Episode Transcript
[00:00:14] Speaker A: Welcome to another episode of the Pressures of Privilege. Today, I'm thrilled to have Kitty Cushing with us, a woman who perfectly embodies what it means to turn pressure into privilege. Kitty is the founder of the Newport Global Summit, an organization that brings together business leaders, investors, and policymakers from around the world. But her path to success wasn't typical. Despite growing up around wealth, she had to make it on her own. And that fire in her gut led to an incredible career in investment management and eventually to creating something truly special in Newport, Rhode Island. In our conversation, you'll hear how a motorcycle accident in Australia changed her life and how her grandfather became her greatest business mentor, and why she believes the best business happens when you let go of too much control and let creativity flow. Kitty also shares her insights on building trust in business, the importance of staying physically and mentally strong, and how she's using the summit to bridge global communities and mentor the next generation. This is a conversation about resilience, relationships, and the art of bringing people together. Let's dive in with Kitty Cushing.
[00:01:17] Speaker B: It's such an honor to be a part of this show that I think is so cool.
[00:01:23] Speaker A: Well, I've always admired you because I've always watched you from afar, and I always knew you were involved in business, but I didn't know the details of what you've done in your life. You are, like, the perfect person for this podcast because you.
[00:01:38] Speaker B: You.
[00:01:38] Speaker A: You've, like, surmounted a lot of odds, even though you've come from, one would say, a privileged family.
[00:01:43] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:01:44] Speaker A: You certainly had some pressure.
[00:01:46] Speaker B: Yeah, Well, I mean, I sort of see myself as an artist in a business. In the business world, that's how I really began. But in terms of privilege, I. I was surrounded by wealth, really, all of my life, but I feel like the privilege that I had was that I didn't inherit money and that I really had to make it on my own. And that gave me the fire in my gut and the incentive to really go out and make something work, live or die, you know, and it made me take risks. And also, the amazing thing is when you're a little bit vulnerable, the people that come into your life and the kind of magical things that happen. I was able to have great mentors in my life and connect with people in such a different way than if I had inherited a lot of money and didn't have the incentive to go out and really make something work.
[00:02:32] Speaker A: So this is exactly what Billie Jean King said. Pressure is a privilege.
[00:02:37] Speaker B: It is, yeah. Because it's about the Struggle. The struggle is what makes you evolve into who you are. And it's an amazing experience to go through something like sometimes in the darkest moments in life, that's when the most magical things happen, you know, and it's. Sometimes it's hard to get there, to figure out how to put one foot in front of the other. Then when you get there, you can. It just. All you. You have the clarity, and you realize this is what it's all about. It's about the experiences and all the amazing people that you bring into your life and what evolves out of it. So that's the artist side of it. You know, kind of. In business, I always identified with sort of the great entrepreneurs and the people side of the business.
[00:03:19] Speaker A: Yeah, you talk about your. Your grandfather who ran H.C. wainwright.
[00:03:24] Speaker B: My grandfather, Kim Clark, who was six, six in his generation, and he was an amazing athlete, and he. He fought in.
In patents. He just was a remarkable person and an optimist. His glass was always overflowing, and he was running HC Wainwright. At a time when I had just come back from living and working in Australia, I was just out of college. I'd always wanted to live in a different country, and I was actually planning to live in Africa.
But at the time, it was very turbulent times there. And, you know, I had a friend that had lived in Australia, and it was a writer, and he inspired me through my second stepmother, Caroline. She had been dating David Frost during this period. She had gone over with David Frost to Australia on several trips. And there were very few people in power at the time, but Carrie Packer, who owned Consolidated Press, Channel nine, he was like God in Australia. He loved Caroline. Jim Wolfenson, all these amazing guys loved Caroline. So she wrote them letters and said, my, you know, beautiful stepdaughter kitten is six feet and, you know, is coming to Australia and can you get her a job? And so fortunately, I went over there with $2,000, which was, you know, I thought was a lot of money. But after paying one month's rent, I didn't have enough money for a car, so I bought a motorcycle. Harry Packer was able to give me a job, Channel nine. So I had this amazing experience working for a year and then traveled for six months after that. That's a long story, too. Yeah, I had a motorcycle accident, which was very traumatic. This is another example of things that happen that sort of the tip, the ship tips over. But then in the end, you know, just as I was leaving my job at Channel Nine, I was given $10,000 compensation for the accident. So it allowed me to travel for six months all through Australia. It was amazing. AM amazing.
