Episode Details

0:00 -- Intro.

1:35 -- Start of interview.

2:05 -- Alan's "origin story".

2:43 -- On his background as a U.S. Air Force pilot.

4:42 -- On the evolution of his academic career, including at and Stanford GSB and U. of Colorado Boulder.

7:01 -- On his Professorship at Cambridge Judge Business School and his role as Co-Director of the Centre for Financial Reporting and Accountability.

9:16 -- About the Cambridge Disinformation Summit, on July 27-28, 2023. "I would characterize fraud and greenwashing as disinformation." The difference between disinformation and misinformation.

14:49-- His research on fraud is based mostly on public markets  (because public market data is more available than private market data).

18:18 -- On ESG, anti-ESG and (the accounting and auditing of) greenwashing. On creation of the Cambridge Executive Master of Accounting to focus on some of these emerging matters.

24:36 -- Challenges of ESG Ratings. "Despite the fact that it is challenging to measure, I think it's still worth engaging in it."

30:24 -- On the SVB collapse, and its accounting/financial reporting issues.

37:03 -- On geopolitics, the "uncoupling"/"re-balancing" of US/EU and China and the broader geopolitical landscape. "This is the highest geopolitical risk environment that I've ever lived through." 

39:00 -- On microtargeting, and research by his colleague David Stillwell, the director of the Cambridge Psychometrics Centre.

40:25 -- On the challenges with TikTok.

42:12 -- On the disinformation challenges of Artificial Intelligence (AI).

44:35 -- On the SEC amendments to modernize Rule 10b5-1 insider trading plans and related disclosures.

47:58 -- Final take-aways for corporate directors: "You need to be paying attention to the information environment, more than just PR." "Your company is a both a political actor and a political target." "Having a Holistic Approach to Information is Critical."

50:03 -- The (recent) books that have greatly influenced his life: 

1. Power, by Jeffrey Pfeffer (2010)
2. Corruptible, by Brian Klaas (2021)
3. Foolproof, by Sander Van Der Linden (2023)

52:19 -- His mentors, and what he learned from them. 

1. Annette Beatty, Professor Fisher College of Business at Oh