SEMAFOR

🟡 Jen Psaki has gone from being a behind-the-scenes political staffer, to running the White House briefing room under former President Joe Biden, to now hosting a primetime show on MSNBC. This week, Ben Smith and Maxwell Tani bring on the former press secretary to talk about what it means to be a cable news host in 2025, how podcasts are changing how TV works, and what she thinks of the current administration’s press tactics. They also ask about the 2024 race, and what she makes of the idea that there was a cover-up of Biden’s health. Listen to the latest episode of Mixed Signals from Semafor Media here: https://lnkd.in/eGacXXiZ

Designing for events is very different from product design. Crafting experiences for live gatherings like SEMAFOR World Economy Summit 2025 has been both challenging and rewarding. Unlike digital products, events have different timelines, it demands a blend of branding, functionality, and adaptability to a variety of media and materials. The event was a big hit, thanks to the great work of everyone involved. A personal thank you note to my team and the external experts that helped us delivering a top notch experience for web, print and animations.

🟡 We’re thrilled to welcome a slate of incredible talent as our SEMAFOR team continues to grow! Ali Taher joins us as General Manager and Head of Commercial Partnerships for the Middle East. With over 15 years of leadership experience at the BBC, Ali played an instrumental role in shaping commercial strategy and building innovative partnerships across the Middle-East, North Africa, Turkey, and beyond. Brad Feldman joins us as Senior Director, Creative Strategy. He brings deep expertise in leading creative strategy and branded content initiatives for some of the most respected names in media. Geneva Auduong joins as Associate Director, Sales Planning & Operations. Geneva brings years of experience leading revenue operations at high-growth organizations.

"We would like to see a renaissance of nuclear," U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Chris Wright told Semafor's Elana Schor at the World Economy Summit last week. "The administration is going to do everything we can to lean in and help commercial businesses and customers launch nuclear." Watch more: https://lnkd.in/exFj2pdh

“Our customers are business owners in 190+ countries and territories. What we're hearing from them is macro uncertainty and macro disruption drives innovation and creativity in their businesses.” — Payoneer CEO John Caplan from Semafor’s World Economy Summit Studio

“Trust is built when truth is told. It's important for consumers and regulators to know those truths that are backed by science.” — PMI U.S. CEO and Americas President Stacey Kennedy from Semafor’s World Economy Summit Studio

“One of the main stories that we have nowadays is the AI revolution, but I think we need to think about how we're going to power the data centers that are going to make that possible. We need to think about this with a time dimension.” — The AES Corporation President and CEO Andrés Gluski from Semafor’s World Economy Summit Studio

At Semafor’s World Economy Summit last week, The Carlyle Group co-founder David Rubenstein shared a story from his time in the Carter administration about a staffer who had warned of a recession during a White House briefing: “Carter hauled him into the Oval Office and said, ‘Do not use the R-word. It scares people.’ … So from then on, he said, ‘I think we’re heading into a banana.’” Read more in Semafor Business: https://lnkd.in/eHRQ4Pgb

“What I value is having an inclusive leadership style. As long as you have an inclusive leadership style and open to new ideas, that brings innovation to the company.” — Pegasus Airlines CEO Güliz Öztürk from Semafor’s World Economy Summit Studio

🎧 Just dropped: One of our most dynamic conversations yet on Mixed Signals — this time with New York Times columnist and podcaster Ezra Klein. We didn’t talk about his buzzy new book Abundance (you should still buy it), but we did cover what it means to be a media figure in 2024 — how podcasts as a format can shape ideas, the strange power of attention over influence, and what platforms like X (formerly Twitter) might be doing to the public square. Ezra also shares what he’s learned on his book tour about the state of conversation, the limits of platforms, and how intentional we all need to be about where and how we communicate in this moment of media chaos and fragmentation. If you care about the future of thoughtful journalism, the media’s role in society, or how to reach audiences in a fractured landscape — this episode is worth your time. Listen here 👉 https://lnkd.in/drJej5uU and continued thanks to media's best marketing partner, Think with Google!