00:00We are continuing our conversations here at the Qatar Economic Forum at the Plaza Hotel in New York
00:03on markets and the economy as investors digest the Federal Reserve's rate increase this week
00:08and try to make sense of the path forward.
00:10Glad to have Bill Ford with us now.
00:11He's the CEO of General Atlantic here on set with us at the Plaza in New York.
00:15You can hear some announcements going on behind us.
00:17I think the big program is about to start here shortly, so people are filing in.
00:21So we apologize for the noise.
00:22Let me ask you first just about where you see opportunity globally.
00:25Of course, the focus here today during these proceedings on the Middle East, on the Gulf,
00:29maybe we can start there.
00:31It has been a difficult last six, seven months for the region.
00:33How do you see opportunity in the context of the Middle East right now?
00:36Well, just maybe to go up a level and we'll come back down to the Middle East.
00:40Sure.
00:40David's always asking really low-level questions.
00:42Let's take us up a level.
00:44Well, it's actually, we're a growth equity firm,
00:47and it's one of the best times of my 30 years to be a growth investor.
00:51There's so much innovation happening.
00:54Entrepreneurship is now a global phenomenon,
00:56and it's happening not just in the U.S., not just in AI.
00:59But all over the world, including the Middle East, you know, Latin America, India, China
01:03are all really hotbeds of innovation right now.
01:06And, you know, the Middle East was really on a terrific path over the last decade
01:12with a focus on economic development and innovation.
01:16And I think it's been a bit derailed by what's happened with the current conflict.
01:20But I have a lot of optimism.
01:21Once that gets resolved, it'll return to growth,
01:25and it'll be a place for more capital formation, more investment.
01:29We were just speaking to the chair of the Investment Authority,
01:33and you seem to be approaching this as more a short-term blip
01:37on a longer-term bullish theater for investment.
01:42Is that how you're looking at it?
01:43This is a short-term problem?
01:45Or is this reevaluating longer-term investments in the region?
01:48Absolutely the former.
01:50I think this is a short-term issue.
01:51They've really been on a growth and development path consistently
01:54with very enlightened leadership for at least a decade.
01:57And I think they're eager to get back to it.
01:59They know the situation has to get resolved.
02:01But I don't think there'll be significant barriers to investors,
02:05you know, reentering the region or being active in the region
02:08once we put this behind us.
02:09Pull you back here to the U.S.
02:11I'm curious how this environment looks to you for a growth investor.
02:14How attractive is the U.S. right now for a growth investor?
02:18It's a terrific environment.
02:19I mean, there's just so much innovation happening.
02:22I mean, you can't help but talk about AI,
02:24but a way to think about it,
02:26it's really stimulating the development,
02:29accelerating the development of some really exciting new markets
02:31like autonomous vehicles and robotics.
02:33But it's also attacking industries like education,
02:36health care, legal services
02:38that have been somewhat impervious to productivity gains
02:41and improvement through technology.
02:44So it's really having a transformative effect.
02:46So I think over a 10, 20-year view,
02:49there's going to be tremendous opportunities related to AI.
02:52When you look at what you guys want to do at General Atlantic,
02:55you've been exploring an IPO.
02:58Do we have any kind of timeline for when we might want to do that
03:01or that's not in the cards?
03:02Well, it really is a great time to be a growth investor.
03:05And we have found a lot of opportunities to develop the firm right now
03:09and use our capital.
03:11We've been developing our insurance channel,
03:13our private wealth channel,
03:15and all those that require capital.
03:17And an IPO is something we've considered,
03:19and it's one way to get that capital.
03:21But there are other ways.
03:22And I think the most important idea for us
03:25is that we just see a lot of opportunity
03:27around innovation and entrepreneurship.
03:29It is accelerating.
03:31The quality of the entrepreneurs has never been better.
03:33And it's global.
03:35So it's a good time to be in our business.
03:38Talk about the uniqueness of the firm.
03:39So I think the heritage, going back to Chuck Feene,
03:41has been around for some time.
03:43What do you do that sets you apart from, yes,
03:45other growth investors, but firms more broadly?