[00:05:23] Speaker A: Wow, what a free spirit you are.
[00:05:24] Speaker B: I was a free spirit. I was a total free spirit. I hitchhiked all the way to Adelaide, where the 12 apostles were from the endless summer where you ride the waves in, ride them back out. So, anyway, then I come off this experience of being in Australia and moved to Boston, where my grandfather was this incredible business leader and had this big presence, huge family. And so he sort of took me under his wing and he became my great mentor in business and in life. And he took, you know, I started doing temporary jobs in Boston, and then he said, why don't you start at HC Wainwright? And, you know, I'll give you a temporary job and look for jobs from here. And I just immediately fell in love with the people side of the business because he had invested in over 100 different companies, everything from ski resorts, treasure ships, robot companies, you name it. He just believed in everyone, and he wanted to back everyone in business, and he'd get his friends to back them. And so it was that entreprene spirit that I connected with early.
[00:06:23] Speaker A: But you said there's been a shift in what you're seeing in the entrepreneurial world between the ethics that your grandfather represented.
[00:06:31] Speaker B: Right. I mean, in those days, they would all band together, the friends. He had this wonderful saying that. He'd say, okay, you know, and this is right after the war when a lot of these organizations like the Union Boat Club, you know, places that they loved in their community, were really struggling to survive. And he would say, I'm going to be the first to put my head on the block. Who's going to follow me? And then he's get it. He's get his friends to come in and back these companies. And, you know, often they'd sign letters of credit and that kind of thing, but it was a way that they could save companies and then they get, you know, some equity in the company, you know, some of the companies, and that's the way they would build things. But I think as time went on, you know, that became a way that, you know, that debt funds and so forth, they would exploit and, you know, instead of trying to support companies to help them grow and emerge through these difficult times, they buried them with debt. And then, you know, I. I didn't like the predatory part of the business, and I was always inspired by the great, amazing people I'd meet. But what I didn't like was often when a deal, you know, You. You'd work hard and you do something together to do something big. And then all of a sudden, the greed and destruction would come marching in because it was about the money. They'd rip your heart out to get the money. And that was the part that was always discouraging for me. It was really the genesis of building this Newport Global Summit. I always felt like I had the privilege of meeting these amazing leaders in business and these people that inspired me. And I loved families. Wainwright was kind of a family business. I was fourth generation, as a woman in that firm, and I wanted other families to see it for themselves and be inspired by these great people that I was meeting. So I'd bring them all together to do these kind of conferences. And then I found the families loved meeting each other and they developed this community.
It was an amazing experience every time I did it. So I fell in love with the idea of putting. Bringing together a lot of different people, having them learn from each other, sharing knowledge. And then, you know, even the families sharing knowledge about what they knew about these investment managers or hedge fund managers. You'd hear their marketing pitch, but other families who had invested in them might share a different perspective. So it was a way of managing risk, too, in a very natural way. It was a work of art.
[00:08:50] Speaker A: What's interesting is business is all about money. But what you're talking about is that your motivation has largely been fueled by a need to support yourself, but also by some of the relationships and the character that you saw in your mentors.
[00:09:05] Speaker B: Yes, but also in the families. I love the families and their histories. And I cared about my clients. I genuinely. I wanted them to be educated, and I thought their stories were so fascinating. And I loved kind of the whole dynamics of family because it was so much more than the money and helping to bring families together, the unity. That's why I always bring this guy, John Masservi, who's brilliant and working with families, because so many families can't make it work from one generation to the next, there's such a disconnect. Often it's about conflict. It's sort of teaching people with. In a way that it diffused the pressure of it because you have all these other families that you're learning together so you can absorb more. You're not feeling like this is all about me, and I don't want to. It's too threatening. It was just a way to engage people and really educate them and then bring. Really enrich them with these new friendships.
