WEBVTT - Penny Pritzker 0:00:03.000 --> 0:00:05.040 One of the best known business families in the United 0:00:05.080 --> 0:00:07.960 States is the Pritzker family from Chicago. One of the 0:00:08.000 --> 0:00:10.640 stars of that family is Penny Pritzker, who not only 0:00:10.640 --> 0:00:13.160 built her own venture capital in real estate business, but 0:00:13.280 --> 0:00:16.439 also serve as Secretary of Commerce under Barack Obama. I 0:00:16.520 --> 0:00:18.680 recently sat down with her in Chicago to talk about 0:00:18.680 --> 0:00:21.280 her extraordinary career and what she hopes to accomplish as 0:00:21.280 --> 0:00:23.920 a role model for business leaders throughout the United States, 0:00:23.920 --> 0:00:27.200 particularly women. Penny, you are a driven person. I think 0:00:27.200 --> 0:00:30.479 it's fair to say, but very often you see people 0:00:30.480 --> 0:00:33.839 who come from wealthy families as your family is, are 0:00:33.960 --> 0:00:35.839 not quite as driven as you are. Where did you 0:00:35.880 --> 0:00:38.879 get the drive to work so hard and never kind 0:00:38.880 --> 0:00:40.879 of let up at all? You seem to be one 0:00:40.880 --> 0:00:44.080 of the most driven people I've ever met coming from you. 0:00:44.159 --> 0:00:48.320 That's a compliment, David. Thank you. You know, I grew 0:00:48.400 --> 0:00:51.040 up in a family where I was taught by my 0:00:51.120 --> 0:00:54.880 parents to who much has given, much is expected, and 0:00:55.440 --> 0:00:59.040 I saw them really engage in building a business. I mean, 0:00:59.080 --> 0:01:02.440 my mom and dad really partners with one another. My 0:01:02.520 --> 0:01:05.360 dad was the CEO building a hotel company, and my 0:01:05.440 --> 0:01:09.080 mom was really his right hand She was in charge 0:01:09.080 --> 0:01:11.920 of every esthetic decision, and they were really host and 0:01:11.959 --> 0:01:15.920 hostess together. It was a perfect business for them. And 0:01:16.120 --> 0:01:20.120 I saw them find joy and purpose in being involved 0:01:20.160 --> 0:01:25.000 in building, and I was really affected by that. And 0:01:25.440 --> 0:01:29.600 they weren't just building a business, they were also part 0:01:29.600 --> 0:01:31.520 of a new community. They had moved out to the 0:01:31.520 --> 0:01:36.640 West Coast. They were building in there in our local community, 0:01:36.760 --> 0:01:40.559 and so that motivated me. That inspired me, that sense 0:01:40.760 --> 0:01:45.240 of having things where you're making a difference and creating opportunity. 0:01:45.680 --> 0:01:48.040 Your family is one of the wealthiest families in the 0:01:48.120 --> 0:01:52.840 United States currently, the Pritzker family, and you have your 0:01:52.880 --> 0:01:56.280 grandfather had three sons, as I understand it, one is 0:01:56.360 --> 0:01:59.680 Jay Pritzker, who was a very legendary dealmaker, One was 0:02:00.160 --> 0:02:03.600 who was a very accomplished businessman and oversaw a lot 0:02:03.640 --> 0:02:06.880 of large businesses that the family owned. And then your father, 0:02:07.160 --> 0:02:10.080 who was the youngest, and he helped to run and 0:02:10.120 --> 0:02:16.280 built a highatt hotels. So can you describe what happened? 0:02:16.280 --> 0:02:19.000 Your father died tragically when he was thirty nine and 0:02:19.080 --> 0:02:22.040 you were just thirteen. So what is it like. You're 0:02:22.040 --> 0:02:24.440 in a wealthy family and you presumably have a lot 0:02:24.440 --> 0:02:27.240 of advantages, but then your father dies when you're thirteen, 0:02:27.320 --> 0:02:29.679 you have two younger brothers. What was that like and 0:02:29.840 --> 0:02:33.480 how did your father die? So suddenly, my dad died 0:02:33.520 --> 0:02:39.240 of a massive heart attack playing tennis, and it was 0:02:39.560 --> 0:02:44.280 a massive blow to our family. You know, imagine the 0:02:44.320 --> 0:02:47.000 first thirteen years of my life. I lived in a 0:02:47.040 --> 0:02:49.440 family that was building a business. My mom and dad 0:02:49.480 --> 0:02:53.560 were very involved. My mother was as active in the 0:02:53.639 --> 0:02:56.839 business as my father, even though she wasn't paid. And 0:02:57.639 --> 0:03:01.200 my father dies and all of that goes away. I mean, 0:03:01.200 --> 0:03:04.519 our dinner table conversations had been about business, our travel 0:03:04.600 --> 0:03:09.519 had been about building the company. It had really been 0:03:09.600 --> 0:03:13.839 a huge part of our life. And more importantly, though, 0:03:13.919 --> 0:03:19.119 my father was this warm, fun funny individual and just 0:03:20.720 --> 0:03:25.000 you know, I was so close to him, and you know, 0:03:25.040 --> 0:03:30.000 I have enormous sympathy for children who lose their parents. 0:03:30.480 --> 0:03:33.600 It leaves a massive hole in your heart and your 0:03:33.600 --> 0:03:36.600 life is instantly changed. So when you were younger, all 0:03:36.640 --> 0:03:38.760 the story is that your father would take you on 0:03:39.000 --> 0:03:41.680 visits to hotels and you would be the person that 0:03:41.720 --> 0:03:45.680 would inspect the ladies rooms. Yes, is that true? Totally true? 0:03:45.880 --> 0:03:49.040 We would go we are The business began as a 0:03:49.080 --> 0:03:54.960 series of exterior corridor motels up and down the west coast, 0:03:55.440 --> 0:03:58.480 and we would on Saturday mornings, we would go to 0:03:58.640 --> 0:04:01.040 our motel and he would have me go into the 0:04:01.120 --> 0:04:03.040 ladies room to make sure it was clean, and he'd 0:04:03.040 --> 0:04:04.640 go in the men's room, and then we'd walk the 0:04:04.720 --> 0:04:07.880 property and we talked to the general manager, and we 0:04:08.000 --> 0:04:11.320 talked to the bellman. And you know, back then there 0:04:11.360 --> 0:04:14.760 weren't big computers until, of course, we got the big 0:04:14.840 --> 0:04:19.359 IBM computer, which probably took up the entire space of 0:04:19.440 --> 0:04:23.599 this room. And it was, as I said, it was 0:04:23.640 --> 0:04:26.640 really a family endeavor. Now in your family, the larger 0:04:26.680 --> 0:04:30.680 Pritzker family, there were many business leaders, but most of 0:04:30.720 --> 0:04:33.240 them were men, if not all of them. As a 0:04:33.320 --> 0:04:35.960 young girl, you said to your grandfather, as I recall, 0:04:36.839 --> 0:04:39.760 how come I can't be in the business world. What 0:04:39.839 --> 0:04:42.200 did your grandfather say? And why were you so attracted 0:04:42.279 --> 0:04:44.440 to business as opposed to other things? When I was 0:04:44.480 --> 0:04:48.120 sixteen years old, it was my grandfather's eightieth birthday, and 0:04:48.240 --> 0:04:51.200 my mother said, you can give your grandfather anything you 0:04:51.320 --> 0:04:53.599 want for his birthday, and I wrote him a letter. 0:04:54.680 --> 0:04:56.880 You know, what did you give your grandfather who seemed 0:04:56.880 --> 0:05:00.400 to have everything? From where I stood and letter was 0:05:00.480 --> 0:05:03.240 your grandpa. You know you are always talking to the the 0:05:03.440 --> 0:05:05.920 boys in the family about business. Why don't you teach 0:05:06.000 --> 0:05:09.800 me more about business? And I'll never forget the night 0:05:09.800 --> 0:05:13.080 of his eightieth birthday party, he grabs me and takes 0:05:13.120 --> 0:05:15.680 me out into the hallway, and he had my letter 0:05:15.760 --> 0:05:19.000 in his pocket. It was on green stationary. I'll never 0:05:19.040 --> 0:05:22.520 forget that. He pulls a letter out and he says, Penny, 0:05:22.680 --> 0:05:26.160 I was born in eighteen ninety six. How am I 0:05:26.200 --> 0:05:31.360 supposed to know girls are interested in business? But he said, 0:05:31.360 --> 0:05:34.279 but if you are, come, spend several weeks this summer 0:05:34.360 --> 0:05:38.080 with me and I'll teach you accounting. You have to remember, 0:05:38.160 --> 0:05:43.800 my grandfather taught Arthur Anderson accounting. My grandfather believed that 0:05:43.880 --> 0:05:47.120 accounting was the foundation