MiB: Henry Cornell, Cornell Capital

This week, we speak with we speak with Henry Cornell, founder of Cornell Capital. The firm manages $3 billion in long term investments into private companies. Previously, he was the Vice Chairman at Goldman Sachs, where he helped create and build its Merchant Banking Division.

Building out the private equity business at Goldman took him to Japan in the late 1980s. The country’s economy was in its biggest boom (and bubble) ever, and Tokyo was the hottest country in the world. He found lots of the opportunities for private investing, and added 1000s of employees for Goldman in Japan. The firm moved him to Hong Kong in the early 1990s, as China was beginning its move away from its purely communist towards a more market based economy.

The firm co-invests with such firms as Goldman Sachs, Alibaba, and other well known shops. He references the advantages of having spoken with 100s of CEOs and their network, the deal flow for private investments becomes substantial. Cornell explains the firm’s expertise in insurance, packaging, consumer industrial, including firms like KDC, and Purell.

His favorite books are here; A transcript of our conversation is available here Monday.

You can stream and download our full conversation, including the podcast extras, on Apple iTunes, Spotify, Overcast, Google, Bloomberg, and Stitcher. All of our earlier podcasts on your favorite pod hosts can be found here.

Next week, we speak with Michael Lewis, author of Moneyball, The Big Short, and so many others. The second season of his podcast Against the Rules, just dropped, focusing on Coaches.