Bold Names

McDonald's CEO on Going Viral, the Big Arch and the Fast-Food Value War

When McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski took a small bite out of a big burger on camera, the internet—and his rivals—pounced. But in an era where CEOs are the face of the b

Roses, Revenue, and Retention: Hinge’s Strategy for a $1 Billion Year

For years, dating app Hinge’s slogan has been “Designed to be Deleted” — a bold mission for a company on track to hit $1 billion in annual revenue in the coming years. In

The Five Step 'Algorithm' Driving Tesla’s Success

What is the trick behind the Elon Musk school of management? In this episode of Bold Names, host Tim Higgins sits down with Jon McNeill, the former president of Tesla and

Southwest’s $1 Billion Pivot: CEO Bob Jordan on Bag Fees And Other Changes

Southwest Airlines was built on three pillars: low fares, friendly service, and a quirky "sit anywhere" policy. But in a post-pandemic market, the rules are changing. On

The SEAL Turned CEO: Brandon Tseng on the AI-Powered Future of War

Former Navy SEAL and Shield AI co-founder Brandon Tseng is building the autonomous drones that are redefining global defense.This week on Bold Names, WSJ’s Tim Higgins si

The AI Agent in Your Pocket: Qualcomm’s CEO on the Future of Mobile

The smartphone is everywhere, but its next evolution won’t look like the apps we use today. In this episode of Bold Names, WSJ’s Tim Higgins sits down with Qualcomm CEO C

Can Zillow’s 'Super App' Fix a Broken Housing Market?

"Depressed." That’s how Zillow CEO Jeremy Wacksman describes the current state of the U.S. housing market. With sales hitting 30-year lows and a deficit of nearly 5 milli

Why Cigna’s CEO Is Confident We Can Fix American Healthcare

How do we fix the American healthcare system? On this episode of Bold Names, we ask David Cordani, the chairman and CEO of one of America’s biggest health insurers – the

Encore: Can IBM Beat Microsoft and Google in the Quantum Computing Race?

IBM has made a comeback in the past six years under the leadership of CEO Arvind Krishna. That's thanks to success in its hybrid cloud business and consulting services. B

‘We Sell Scarcity:’ How Lamborghini Continues to Stay So Cool

Lamborghinis dominate pop culture – from rap lyrics to blockbuster movies – but the reality is few people actually own them. Every year, the luxury carmaker delivers arou

How SAP's CEO Is Remaking the European Tech Giant For The Age Of AI

In 2020, SAP CEO Christian Klein decided to shift the 50-year-old German software giant entirely to the cloud. The immediate result? The stock price dropped 20% in a sing

How Athletic Brewing Sells Beer for a Post-Alcohol Generation

When Bill Shufelt left Wall Street to make non-alcoholic beer, most people thought he was crazy. At the time, the category made up less than 1% of U.S. beer sales and was

How Corning Is Using Trump’s Tariffs To Its Advantage

Corning is everywhere: from the fiber optic cables powering the internet to the Gorilla Glass on your iPhone. Now, the 175-year-old company is making domestic manufacturi

Affirm’s Max Levchin: Why ‘Buy Now, Pay Later’ Beats Credit Cards

Is "buy now, pay later" a debt trap or the future of finance? Affirm CEO Max Levchin says the real problem is the credit card in your wallet. On this week’s episode of Bo

Even More Bold Names in 2026

Bold Names is gearing up to be bigger and bolder than ever in 2026. Get ready for another year of the best minds in business and tech going deep on the latest industry mo

Encore: This CEO Says Humanoid Robots Are The "Space Race" of Our Time

Who will take care of you in old age? Jeff Cardenas, the CEO and co-founder of Apptronik, says the answer is robots. The startup founder set out to build a smart, dextero

SPECIAL WSJ’s Take On the Week: How This Fed Hawk Views the Economy, Inflation, AI and Jobs

As a special bonus, we’re bringing you an episode of WSJ’s Take On the Week. Co-host Telis Demos and guest host WSJ Chief Economics Correspondent Nick Timiraos are joined

The Boldest Ideas of 2025 — And What’s in Store for 2026

In this special episode, Tim Higgins and Christopher Mims revisit some of their favorite moments from the first year of Bold Names. We look back on conversations with gue

Inside PlayStation's Plans to Lead a $200 Billion Industry

Gaming is a $200 billion industry that dwarfs Hollywood — and PlayStation is at the center of it all. On this week’s episode of Bold Names, Sony Interactive Entertainment

McLaren CEO Zak Brown On F1 And Business Strategy At 200 Miles Per Hour

What business lessons are forged at 200 miles per hour? On this week’s Bold Names, McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown joins Christopher Mims and Tim Higgins to talk about his n