of all business, and so this 0:05:47.240 --> 0:05:49.320 was his way of saying, Okay, I'm going to help you. 0:05:49.760 --> 0:05:53.480 So ten years after your father died in a sudden 0:05:53.520 --> 0:05:56.920 heart attack, your mother died tragically as well. So at 0:05:56.920 --> 0:06:00.760 the age of twenty three, you have two younger brothers 0:06:01.279 --> 0:06:05.360 and no parents. So your job was to help raise 0:06:05.440 --> 0:06:09.400 your younger brothers. Is that how you did it? You know, 0:06:09.600 --> 0:06:14.360 we banded together after my dad died. My mom wasn't 0:06:14.480 --> 0:06:17.760 very well, and so it was a tumultuous time for us, 0:06:18.360 --> 0:06:20.520 and the three of us tried as best as we 0:06:20.600 --> 0:06:23.920 could as young people to take care of each other. 0:06:24.080 --> 0:06:27.480 You know, we were teenagers and you know, so it 0:06:27.520 --> 0:06:29.800 was it was a complex time for all of us, 0:06:29.839 --> 0:06:35.000 but we made it through and uh and try to 0:06:35.120 --> 0:06:37.919 carry forward, you know, the values and the principles that 0:06:38.000 --> 0:06:40.880 our parents taught us at a young age. Did your 0:06:40.880 --> 0:06:43.200 brother say to you at the time, I'm going to 0:06:43.240 --> 0:06:45.719 become governor of Illinois at some point? Did he said 0:06:45.760 --> 0:06:48.040 that when he was a little boy. You know, my brother, 0:06:48.200 --> 0:06:52.080 my younger brother, Um has always wanted to be in politics, 0:06:52.080 --> 0:06:56.520 and he's a natural politician. He's extremely friendly, he's very bright, 0:06:56.640 --> 0:07:00.359 and very capable, and he cares deeply about people. Is 0:07:00.520 --> 0:07:04.000 enormous empathy. So I'm so proud of him that he's 0:07:04.360 --> 0:07:06.479 become governor of Illinois. And I think he's doing a 0:07:06.520 --> 0:07:08.400 heck of a job. Is he going to run for 0:07:08.440 --> 0:07:12.000 presidents someday? I have no idea, but you know, I'm 0:07:12.040 --> 0:07:14.840 just really thrilled with the job he's doing today. Okay, 0:07:14.920 --> 0:07:18.480 so your family business is growing, and Jay Pritzker, your 0:07:18.560 --> 0:07:23.200 uncle is considered one of the greatest dealmakers of the 0:07:23.200 --> 0:07:26.920 twentieth century, and he built an incredibly big business empire. 0:07:27.960 --> 0:07:30.560 When he passed away, it turned out that he said 0:07:30.680 --> 0:07:33.239 he wanted three people to kind of run the family business. 0:07:33.680 --> 0:07:38.720 Your cousin Tom Pritzker, your another cousin, Nick, and then you. 0:07:39.560 --> 0:07:41.920 So there were three of you. Were you surprised that 0:07:41.920 --> 0:07:46.160 that's what he wanted to do. I was flattered because 0:07:46.360 --> 0:07:48.960 I was much younger, at least ten years younger than 0:07:49.040 --> 0:07:52.600 my cousin Tom, and more younger than my cousin Nick. 0:07:53.320 --> 0:07:55.680 But my uncle Jay and I had always had a 0:07:55.800 --> 0:08:00.760 very special relationship. He frankly, my early career was very 0:08:00.840 --> 0:08:04.360 much about being an entrepreneur and starting new businesses, and 0:08:04.400 --> 0:08:09.520 I think he really admired that entrepreneurial nature as well 0:08:09.560 --> 0:08:14.360 as my hard work. I think he was intrigued by 0:08:14.400 --> 0:08:16.520 me as a woman. I mean, he'd not grown up 0:08:16.560 --> 0:08:19.720 with women executives. In fact that when I showed up 0:08:19.720 --> 0:08:22.800 at the office for the very first time, I was 0:08:22.840 --> 0:08:28.320 the first woman who wasn't basically an assistant in the 0:08:28.400 --> 0:08:36.040 office anywhere, And so I think he and I developed 0:08:36.080 --> 0:08:39.080 a lot of mutual respect. He was a mentor to me, 0:08:39.200 --> 0:08:43.920 and so I, you know, we ultimately that's not the 0:08:43.960 --> 0:08:46.440 direction that we ended up going as a family, But 0:08:46.520 --> 0:08:55.160 I was really I felt very flattered by his that gesture. 