Episode 7: Interview with Rafi Musher

This week's interview is with Rafi Musher:

Rafi Musher is founder and CEO of Stax Inc. and Stax DevCorp and founder of Ed.co. Stax Inc. is a global strategy consulting firm serving the corporate and private equity community across industries. Stax DevCorp creates joint ventures and independent for-profit ventures based on Stax's deep market insights and corporate and private equity relationships. Within Stax DevCorp, Musher founded Ed.co, a technology-based solution helping K-12 schools streamline fundraising while increasing community engagement and funds raised, creating a development team for every school that wants one. He serves on the boards of Stax DevCorp companies including Credfi, Ultra Testing and Benestream. Musher is founder and chairman of Israel & Co., a nonprofit working with more than 50 leading M.B.A. programs globally, bringing current and future business leaders to Israel to get a first-hand, working knowledge of innovation at its peak. He also is chairman of the Friends of Bronx Lab School in New York.

Episode 6: Interview with David Mitnick

This week's interview was with David Mitnick.

David K. Mitnick is the Founder and President of Domain Skate, LLC, an internet company that focuses on domain name arbitration disputes. Prior to starting Domain Skate, David spent ten years as an intellectual property lawyer with Amster Rothstein & Ebenstein LLP in New York, working on all phases of intellectual property law including trademark licensing and prosecution, copyright litigation and and internet law. Before becoming an attorney, David worked as a Finance Associate at the Sanwa Bank in the International and Project Finance Groups.

He serves as a Trustee of the Mai Family Foundation and as the Advisory Board Chairman of the Brooklyn Law School Trade Secrets Institute. An avid hockey fan and player, David coaches hockey through the organization Ice Hockey in Harlem in the wintertime. David earned his BA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and a JD from Brooklyn Law School. Married to Rebecca Mai, they reside in New York City with their three children.

Episode 5: Interview with Leonard N. Stern

This week's podcast is with Leonard N. Stern. 

Mr. Leonard N. Stern founded The Hartz Group, Inc. in 1966 and served as its Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Stern founded Hartz Mountain Industries Inc. in 1966 and serves as its Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer since 1970. Mr. Stern began his career at Hartz in 1959, taking over operations of his father's pet supply business. From 1986 to 1999, he successfully built Stern Publishing, publishers of the Village Voice, the LA Weekly, the Seattle Weekly, the Cleveland Free Press and City Pages in Minneapolis, into America's leading publisher of alternative weekly newspapers. He served as Chairman and Director of Hartz Mountain Corporation. Mr. Stern serves as a Director of Hartz Mountain Industries Inc. He serves on the Board of Governors of the Real Estate Board of New York. He served as a Director of Rite Aid Corp. since 1986. Mr. Stern served as a Trustee of New York University from 1976 to 1996. He is the recipient of numerous honors including: "Doctor of Humane Letters" awarded by Yeshiva University in 1985 and an Honorary "Doctor of Law" degree in 1995 from Fairleigh Dickinson, as well as the Albert Gallatin medal from New York University. Mr. Stern earned B.S. and M.B.A. degrees from New York University.

Episode 4: Interview with Jamie Nicholson-Leener

This week's podcast is with Jamie Nicholson-Leener.

Jamie Nicholson-Leener is a Managing Director of Credit Suisse and Head of Latin Corporate Credit Sector Strategy, based in New York. She covers Latin American industrial companies, banks and distressed debt, and has been at Credit Suisse since 2000 when the Firm merged with Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette (DLJ).  Prior to DLJ, Ms. Nicholson worked at UBS Warburg, Merrill Lynch, and Lehman Brothers. 

Ms. Nicholson has been involved in emerging markets for more than 30 years through her career as an investment banker, equity analyst and corporate credit analyst. 

She holds an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and a B.A. from Yale, where she was the Dickerman Prize winner in Economics. She studied for an M.A. in Development Economics at the University of Dakar as a Rotary Fellow.

Episode 3: Interview with Mark Cantor

This week's episode is an interview with Mark Cantor.

Mark Cantor is the founder of Cantor Advisors, an advisor on corporate turnarounds and debt restructurings. Cantor Advisors advises companies in most major industries including healthcare, services, retail, telecom, high-tech, distribution, and manufacturing. 

Find out more about Mark Cantor. 

Episode 2: Interview with Howard Edelstein

This week's interview was with P. Howard Edelstein

Howard is widely recognized within the FinTech industry as a visionary leader and innovator. He has turned start-ups into industry leaders, led successful turnarounds, and successfully managed large organizations over a diverse career as a CEO, director and private equity executive spanning more than two  decades.  He has been the recipient of several “Industry Top 10 Innovator Awards” and in 2010 was named one of the “Legends” in the financial securities services industry over the prior 20 years. In 2015 he was the only private investor named to Institutional Investor's list of the 35 most influential people in FinTech Finance. Howard combines an entrepreneur’s nose for opportunity with the quantitative mindset needed to successfully scale an organization and the “soft” skills required to lead, align and motivate people and develop successful partnerships. 

Find out more about P. Howard Edelstein

Episode 1: Interview with Jourdan Urbach

This week's interview was with Jourdan Urbach.

Jourdan Urbach is the founder and CTO of Mass Lab, which builds a mobile video platform called Ocho. 

Find out more about Jourdan Urbach.