[00:09:57] Speaker A: So talk to us about the Newport Global Summit, what is it?
[00:09:59] Speaker B: Well, the Newport Global Summit is through my early career I always did these conferences for families. And then in 2004 I left Wainwright. Kind of this epic change in my life when I went to a bigger firm. And it was fascinating going from being really entrepreneurial and building a business there and to being in a much larger structure. One of the first in 2004 I had had a big middle EAS holding company that had come in as an investor. I was one of the partners to spin out the asset management consulting business. And it was a company called kipco, which was one of the biggest holding companies in the Middle East. They had, you know, different companies across 23 different countries. And I was so fascinated by kind of Middle east. And they were an investor of ours. And he, the Somark Hannochet who was the president of kipco's US arm was also the president of the Arab Bankers association of North America, which was this amazing organization, abana, which is about building a bridge of understanding between us Middle east and through and kind of alignment through business opportunity. And so anyway, it was fascinating. I got very involved in that organization. I was appointed to the board in 2007 [Editor's note: Corrected from 2005 to 2007] and then elected two subsequent subsequent years by 600 members globally, which was amazing.
I identified with. So anyway, Newport. The genesis of Newport Global Summit was kind of fast forward 2009.
Lehman Brothers had just blown up. And I was at Lehman Brothers at the time when the whole financial downturn and then there was sort of destruction in the U.S. the real estate market had collapsed. It was kind of this dead quiet. Nobody was talking anymore. There was no business. As a member of the board of abana, we decided we were going to do something in Newport. We were going to bring together because I'd done these conferences here before with Lehman Brothers. We wanted to start this US Arab leadership retreat to bring together leaders from both sides to re engage in a dialogue, to talk about. This is not about exploiting, you know, and coming in and buying everything at a discount. It should be about long term partnership kind of re engaging in a dialogue, connecting with our history. Because there's this amazing history between us and Arab business leaders. And you had mentioned my stepfather before. My stepfather's father was the chairman of Sakony Vacuum, which later became Mobil Oil. But during the Second World War he had been very close. When all these, think about all these entrepreneurs going over to the Middle east early in the days he Suleiman Olian, the Olian family, one of the wealthiest in the world. The wealth Creator of that family had been his translator at Saccony Vacuum. And then as they started building, Brewster Jennings was very close to Ibn Saud.
They had this close personal relationship during the Second World War. And Suleiman Olian and Brewster Jennings helped to negotiate this major and critical strategic alliance between us and Saudi Arabia during that time. And they had this very deep friendship. And what I didn't mention was that Saconi Vacuum was one of the four predecessor companies to form the early oil exploration company that became Aramco, now one of the largest companies in the world. Right. Brewster Jennings was the first cousin with Hugh Aken Kloss, who shared a lot of the history with me too. There's the Middle east library at the Pell center where we originally did the event. You know, that's how it began. And now it's evolved. Where Global Summit is really about.
It's really about bringing together leaders, you know, across, you know, investment, business, academia, policy, all of these different. It's not about one type of people. It's bringing everybody together to share knowledge and basically to explore possibilities for prosperity. You know, and so it's kind of like a think tank and, and, and it's a work of art because every year you put something together that evolves into something, you know, you don't know where, where it begins. You know, it just, you, it sort of begins and then it's just. There's a lot of chaos and out of the chaos comes a lot of creativity. It's what, what really makes it is the people that participate and it, this collective energy and everybody kind of jumps in and you know, takes the stake in the success and collaborates and brings their ideas and becomes a part of it.
[00:14:39] Speaker A: Maybe it could just be that you don't over control.
[00:14:42] Speaker B: It's definitely my personal style. Yeah.