0:08:55.360 --> 0:08:57.880 So ultimately, the three of you are running this large 0:08:57.960 --> 0:09:00.640 family business, which is one of the larger family owned 0:09:00.679 --> 0:09:03.560 businesses in the United States, and at one point a 0:09:03.679 --> 0:09:07.000 cousin or several cousins said, we don't think that's fair. 0:09:07.120 --> 0:09:09.600 We just want to break up the entire empire. Was 0:09:09.640 --> 0:09:12.800 that devastating to you and the two cousins who are 0:09:12.800 --> 0:09:15.280 helping you run the business, And why did you decide 0:09:15.400 --> 0:09:17.160 let's just get out of this and we'll break up 0:09:17.200 --> 0:09:19.400 everything and everybody will get their share. Was that a 0:09:19.440 --> 0:09:23.520 hard decision to make, You know, it was a complicated decision, 0:09:23.559 --> 0:09:26.880 but frankly, we made it relatively quickly because fundamentally people 0:09:26.920 --> 0:09:29.480 don't want to be partners in business. They shouldn't be 0:09:29.520 --> 0:09:33.920 partners in business. The complex part was it was like 0:09:33.960 --> 0:09:36.400 a big spaghetti bowl in the middle of the table, 0:09:36.559 --> 0:09:42.000 all intertwined, very complicated, and so to take spaghetti out 0:09:42.000 --> 0:09:44.880 of the bowl and put spaghetti on everybody's plate, it 0:09:44.880 --> 0:09:47.839 took us almost a decade to do it, and we 0:09:47.880 --> 0:09:51.080 had to build at the same time we were dividing 0:09:51.160 --> 0:09:55.040 things up. You couldn't be static. You know, if you're 0:09:55.040 --> 0:09:58.199 static in business, you die, right, And so we had 0:09:58.240 --> 0:10:02.679 to both build and vide, And so we took companies public, 0:10:02.720 --> 0:10:08.320 we sold businesses, we merged, we did you know it 0:10:08.400 --> 0:10:13.440 was it was like getting an additional PhD in business 0:10:13.840 --> 0:10:16.360 that ten year period. Let me ask you about being 0:10:16.400 --> 0:10:19.800 Secretary of Commerce. Yes, you're You're a very successful business 0:10:19.840 --> 0:10:24.520 person in Chicago, very active and civic events and so forth. 0:10:24.600 --> 0:10:26.480 And all of a sudden, if somebody you knew, Barack 0:10:26.480 --> 0:10:30.079 Obama becomes President United States and in a second term 0:10:30.120 --> 0:10:32.120 you became Secretary of Commerce. So why did you want 0:10:32.120 --> 0:10:35.920 to uproot yourself moved to Washington for the second part 0:10:35.960 --> 0:10:39.240 of his administration? And did you enjoy being Secretary of Commerce? 0:10:39.679 --> 0:10:42.319 I loved being Secretary of Commerce. It was an honor 0:10:42.360 --> 0:10:45.319 of a lifetime to serve our country and to serve 0:10:45.360 --> 0:10:51.679 in his administration. You know, Obama and I have relatively 0:10:51.760 --> 0:10:54.800 long history. I met him when my kids were five 0:10:54.880 --> 0:11:01.440 and seven years old and their basketball coach at the 0:11:01.520 --> 0:11:07.040 Lincoln Belmont. Why was Michelle Robinson's brother, Craig Robinson, and 0:11:07.160 --> 0:11:10.400 I met Barack and Michelle when he was a state senator, 0:11:10.440 --> 0:11:12.920 and I think she was working at the University of Chicago, 0:11:13.720 --> 0:11:17.120 and so I had known them for a long time. 0:11:17.160 --> 0:11:23.800 I knew what terrific individuals they were. And when Barrock 0:11:23.960 --> 0:11:26.760 decided he was going to run for the presidency, he 0:11:26.920 --> 0:11:30.240 contacted me in two thousand and six and said, would 0:11:30.240 --> 0:11:33.480 you help me? Would you become my national finance chair? 0:11:33.520 --> 0:11:36.640 Would you raise the money for me to run for president? 0:11:37.960 --> 0:11:40.400 And I thought this was a crazy idea. I'd never 0:11:40.520 --> 0:11:44.240 raised money on a national level for a presidential campaign. 