03:47Well, you're nice to mention it, David,
03:49but we got our start as really a family office
03:53for a wealthy entrepreneur
03:54who was focused on two things,
03:56well, three things,
03:57entrepreneurship, globality, and philanthropy.
03:59And he set us off on a pathway
04:02of really being a global firm.
04:03And today, more than half our investing activity
04:05is outside the U.S.
04:07and 19 offices around the world.
04:09But his business, the duty for shoppers,
04:12was a global business.
04:13And he believed passionately in entrepreneurs.
04:15So we carried those things forward.
04:1746 years later, it's still at the heart of the firm,
04:20and it's exciting for us.
04:22Because we are at the U.N.,
04:23and we are talking about globalization, multilateralism,
04:27how countries and nations work together,
04:29which is something you have to consider,
04:30you know, as any business.
04:33Does the inconsistent tariff landscape at the moment
04:37make it a bit harder for you
04:39to decide where to deploy capital,
04:41where to look at, where to invest?
04:42Well, I would say this, Ray, Christina.
04:45I think geopolitical risks are elevated.
04:48Across the board?
04:49Yeah, across the board.
04:51Geoeconomic risks are elevated across the board.
04:53But I think we still believe in globalization.
04:56Now, it might be a re-globalization
04:58or a rewiring of global supply chains.
05:00But there really has not been
05:02a significant decline in global trade.
05:05And even capital flows around the world.
05:07So, yes, it's getting rewired.
05:09Yes, it's re-globalizing.
05:10It doesn't look like it did 10 years ago.
05:13But I don't think we're rolling that back.
05:15How do you calibrate that
05:17when you're looking at investments
05:18that by necessity have to be longer term?
05:21Well, the way we look at it is
05:23you do have to consider market access.
05:26So if you're investing in a Chinese business,
05:28a lot of the Chinese companies
05:30have aspirations to sell around the world.
05:32And you have to put a filter on to say,
05:34will market access be fully available
05:36for that company?
05:37That becomes an investment risk
05:39that has to be assessed.
05:40So that's different.
05:41We didn't have to worry about that before.
05:43But beyond that,
05:45at the core is innovation.
05:47At the core is entrepreneurship.
05:49And I'll make one other comment
05:50that's really helped us by being global.
05:53If you're looking at a market like robotics,
05:55you have to know what's going on
05:57in all the major markets.
05:58What's happening in China?
05:59What's happening in Europe?
06:00What's happening in the U.S.?
06:02To really understand the picture
06:03of how that market's been evolved
06:05and who are going to be
06:06the winning competitors.
06:07So that globality gives us a real edge.
06:09Now, it's more complicated,
06:11but it's still an advantage.
06:13Let me ask you last about AI
06:14as I shout over the dim of the room.
06:16It's exciting to be here.
06:18It is.
06:18You've opened the door,
06:19so I'm going to drive the truck through.
06:21We've opened the door.
06:22We're having this conversation
06:23about AI and existentialism.
06:25Is it a moment when capital allocation
06:28gets scaled back or pauses as a result?
06:30Do you think it's going to have any effect
06:31on how to invest or interest in AI?
06:33The worries that we've seen,
06:35the agitation, the anxiety
06:36about the future of AI.
06:37You know, a couple of thoughts, David.
06:40Every tech cycle I've invested in,
06:41the PC cycle, the internet cycle,
06:44the mobile cycle, the cloud cycle,
06:46and now AI.
06:47There's always moments of overcapitalization
06:49and overvaluation.
06:51But over a 10, 20-year period,
06:53there's plenty of opportunity.
06:54I think what's happening now
06:55is a very thoughtful moment to say,
06:57this industry, like railroads,
07:00like electricity, like the internet,
07:02has some safety risks.
07:03They have to be addressed.
07:04They should be addressed
07:06by some degree of industry self-regulation
07:08and some government regulation.
07:10But I don't think that stops
07:12the development of what's happening
07:14or the impact of AI.
07:15So I remain long-term very positive
07:19and very bullish about it.
07:20But we'll have to have these moments
07:22where we'll reflect on
07:23how do we make it safe in the future.
07:25Bill Ford, thank you.
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