastating financial crisis of our age, and stabilised its ascent for the following decade. His story is one of decisive global leadership at the top of one of the most competitive and successful corporations in the world. In this episode he speaks to Lionel Barber about his journey from the public housing projects of Brooklyn to the highest level of global finance. Drawing on his new memoir, Streetwise: Getting to and Through Goldman Sachs, Blankfein revisits the decisions that defined an era, and what his long tenure taught him about leadership, human nature, financial capitalism. Lionel Barber is a journalist and the former Editor of the Financial Times, and author of The Gambling Man. This episode is created in partnership with Guinness Global Investors, an independent British fund manager that helps both individuals and institutions harness the future drivers of growth to achieve their investment goals. To find out more, head to guinnessgi.com If you'd like to become a Member and get access to all our full conversations, plus all of our Members-only content, just visit intelligencesquared.com/membership to find out more. For £4.99 per month you'll also receive: - Full-length and ad-free Intelligence Squared episodes, wherever you get your podcasts - Bonus Intelligence Squared podcasts, curated feeds and members exclusive series - 15% discount on livestreams and in-person tickets for all Intelligence Squared events ... Or Subscribe on Apple for £4.99: - Full-length and ad-free Intelligence Squared podcasts - Bonus Intelligence Squared podcasts, curated feeds and members exclusive series … Already a subscriber? Thank you for supporting our mission to foster honest debate and compelling conversations! Visit intelligencesquared.com to explore all your benefits including ad-free podcasts, exclusive bonus content and early access. … Subscribe to our newsletter here to hear about our latest events, discounts and much more. https://www.intelligencesquared.com/newsletter-signup/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:29.9	Welcome to Intelligence Squared, where great minds meet. I'm producer Mia Serenti. What does it take to lead one of the world's most powerful banks when the global financial system is on the brink of collapse?
0:43.9	On today's episode, Lloyd Blankfein joined us to reflect on his tenure, a CEO of Goldman Sachs during the 2008 financial crisis and beyond.
0:52.6	In conversation with Lionel Barber, he discusses his journey from
0:55.7	the public housing projects of Brooklyn to the heights of Wall Street. This episode is created
1:00.4	in partnership with Guinness Global Investors. Guinness Global Investors is an independent British
1:05.4	fund manager that helps both individuals and institutions harness the future drivers of growth
1:10.5	to achieve their investment goals.
1:12.8	To find out more, you can head over to GuinnessGI.com or see the link in the episode description.
1:18.6	But now let's join our host, Lionel Barber, with more.
1:24.2	I'm Lionel Barber, and it's my great pleasure to have a chance to have a conversation with Lloyd Blankfein, who for many years was the CEO and chairman of Goldman Sachs.
1:38.5	And I should declare that Lloyd and I have known each other for 20 years, and I think we can count ourselves as
1:45.2	friends, even if we shall hear.
1:47.2	We occasionally had our differences, as is natural.
1:50.7	Lloyd, let me first say, congratulations on Streetwise.
1:57.3	It's really very well written.
	...

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