0:11:44.240 --> 0:11:46.439 I had no idea how you one did that. And 0:11:46.520 --> 0:11:48.680 he said, no, no, I want you to do this role. 0:11:49.360 --> 0:11:53.880 And I did, and it was but I really almost 0:11:53.920 --> 0:11:59.000 said no. And what happened was I was sitting talking 0:11:59.040 --> 0:12:02.360 to my husband after the evening that Brock had asked me. 0:12:02.679 --> 0:12:05.679 He said to me, this is destiny knocking on the 0:12:05.720 --> 0:12:08.600 door of our nation, and you've got to find a 0:12:08.640 --> 0:12:12.079 way to help. And so that led me to get 0:12:12.120 --> 0:12:16.640 involved in Barack's campaign. I was the eleventh person in 0:12:16.720 --> 0:12:20.800 the campaign, and over the ensuing two years, we built 0:12:20.840 --> 0:12:23.640 the equivalent of a fortune five hundred company. We went 0:12:23.679 --> 0:12:27.120 from eleven people to three thousand people. That we were 0:12:27.160 --> 0:12:31.040 paying and thousands of volunteers. We raised the most amount 0:12:31.040 --> 0:12:34.480 of money ever for a presidential campaign. It was an 0:12:34.480 --> 0:12:40.080 extraordinary experience. I didn't serve in the first term, but 0:12:40.200 --> 0:12:42.600 when the President called me and asked me if I 0:12:42.640 --> 0:12:48.280 would help him, he really felt that his relationship with 0:12:48.320 --> 0:12:54.120 the business community was challenged, that he really needed a 0:12:54.520 --> 0:12:59.800 Chief Commercial Officer for the United States and he wanted help. 0:13:01.200 --> 0:13:05.040 You know, that's a call that everyone hopes that they get. 0:13:05.640 --> 0:13:08.240 So when you're a friend of somebody becomes president, you 0:13:08.320 --> 0:13:11.120 call him all the time, Barack, Barack Barack for many years. 0:13:11.559 --> 0:13:14.880 When you're Secretary of Commerce and he's the president, it's 0:13:14.880 --> 0:13:17.319 a different kind of relationship. Did it make it more 0:13:17.360 --> 0:13:19.800 difficult for you to socialize with him? Or I assume 0:13:19.840 --> 0:13:22.520 you stopped calling him baraqu But what was the relationship 0:13:22.559 --> 0:13:24.600 like when you were Secretary of Commerce and he was president? 0:13:24.880 --> 0:13:27.560 He was my boss, and in fact we talked about 0:13:27.600 --> 0:13:32.160 it when he interviewed me for the job. He said 0:13:32.400 --> 0:13:37.760 he really asked me point blank and whether I could 0:13:37.800 --> 0:13:40.800 accept the idea. He said, Look, you've been a CEO, 0:13:41.000 --> 0:13:44.480 You've made decisions. You know what running an organization is like, 0:13:44.920 --> 0:13:48.160 He said, can you accept the fact that I'll listen 0:13:48.200 --> 0:13:51.160 to all your arguments, but at the end of the day, 0:13:51.240 --> 0:13:55.000 I'm the decision maker. And I said, mister President, of 0:13:55.040 --> 0:13:57.760 course I can. And what I thought to myself is, 0:13:58.200 --> 0:14:01.440 mister President, you've never worked in a family business. It's 0:14:01.440 --> 0:14:04.720 a lot like that. So you were confirmed ninety seven 0:14:04.760 --> 0:14:07.320 to one. Yes, there aren't that many people these days 0:14:07.360 --> 0:14:11.000 confirmed that way, So were you surprised that the confirmation 0:14:11.120 --> 0:14:13.840 took not that long compared to what some people might 0:14:13.880 --> 0:14:17.000 have expected. And do you think Washington is more or 0:14:17.080 --> 0:14:20.160 less broken these days because the Democrats Republicans can't really 0:14:20.200 --> 0:14:22.880 agree to almost anything. You know, one of the nice 0:14:22.920 --> 0:14:27.400 parts about commerces is bipartisan. And I worked really hard 0:14:27.560 --> 0:14:32.720 during the process of confirmation to meet people across the 0:14:32.760 --> 0:14:38.120 aisle and even folks who like a Ted Cruz, who 0:14:38.160 --> 0:14:41.920 would have very little in common with Barack Obama, you know, 0:14:42.080 --> 0:14:44.680 he and I saw Ey'd eye on what you know, 0:14:44.800 --> 0:14:47.680 the Commerce Department could do, you know, for the state 0:14:47.680 --> 0:14:51.880 of Texas. And so I really made it my business 0:14:52.080 --> 0:14:55.280 to say I'm going to I will work for everyone 0:14:55.320 --> 0:15:00.560 in Commerce in Congress, regardless of what party. And I 0:15:00.640 --> 0:15:03.480 answered the phone and tried to help them solve problems. 