Order the Book Subscribe Free

17th May 2019 · Articles & Interviews by: Vikas Shah MBE

Hussain Sajwani has an extraordinary story.  From modest beginnings, he has become a self-made billionaire, recognised as one of the most powerful Arabs in the world.  Sajwani is Founder & Chairman of the DAMAC Properties, a global business with revenues of over $1.6bn and 2000+ employees which has delivered over 25,000 homes and has a development portfolio of over 40,000 units.DAMAC is now one of the largest businesses in the United Arab Emirates, a region which has taken its wealth of oil & gas reserves, to create a dynamic, diverse and fast-growing economy. I had the pleasure of catching-up with Hussain Sajwani to learn more about the DAMAC story, and his views on entrepreneurship and investment in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Posted in · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·
17-05-2019 12:05:12
Thought Economics

2nd May 2019 · Articles & Interviews by: Vikas Shah MBE

By deploying capital and talent, guided by the vision that every life has equal value, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has achieved some incredible successes.  Over 500 million children have been vaccinated, with over 7 million lives saved… 3 million households have received access to drought-tolerant crops…. 99% fewer Polio cases are now reported worldwide… 8 million people have received access to anti-retroviral drugs, guinea worm disease is close to being eradicated, and almost 500 million mosquito nets have been distributed.   Melinda French Gates is a philanthropist, businesswoman, and global advocate for women and girls. As the co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Melinda sets the direction and priorities of the world’s largest philanthropy. She is also the founder of Pivotal Ventures, an investment and incubation company working to drive social progress for women and families in the United States. I had the pleasure of catching-up with Melinda Gates to speak to her about her learnings in philanthropy, and creating lasting global change.

Posted in · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·
24-08-2020 20:07:00
Thought Economics

26th February 2019 · Articles & Interviews by: Vikas Shah MBE

My interview with Richard Curtis Writer, Director and Co-Founder of Comic Relief – an organisation which brought together “a bunch of comedians with the goal of raising a couple of million for charity” and which – in 30 years – has raised well-over £1 billion, directly helped to change the lives of over 50 million people in the UK and overseas and has spearheaded global initiatives including Make Poverty History, impacting billions of people across our globe.

Posted in · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·
27-02-2019 12:50:20
Thought Economics

2nd May 2018 · Articles & Interviews by: Vikas Shah MBE

Scott Farquhar is the archetypal entrepreneur.  He and his Co-Founder Mike Cannon-Brookes started Atlassian in 2002 (after meeting whilst studying at the University of South Wales, Sydney).  Deciding neither of them wanted a corporate job, they took out $10,000 on on credit cards and bootstrapped Atlassian; a company which has now grown to over $13 billion in market capitalisation, with 2,500 staff in 6 countries (2 planets) and over 100,000 customers.  Scott and his Co-Founder are now both billionaires in their own right, and two of the world’s most progressive philanthropists. I caught up with Scott to learn more about purposeful entrepreneurship.

Posted in · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·
24-08-2020 19:53:00
Thought Economics

15th February 2017 · Articles & Interviews by: Vikas Shah MBE

By the time John Caudwell sold his company in 2006, the business was selling 26 phones a minute. It employed 10,000 people in the UK and abroad. It was turning over £2.25 billion. I caught up with John to learn more about his life in entrepreneurship and philanthropy.

Posted in · · · · · · · · · · · ·
15-02-2017 15:41:32
Thought Economics

13th February 2017 · Articles & Interviews by: Vikas Shah MBE

“Can you hear me OK? It’s not a great line…” those were some of my first words to Frederik Paulsen, Jr. – the Chairman of Ferring Pharmaceuticals; a company he inherited as a small family concern (with revenues of around U$15 million), and which he turned into a global biopharmaceuticals company employing 6,000 people in over 60 countries (amassing himself a fortune estimated at U$7 billion).

Posted in · · · · · · · ·
13-02-2017 14:03:48
Thought Economics

4th February 2017 · Articles & Interviews by: Vikas Shah MBE

The Story of Humanity’s Relationship With its Most Precious Resource.  In this interview series we speak to Guy Ryder (Chair, UN-Water & Director General of the International Labour Organisation, ILO), Professor Steven Chu (Nobel Prize Winning Scientist & 12th U.S. Secretary of Energy), Dr Peter Gleick (President Emeritus & Chief Scientist, Pacific Institute), Christoph Gorder (President & Chief Water Officer, Charity Water), Professor Mark Zeitoun (Professor of Water Security and Policy, University of East Anglia), Barbara Frost (CEO, WaterAid), Professor Benedito Braga (President of the World Water Council) and Gary White (Co-Founder & CEO, Water.Org).  We discuss how water has shaped our species, the scale of the global water crisis, how it’s impacting our species and environment, and how we can achieve a future where we have enough water for all of us, and all our needs.

Posted in · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·
06-02-2017 14:13:45
Thought Economics

30th May 2016 · Articles & Interviews by: Vikas Shah MBE

In these exclusive interviews, we speak to Dr. Christopher Wild (Director of the International Agency for Research on Cancer, IARC – an intergovernmental agency forming part of the World Health Organisation of the United Nations), Prof. Nic Jones (Director of the Manchester Cancer Research Centre and former Chief Scientist of Cancer Research UK), Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong (Physician, surgeon, scientist and philanthropist) and Olivia Newton-John (Singer, songwriter, actress and entrepreneur).  We discuss the very nature of cancer itself; how it affects us, and our society.  We look at the causes of cancer, it’s impact around the world, and- most importantly, how we can fight it.

Posted in · · · · · · · · · · ·
21-07-2016 13:53:30
Thought Economics

17th January 2016 · Articles & Interviews by: Vikas Shah MBE

In these exclusive interviews, we speak to Jeff Raikes (Founder, Raikes Foundation and former CEO of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation), Eli Broad (Founder of the Broad Foundations), Sir Ratan Tata (Chairman Emeritus, Tata Group), Anousheh Ansari (Trustee of the X Prize Foundation, and title sponsor of the Ansari X Prize), John Paul Dejoria (Philanthropist and Entrepreneur, Founder of Paul Mitchell and The Patrón Spirits Company), Craig Newmark (Founder, craigslist and craigconnects), Michael Holthouse (Entrepreneur & Founder of  Holthouse Foundation for Kids & Lemonade Day), Robert Tjian (President, Howard Hughes Medical Institute), Baroness Eliza Manningham-Buller (Chair, Wellcome Trust), Harvey V. Fineberg, M.D., Ph.D. (President, Gordon & Betty Moore Foundation), Jacquelline Fuller (Director, Google.org) and Darren Walker (President, Ford Foundation).  We discuss the fundamental nature of charity and philanthropy- looking at why these phenomena exist together with their role and impact on society. We also talk about their individual journeys in philanthropy, and how their organisations are aiming to tackle some of society’s greatest problems.

Posted in · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·
06-02-2016 11:35:35
Thought Economics

Stay up to date. Signup to my newsletter.

By entering your email address you agree to receive emails from us. You may unsubscribe at anytime and your email address will never be shared.

We use cookies on our website to give you the best possible experience. By continuing to use our site, we assume you are OK with that.
Accept Privacy Policy