The New York Times Dealbook Conference was one of the most inspiring conferences that I have attended in a long, long time. Maybe ever.
- The line-up: Curated by Andrew Ross Sorkin. Allstar Incredible, covering all the superlatives in finance, business, the economy at large, regulation, policy: Preet Bharara, Ray Dalio, Barry Diller, Laurence Fink, Glenn Hubbard, Valerie Jarrett, David Karp, Sallie Krawcheck, Senator Carl Levin, Daniel Loeb, Elon Musk, David Rubenstein, the Winklevoss twins, just to name a few.
- Hottest topics: What’s next for the Fed, the rage around Bitcoin, Dodd-Frank, the new rules of activism.
- The feel: Being part of this gigantic think-tank for a day with the greatest forward-thinkers in their field. What’s not to love?
- Biggest inspiration: If the future looks depressing, create change –Elon Musk on the death of the Concorde and why his next project may be an electric supersonic aircraft.
- Mantra closest to home: Personal happiness is rare and elusive. Do what makes you happy. David Rubinstein, co-Founder of the Carlyle Group, when asked how people should approach careers in private equity.
- Most memorable insight: Ray Dalio attributing most of his success to daily meditation. Remarkable: his YouTube video at www.economicprinciples.org on the simplicity of the economic machine.
One-dimensionality does not interest me. This conference was everything else. I look forward to next year.
As always, if you have questions or comments, please call, e-mail or tweet me @Bettina Eckerle.
Eckerle Law offers legal advice in a variety of transactional and regulatory matters and serves companies’ plenary business law needs. Its founder, Bettina Eckerle, is a veteran of Debevoise & Plimpton and Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz. She also served as the General Counsel of two companies en route to IPO. Please visit the Eckerle Law website for more details.