0:15:03.840 --> 0:15:06.920 Regardless of who called me. You were Secretary of Commerce 0:15:07.240 --> 0:15:09.920 for almost four years. What are you most proud of 0:15:09.960 --> 0:15:12.600 having achieved? You know, we did a number of things 0:15:12.600 --> 0:15:15.000 that I'm really proud of. We laid one hundred thousand 0:15:15.040 --> 0:15:19.560 miles of broadband. We revamped the Patent and Trademark Office. 0:15:19.840 --> 0:15:22.760 We worked with Ukraine to help them. They really wanted 0:15:22.800 --> 0:15:25.800 to turn from east to west and to attack and 0:15:25.920 --> 0:15:30.880 address their corruption. You know, one of the things that 0:15:30.960 --> 0:15:35.520 I did was, as it relates to it became really 0:15:35.520 --> 0:15:39.200 obvious to me that the semiconductors, we were going to 0:15:39.240 --> 0:15:41.640 have a problem in the United States with a shortage 0:15:41.640 --> 0:15:45.760 of semiconductors. Also that we were going to really run 0:15:45.800 --> 0:15:51.400 into a national security challenge because we were designing our 0:15:51.440 --> 0:15:56.360 semiconductors but we weren't producing them. And so I galvanized 0:15:56.400 --> 0:16:00.560 the department to write a report to the administration into 0:16:00.680 --> 0:16:04.080 the federal government about this, and that actually turned out 0:16:04.080 --> 0:16:06.080 to be the foundation of what became the Chips in 0:16:06.160 --> 0:16:09.680 Science Act. Avrel Haynes, who was head of DNI, and 0:16:09.800 --> 0:16:12.280 Ben Rhodes and others who were involved in the transition 0:16:12.280 --> 0:16:15.440 to the Biden administration asked me about a number of 0:16:15.480 --> 0:16:18.520 things for advice, and I said, you know, you got 0:16:18.560 --> 0:16:22.040 to focus on the semiconductor challenge that we face, and 0:16:22.120 --> 0:16:24.880 so we did a whole kind of things that have 0:16:25.040 --> 0:16:31.920 had a huge amount of impact. With such a diverse department, 0:16:32.320 --> 0:16:34.520 you get to be involved in a lot of different things. 0:16:34.720 --> 0:16:38.200 At the end of the Obama administration, you came back 0:16:38.240 --> 0:16:42.840 to Chicago and you restarted your family business PSP Partners, 0:16:43.240 --> 0:16:45.680 and you got involved as well in a lot of philanthropy. 0:16:46.120 --> 0:16:48.640 So what are the philanthropic interests that you and your 0:16:48.720 --> 0:16:51.840 husband and your children most care about. Now, we're very 0:16:51.840 --> 0:16:56.080 focused on Chicago. We think Chicago is it's our home, 0:16:56.520 --> 0:16:59.480 it's a place we're very, very committed to. And we've 0:16:59.480 --> 0:17:04.800 really chosen to focus our philanthropy in two areas. One 0:17:04.920 --> 0:17:09.920 is investing in underinvested communities. So we started, for example, 0:17:10.119 --> 0:17:13.840 of something called the Chicago Prize. We just awarded our 0:17:13.880 --> 0:17:17.320 second Chicago Prize. It's a ten million dollar grant to 0:17:17.960 --> 0:17:21.720 a part of the city that's been underinvested in and unfortunately, 0:17:21.960 --> 0:17:26.440 our black and brown communities have had massive disinvestment. And 0:17:26.480 --> 0:17:30.640 so the recent winner of the Chicago Prize is West 0:17:30.720 --> 0:17:34.880 Garfield Park and that's a community that has not had 0:17:35.000 --> 0:17:39.480 any investment for fifty years. There's seventeen thousand people that 0:17:39.520 --> 0:17:43.560 live in that neighborhood. They don't have any healthcare. And 0:17:43.680 --> 0:17:47.639 so in partnership with RUSH and with Erie, which is 0:17:47.680 --> 0:17:54.760 a great federally qualified health clinic, we're building and creating 0:17:54.800 --> 0:17:59.120 both a health clinic, community services, and hopefully there will 0:17:59.160 --> 0:18:02.760 be a new grocery store in that community. Our goal 0:18:03.119 --> 0:18:05.760 in develop in investing in these types of communities the 0:18:05.760 --> 0:18:08.760 first Chicago Prize went to Auburn Gresham, is to be 0:18:08.800 --> 0:18:16.560 a catalyst for additional investment in really these underserved communities. 