[00:14:44] Speaker A: Maybe instead of calling it, you call it chaos, but maybe it's not chaos. Maybe this is, it works. It's sort of.
What would be a word for it?
You're letting go and you're letting people be creative.
[00:14:55] Speaker B: Yes. Because if I was a very structured person and if I had a theme from the beginning and I were going to just say control the whole thing, this would never happen. And I often think if there was too much money, how would this work? Because it's the creative energy that is a part of it, that kind of this struggle and get everybody getting in the trenches and being part of it. I think my vulnerable side is something that makes people feel like, especially the men, they feel like, wait a minute, I can't step into this. There's not enough structure. I need to help create what this is going to be all about. But then they love it. Like, Steve Forbes has come the last three years. He absolutely loves it. And. And they want to be part of it every year. Alan Patrick, who's a famous vent capitalist, came last year, as he described kicking and screaming, and he loved it so much he wants to come back this year. And so you build this kind of family over time, of people that have attended, and they have such an emotional connection to it, because you do. It's two days. You know, you start with kind of an opening afternoon sessions and a dinner. And I like the dinners to be like a glamorous Newport party, because I wanted. I want people to experience it and feel like we're welcoming them to our home, you know, and so. And then the second day, the energy is so amazing because what all these speakers don't realize is that they're all actually collaborating in this program together. So it becomes this kind of open canvas where they all step onto the stage, and it's this kind of chemistry between them that they develop that makes it really come alive. And it's a very cool experience to see it all unfold.
[00:16:30] Speaker A: I think what's wonderful is that you know Newport so well, and you love Newport, so you're able to bring them the best of Newport.
[00:16:37] Speaker B: Yes, And I love. I mean, I love the ocean and being surrounded by the history and discovering more about the history and knowing all of the families. I mean, Newport is kind of in my soul. I just love. There's something about Newport that is so magical, and I want to share that with my friends that come and participate in this, and I want them to experience it. And I want to support the local organizations like the Newport Art Museum, where there's actually this permanent collection of my great grandfather's paintings, who was an Impressionist, and the most. Most beautiful paintings. We've collaborated with the Naval War College, and we've had parts of our events at the Redwood Library at Ochre Court, the Pell Center. I was really initially so inspired by Senator Pell because he believed you bring important people together in an informal setting without a lot of structure, and that's where really important things happen.
[00:17:31] Speaker A: That's exactly what you did.
[00:17:32] Speaker B: Yes, exactly. I believed so much in his. In that whole concept. And I was the perfect.
That because I am so unstructured by nature that it's very easy to create that kind of.
[00:17:46] Speaker A: It's hard to believe that because you've been doing this for 15 years.
[00:17:49] Speaker B: Yes, I know, but. But the fun of it is sort of a little bit of the chaos is. I think I embrace that because, you know, without that, you don't have the creativity. There's probably a lot of these wealth.
[00:18:00] Speaker A: Managers and bankers who are used to incredibly structured, or they're even military. They're probably used to very structured environments, so.
[00:18:07] Speaker B: And it's true. And, you know, one of the things that I used to love about it, too, it was so revealing. If you get a speaker from like, sort of a wealth management, and things went a little sideways, maybe the AV or whatever, and they couldn't handle it. I mean, it was very revealing about personalities who could just step up and just talk off the top of their head and just make it all happen. It was really fascinating. I love that I noticed this today.
[00:18:32] Speaker A: Like with our microphone problem this morning. You were just so flexible.
[00:18:36] Speaker B: Well, chaos is very comfortable to me.
[00:18:38] Speaker A: I wanted to also talk about. Because one of the things that I've noticed about you and your sister Edie, who I know well, you're both really fit.
[00:18:44] Speaker B: Yeah, we love. We are. We love to work out. I mean, that is part of my soul, too. I love to run, meditation and yoga, too. Meditation.
I love running on the cliff walk. I love running along the rocks. You. I know you walk on the cliff walk, too, but it's so inspiring. It's very spiritual in a way. That's when I get my deepest thoughts and most clarity when I'm running.
