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Tom Callahan, CEO of NPM: Unlocking Liquidity in Private Markets
Description
(0:00) Intro.
(2:05) About the podcast sponsor: The American College of Governance Counsel.
(2:52) Start of interview.
(3:36) Tom's origin story.
(5:37) The start of his career with Merrill Lynch (1991-2008).
(7:00) The financial crisis and his transition to the NYSE (2009-2013).
(10:53) His time at BlackRock (2013-2022).
(15:14) Defining private markets: "VC-backed pre-IPO private companies typically worth $1b ie. unicorns." Comparing public and private markets. Impact of the JOBS Act (2012).
(18:47) About the Nasdaq Private Market (NPM). Why companies do tender offers in private companies. Managing secondary liquidity.
(26:31) Distinguishing liquidity for employees, founders, and investors (cap table cleanup). Function of IPO.
(32:40) On regulation of private markets ("private markets are under regulated"). Difference between public and private markets: information asymmetry.
(41:23) Current private market dynamics (2021-2024). "We're optimistic that 2025 will be a great year"
(45:32) On the role of AI: "it has been the story of the public markets and private markets in 2024."
(50:26) Books that have greatly influenced his life.
- How to Win Friends and Influence People, by Dale Carnegie (1936)
- Never Split the Difference, by Chris Voss (2016) "Tactical empathy"
(52:52) His mentors.
(54:47) Quote that he thinks of often or lives his life by: "Whether you think you can, or think you can't - you're right," (Henry Ford)
(57:05) Cultural differences in venture between NY and Silicon Valley.
(58:19) An unusual habit or absurd thing that he loves: he's a volunteer pilot for Dogs for Good.
(59:38) The person he most admires.
Tom Callahan is the CEO and Manager of the board of managers of Nasdaq Private Market (NPM).
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Music/Soundtrack (found via Free Music Archive): Seeing The Future by Dexter Britain is licensed under a Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License