0:18:16.840 --> 0:18:20.399 The other areas workforce in skills development that we're really 0:18:20.440 --> 0:18:23.359 interested in helping people get the skills they need to 0:18:23.359 --> 0:18:26.880 be successful. So you now have PSP partners and you're 0:18:27.400 --> 0:18:31.960 running making investments, and among other things, you're building real 0:18:32.080 --> 0:18:35.399 estate companies, and you're doing things with other women. In 0:18:35.440 --> 0:18:37.400 some cases you build a company form in real estate 0:18:37.400 --> 0:18:40.920 with another woman. Is important to you to have women 0:18:40.960 --> 0:18:42.560 in business and are you trying to be a role 0:18:42.600 --> 0:18:44.600 model and have you trying to be a role model 0:18:44.600 --> 0:18:47.359 for women in the business world. Well, I think it's 0:18:47.359 --> 0:18:51.600 really important to have diverse voices at the table absolutely, 0:18:51.600 --> 0:18:55.880 no matter what you're doing and in business, particularly because 0:18:56.400 --> 0:19:01.600 most consumers are women. Also, I have built two businesses 0:19:02.160 --> 0:19:06.160 in partnership with women. We started the first, this is unbelievable. 0:19:06.640 --> 0:19:10.760 Thirteen years ago. My partner, Deb Harmon and I started 0:19:10.800 --> 0:19:14.040 the first woman owned real estate private equity firm in 0:19:14.080 --> 0:19:17.160 the United States. It's hard to believe. Thirteen years ago 0:19:17.200 --> 0:19:22.960 there wasn't one. Today, we're we compete a little bit 0:19:23.000 --> 0:19:26.840 with Carlyle. We're much smaller than Carlyle, but we compete 0:19:26.880 --> 0:19:31.000 sometimes with Carlyle. But we've built a real firm and 0:19:31.280 --> 0:19:36.240 one of our ambitions with the firm my partner Deb 0:19:36.280 --> 0:19:38.840 and I. At the time, we'd each been more than 0:19:38.880 --> 0:19:42.040 twenty years in real estate. Real estate's a very male 0:19:42.160 --> 0:19:46.560 dominated field. One of our missions was to be excellent 0:19:46.640 --> 0:19:50.280 and superb, to deliver great returns to our investors, but 0:19:50.400 --> 0:19:56.680 also to help diversify our industry. Recently, you've been selected 0:19:56.720 --> 0:19:59.760 as the first woman in Harvard's nearly four hundred year 0:20:00.560 --> 0:20:02.639 to be effectively the chairman of the board of Harvard. 0:20:03.119 --> 0:20:05.360 So how do you have time for that and why 0:20:05.359 --> 0:20:07.560 were you so committed and interested in doing that job? 0:20:07.600 --> 0:20:10.920 Which is a very very time consuming position. Well, first 0:20:10.960 --> 0:20:12.960 of all, Harvard is near and dear to my heart. 0:20:13.040 --> 0:20:15.560 I went to college there, and I went to college 0:20:15.600 --> 0:20:19.840 at a tumultuous time in my life, and it really 0:20:19.840 --> 0:20:23.359 served a very grounding as a very grounding place for me. 0:20:23.680 --> 0:20:26.679 I met all kinds of people that have really influenced 0:20:26.720 --> 0:20:31.359 my life. I have dear, dear friends from my experience 0:20:31.400 --> 0:20:36.680 at Harvard, and I think higher education is under attack, 0:20:37.320 --> 0:20:42.600 and I like a challenge. And frankly, after three hundred 0:20:42.600 --> 0:20:44.760 and eighty six years, is about time they had a 0:20:44.760 --> 0:20:48.480 woman leading, and so I felt also a call to 0:20:48.600 --> 0:20:51.639 rise to that occasion. Harvard Corporation is the twelve people 0:20:51.680 --> 0:20:54.359 that more or less run Harvard. It's like a board 0:20:54.760 --> 0:20:57.160 and you're a senior fellow or the chair of it. 0:20:58.160 --> 