It's really. It's a great thing. And it keeps your spirit, it keeps you thinking in a positive way, and you turn things around. It's a great discipline. People say, oh, it's such a struggle to run. I. The minute I start, I just go into this space that is so beautiful, and I just love it.
[00:19:25] Speaker A: When did you realize that you needed these tools? You know, exercise, running, meditation, yoga to help you survive the pressure? Yeah, well, early.
[00:19:34] Speaker B: Early in life. I mean, I went through a lot of challenges as a problem child. You were.
It was a wild time. I mean, I grew up with. There were five sisters, five girls within four years.
And because there were twins. And then my mother. There was divorce, and my mother married my stepfather, Jack Jennings, who we loved. Kind of like James Bond. My dad was the handsomest guy in the world, too, and we loved him. He had three children. There were eight girls within four years. And we were all kind of getting kicked out of one school after another.
And three spirits. Yes, yes. But I mean, it was you sort of act things out at that age, I think things that you don't express, you act out. And so it must have been hell for our father and our stepfather and everything having consequences early in life was actually very good for me. You know, you learn, you have to turn things around. It's hard, it's traumatic when you get kicked out of a school and you have to start your life over again at age 15. And then we all kind of struggled with other things in life and early, early in life, several of us went through rehab and everything like that. So I mean, I think that early part of struggle then taught all of us, we, all of us to really find other ways to, you know, to, to get, to get the endorphins, number one, you know, because that really helps, you know, to, to, to stay out of the hurricane, you know, because when you're up here, you know, it's when you're, it's when your energy gets really low that you kind of can sink into depression or str. But if your energy stays high, you can tackle anything.
[00:21:11] Speaker A: Ooh, that sounds like a Tony Robbins thing. And he says you can't make any decisions when your state is low.
[00:21:17] Speaker B: No, you can't. You can't. And so that's, I've always had that, you know, image of staying out of the hurricane and then you're in, then you're in the zone.
[00:21:25] Speaker A: I was thinking, what would your grandfather, if he could see the Newport Global Summit now, what do you think would surprise him the most?
[00:21:32] Speaker B: He would have loved it. I mean, my grandfather, you mean on my step grandfather with either of them or even my father used to love coming to it because it was very much of a man's thing. You know, I always. In business, you always, you're kind of surrounded by a lot of men. And dad used to come and he would love it. I think he was very proud. He loved John le Boutlier, who used to come, who was Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney's great grandson. And he used to be very funny because Howard Gardner Cushing and Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney were very close friends. There was all this mystery around the paintings with the redhead who was my great grandmother, who was kind of the muse, and then the dark haired woman who was always a little racy. And so John used to always. He was a Fox News commentator and he'd come up and he'd speak and then he'd say, sort of in the middle of his session, he'd go, hey, Kitty, do you think our grandparents got it on? And they just shake things up a Little bit. Alexandra Howard, who knows more about the paintings than anyone, says, of course, they had a platonic relationship.
[00:22:34] Speaker A: It's fun to joke about, but I wonder what your grandfather would say, the one who had the. The wind writer, Wayne Wright.
[00:22:39] Speaker B: I think he would have been really proud of me. I think he would have. We were so close. I loved him all through. You know, I lived near him in Hamilton for 20 years, and I worked with him during his 80s, and he was so. He was so proud to have me at the firm, and we had this friendship. He. He was just. I was so lucky to have had that kind of relationship with him, to have known him as a friend.
I mean.
[00:23:04] Speaker A: Yeah, it's so good that he. Even though he was from a different era. I mean, he was. But, you know, the grandfather, he was probably born in, what, 1910, 20, something like that.
[00:23:13] Speaker B: Yeah. Let me see. It would have been.
Yeah, I think it was around 1904 or something.
[00:23:20] Speaker A: Yeah. That he had the foresight to hire you, because, I mean, there's some families where they just are like, oh, nice little girl. No, no. You just go back to, you know, arranging your flowers, maybe get a job as a teacher.
