WSJ’s Bold Names brings you conversations with the leaders of the bold-named companies featured in the pages of The Wall Street Journal. Hosts Tim Higgins and Christopher Mims speak to CEOs and business leaders in interviews that challenge conventional wisdom and take you inside the decisions being made in the C-suite and beyond.
Latest episodes
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25 min
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 brand, is t…
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27 min
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 this epis…
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27 min
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 current G…
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26 min
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 latest…
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29 min
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 sits down wi…
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25 min
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 Cristiano A…
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26 min
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 million homes,…
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23 min
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 Cigna Grou…
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33 min
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. But even as…
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23 min
‘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 around 10,000…
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24 min
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 single day. Fa…
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25 min
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 widely se…
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28 min
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 manufacturing profita…
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24 min
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 Bold Names,…
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1 min
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 moves. From…
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30 min
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, dexterous robot a…
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37 min
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 by Beth H…
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21 min
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 guests includ…
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23 min
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 SVP Eric…
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28 min
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 new book, “…