0:21:02.080 What do you really do during that efforts? As a 0:21:02.119 --> 0:21:05.080 senior fellow, what is your responsibility? Well, David, as you know, 0:21:05.160 --> 0:21:08.679 because you're serve on the corporation with me, we're a 0:21:08.720 --> 0:21:12.200 board really of we have two roles. We really advise 0:21:12.359 --> 0:21:16.480 the president and the senior leadership of the university on 0:21:17.080 --> 0:21:22.000 very significant issues that are affecting either the schools or 0:21:22.359 --> 0:21:27.880 the university at large. Were involved in financial decisions, were 0:21:27.920 --> 0:21:35.760 involved in governance decisions during COVID, lots of major topics 0:21:35.800 --> 0:21:39.600 that we worked with the university on. So we have 0:21:39.800 --> 0:21:43.840 the fiduciary duty as the corporation. The senior fellow is 0:21:43.840 --> 0:21:47.920 the leader of the corporation. It's like a lead independent director, 0:21:47.960 --> 0:21:55.119 if you will. And it's a you know, Harvard, like 0:21:55.280 --> 0:21:59.159 the University of Chicago, like many many of our significant 0:21:59.240 --> 0:22:02.840 universities in this country. They're very important to the success 0:22:02.920 --> 0:22:06.639 of our country and it's important that these institutions thrive. 0:22:07.400 --> 0:22:15.280 And I find it very stimulating to try and be 0:22:15.359 --> 0:22:20.119 a good advisor and thought partner to the leadership of 0:22:20.160 --> 0:22:23.760 a university. So some people have suggested that you would 0:22:23.760 --> 0:22:26.720 be a candidate, a good candidate for the United States 0:22:26.720 --> 0:22:29.399 Senate or the presidency itself. Have you ever thought of 0:22:29.480 --> 0:22:31.800 running for anything like that. No, I don't think I 0:22:32.160 --> 0:22:35.200 would be a good politician. I think I'm a good 0:22:36.280 --> 0:22:38.399 leader and manager, but I'm not sure i'd be a 0:22:38.400 --> 0:22:41.960 good politician. Well, suppose somebody gets elected president who's a 0:22:42.000 --> 0:22:44.840 Democrat and says I'd like you to come back in 0:22:44.920 --> 0:22:48.440 government as Secretary of Treasury or Secretary of State or something. 0:22:48.480 --> 0:22:50.880 Would you go back in government. I would never rule 0:22:50.920 --> 0:22:54.520 out serving my country, but I'm really excited about what 0:22:54.560 --> 0:22:58.160 I'm doing today in business, in philanthropy. Suppose somebody says 0:22:58.200 --> 0:23:01.240 I want to be Penny Pritzker, a younger says, I 0:23:01.280 --> 0:23:06.080 like what she's done business, government, family, philanthropy. How do 0:23:06.200 --> 0:23:08.920 you tell somebody they can achieve what you've done? Is 0:23:08.960 --> 0:23:12.720 it working hard, studying hard, getting along with people. What 0:23:12.760 --> 0:23:15.280 are the skill sets that you think are most important. Well, 0:23:15.320 --> 0:23:17.239 I think one of the most important things to do 0:23:17.320 --> 0:23:20.760 is to recognize that life is a team sport and 0:23:20.840 --> 0:23:24.080 that you can't do anything alone. And it's important to 0:23:24.080 --> 0:23:27.800 be surrounded by people are good at the things you're 0:23:27.840 --> 0:23:29.800 not good at, and good at the things you are 0:23:29.840 --> 0:23:34.879 good at, but also surrounded by diverse voices and diversity 0:23:34.880 --> 0:23:37.080 of all types. And I really got to see that 0:23:37.240 --> 0:23:41.080 in government. I think the second thing that's important is 0:23:43.480 --> 0:23:47.800 to have an open mind, to be curious, to have 0:23:47.840 --> 0:23:53.479 a growth mindset, to listen and to be constantly learning 0:23:53.520 --> 0:23:58.600 and growing. And then I think it's important to be 0:23:58.720 --> 0:24:06.439 empathetic and you know, to care about humanity. Thanks for 0:24:06.480 --> 0:24:09.320 listening to hear more of my interviews. You can subscribe 0:24:09.320 --> 0:24:13.520 and download my podcast on Spotify, Apple, or wherever you listen.