[00:23:32] Speaker B: But.
[00:23:32] Speaker A: But, you know, the business world isn't for women.
[00:23:34] Speaker B: And believe me, I started from the mail room to, you know, I worked my way. But he was. You know, the thing is, to be in a family business, it's the most amazing experience, because it is actually harder, I think, when you are a family member. You have to prove yourself more. You have to go the distance more.
[00:23:50] Speaker A: That's the pressure.
[00:23:51] Speaker B: No, it's like you're in a fishbowl. Everybody's kind of watching you. So you have a responsibility. You have to make sure that you're. My uncle who was running the firm when my. My grandfather was in his 80s. He always wanted to make sure that I was seen as. As, hey, doing the hard stuff, not taking the mail. That I was. Not that I was humble.
[00:24:10] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:24:10] Speaker B: And willing to do anything. And I think. But then when you grow with a business and you actually start really contributing in a meaningful way and you build something together with family, it's the most amazing experience to feel like you. You've done this together, and it's also an experience. I saw it all fall apart in some ways, you know, with Wainwright and to have. To let go of a family business, let go of something that's really in your heart and soul and part of your legacy, and to know when it's time to let go and do something else.
[00:24:40] Speaker A: But you you carried those skills with you.
[00:24:42] Speaker B: Yeah, and I also carried this amazing memory of having had that experience.
[00:24:47] Speaker A: You're a very feminine woman. And how do you reconcile that in a. In a kind of world of men?
[00:24:53] Speaker B: I always found that men were actually great partners. You know, it was. Sometimes it was the women that were harder because there was competitive energy. And I always felt like men wanted to. They wanted to help me. They wanted to be good teammates, help me, you know? You know, if you identify the right men. I mean, it was a men's world, and I totally. I love being in a men's world, you know, but it. You know, you run into bad experiences along the way. But, I mean, I actually. I wouldn't have traded any. It. You know, having that. It was challenging. You know, you. I don't think you can ever really get it right. Even the best, you know, you're gonna come through ups and downs of the markets and have to figure out how to navigate through it. But you survived. How did you do that?
Yeah, no, I mean, it's not like you date people that you're. Yeah, but I mean, you know. Yeah, but that. My vulnerable side, I think, worked in my favor because, you know, I had genuine friends, and I. I, you know, I just had fun with them, and.
[00:25:49] Speaker A: They probably became protective.
[00:25:51] Speaker B: They became protectors. That's absolutely right.
[00:25:53] Speaker A: Like, I can't take advantage of this sweet, sweet girl who's just.
[00:25:58] Speaker B: But I became sort of one of the guys, too. I mean, they were very comfortable with me, and I was. I was a good athlete, so I could, you know, kind of keep up with them on that. And I had all these cousins and uncles in Boston, so this huge family with all their friends that they all kind of brought took me in.
[00:26:15] Speaker A: You're really. I've noticed you're also interested in the next generation.
[00:26:17] Speaker B: I love kids. I love kids. I love working with them. Every year, year, I bring someone into the mix to work with me, and they have the most amazing experience because they have to step into the trenches. They're not prepared for it. How chaotic and how. But they learn so much. And then they get to connect with all these amazing people that come to the conference, and they get to see it all come together.
And it's very kind of this euphoric experience, but. And most of them have gone on to get great jobs. I really believe in mentoring young kids and having them be inspired, because that's what really business is about. You know, you can talk about world capital markets and all of this, but identifying what is Private equity. What. What is all these different areas of business and what am I really interested in? What do I gravitate to and let them have that experience of naturally connecting with these great people the way I did, you know, and so that's. That's also part of what I love about it.
[00:27:12] Speaker A: So how do you allow the next generation to feel the same pressures that you. You did?
[00:27:16] Speaker B: Well, yes. That's kind of an interesting question because I think I. I do try to make it a little easier for them. You have to fight for it. You can't just be passive. It's an interesting thing with privilege because it's different. The world that we grew up in, we really did have to. We had to work a lot harder. Even like when you look at maternity leave and that kind of thing, I mean, the go. My stepson just had a baby.
He got four months leave. It's crazy. Three months leave. I had two weeks, two weeks off.
And that's the way it was in those days. And I had two weeks unpaid. And then I had to go right back to work and I had to leave my daughter in a little car seat at daycare. The funny thing was, they say the best, the most successful kids are the ones that can adapt. And then she kind of embraced being around big family, a lot of people coming in to love her. My sister Edie was like a second mother to her because I was traveling a lot in business and, you know, she's an amazing person. So we decided at a certain point in our life also. I was a single mom from the time she was 4, so we had to move several times. Like when, when things went against us and we weren't making money, we had to move.
You know, we didn't have a net. So I mean, so we decided early on, we're not going to be sad when we. We're gonna. Our life. That's who we are. We've had lots of different experiences and our roots are with each other. So we're going to embrace. Embrace this kind of way that we've had lots of experiences and not think of it as, oh, my God, how traumatic I had to, you know, change my life.
[00:28:49] Speaker A: Yeah. But it's having Edie around.
[00:28:51] Speaker B: Edie has been an anchor throughout my life.
[00:28:55] Speaker A: Family. We're going back to family and the theme of family and the global summit and how, how that's a theme, you know, that's.
[00:29:02] Speaker B: My former company was actually called Seven Sisters because the seven sisters of the oil industry. But then, you know, we had actually eight sisters. On one side. But we lost one of our sisters who we loved tragically in 2009. The other seven sisters came from the star constellations in honor of Ames. And then I have seven sisters on the other side with five of us and our two stepsisters. Family is the greatest thing. I've always been very close to all my family, all the ex wives, The. The whole thing. The dysfunction of it.
[00:29:33] Speaker A: It.
[00:29:33] Speaker B: Every family has a little dysfunction, but I love that part of it too, in a way, because it brought us all closer together. Yeah. Oh, my God. And you share this bond that is just eternal, but you embody that.
[00:29:45] Speaker A: That growth mindset that everybody talks about that a leader should have.
[00:29:48] Speaker B: That's sweet. Well, you too. You have the same spirit. You know, the fascinating thing about Ryan, who you've introduced to Speak is he talks about the need to rebuild trust again. Yes. You know, with this whole. With what happened with technology, almost, this hypnosis that occurs through pH and that we have to get back to being real again. And the idea of rebuilding trust, which is our roots of when we formed this Newport Global Summit.
[00:30:14] Speaker A: Yeah. So this is a perfect timing, isn't it?
[00:30:18] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:30:19] Speaker A: Very excited for this year's. What do you call it?
[00:30:22] Speaker B: It's a new chapter because we've just become 501C3.
[00:30:25] Speaker A: Oh, yes. Yes.
[00:30:26] Speaker B: Which I'm so thrilled about because it allows us to have much more meaningful content. I'm not just tied to the sponsors. What I was so thrilled about was within, you know, a week of getting our approval, we had so much support from the community. It makes me feel this sense of, you know, unity. I mean, my. Here are my roots in Newport, and I just feel like it's just. It just is the coolest thing to feel the community come together and help support this and take it to the next level. So I think it's. I think it's a big move.
People thought I was crazy to go F1C3 because it's always been sort of more business investment. But I've always tried to also bring in meaningful content. And it's always been higher purpose for me. I became the biggest supporter of the event because it didn't really support itself. And so really, for it to be sustainable, it has to be a little bit more of an organization. I don't want to take the creativity out of it, of being in the trenches and that drive to succeed. Live or die. It could definitely use a little wind at our back, which I feel like we have now.
[00:31:29] Speaker A: I think you embody sort of the value of if you take care of yourself physically and mentally and spiritually, then you have more energy to give back to the planet. And I think that if this organization is also doing better financially and it takes away some of that stress, then it will give back to the community and to the world.
[00:31:47] Speaker B: Yes, absolutely. Yes. I really truly believe that.
[00:31:51] Speaker A: Yeah. I mean, some people could argue, well, why give money to an event that just highlights a bunch of wealthy people? People could argue that. But if you think, well, those wealthy people support causes that are really important to our community, you.
[00:32:05] Speaker B: And you're bringing investment into the community, you're bringing awareness about the community and you're bringing potential gifts to other organizations. Because I really believe in supporting other.
[00:32:16] Speaker A: Organizations beyond the community. It's also the nation, the world and the world.
[00:32:20] Speaker B: I mean, you think about my network and all of my Arab relationships and global. It really became much more global. So we have families that come from around the world and they're centers of influence. Influence in all these different places. So you think about the impact that you can really have. And we want to do more programs. We want to. Actually one of the kids wrote a letter to Steve Forbes last year, Jack Bradley, and he said, you know, I want to be Steve Forbes. Does this Steve Forbes on achievement, these videos, these five minute videos about great American entrepreneurs.
And so Jack heard about it from his stepfather and then he watched every video and he wrote Steve Forbes letter and said, I want to be an entrepreneur. Which you. I want to learn about that. I don't learn about that in school. Would you ever consider doing a Newport Global Summit for kids? And so this year we wanted to do a mini program for the kids as well. And we want to do, we want to do other smaller programs. You know, your friend Ryan suggested what about a retreat? You know, that would be a cool thing. You know, we've got a brain science person that's coming this year. He's brilliant. Talking about how to age in an optimal way, utilizing brain science and psychology and all of that.
[00:33:32] Speaker A: That.
[00:33:33] Speaker B: And then his wife is, you know, also brilliant psychologist who uses AI for nutrition for women. So we want to do a lot more, you know, just this one event, but have, you know, a couple of smaller programs throughout the year.
[00:33:46] Speaker A: Well, it's now like some of the mega trends that we're seeing is that there's that mental health, like healthy mental health leads to higher productivity.
[00:33:55] Speaker B: Oh, totally. And believe me, there's no one that doesn't struggle with that.
You know, I don't care how successful you Are how. In fact, I think a lot of most successful CEOs, they have the, you know, artist gene. That's why I identify with them. And, you know, so everybody is longing to make their lives better and live in a, you know, kind of optimal way. Yeah.
[00:34:18] Speaker A: And yesterday in the Wall Street Journal, there was an article that young people are now putting health above wealth. Like, health is wealth.
[00:34:24] Speaker B: Yeah. That's cool. I love that. Yeah, I love that. And young people will get it right. I mean, you know, in my career, it was, you know, I wish I'd had more balance, you know, and the younger people are seeing that, they want more. They want their lives to matter and be able to devote time to their families.
[00:34:40] Speaker A: Maybe our generation helped pave the way for that balance.
[00:34:43] Speaker B: I hope so. I hope so. I think we have. I think we have. I think we're a very empathetic generation. Part of the beauty of the Newport Global Summit is the convergence of wisdom and this entrepreneurial, you know, raw energy that comes from the young, younger generation. And, you know, what they can learn from each other. Right. Yeah.
[00:35:01] Speaker A: I'm so excited. Thank you so much, Kitty.
[00:35:03] Speaker B: Oh, well, thank you. It's such a privilege to be on your ship.
[00:35:07] Speaker A: Before we wrap up, I'd like to thank Oliver Kiker for the jingle and Gwendolyn Christian for the backup support.
Also, a quick reminder, these interviews are not a substitute for professional medical, legal or psychological advice.
Always consult with a qualified, qualified professional for any major decisions in your life.
And thanks for joining me in exploring the connections that make us human and learning insights and strategies to help us build, heal and nurture relationships, including, and especially the the one with yourself. It's been an honor to share this time with you and to bring you conversations with some of the brightest minds who deserve more recognition. Remember, life's too short to take too seriously. So don't forget to hit that subscribe button. Get outside, and let's continue this journey of life together.
[00:35:53] Speaker B: Together.
[00:35:54] Speaker A: See you next time.
