Waters Wavelength Podcast Episode 105: Blackstone's Bill Murphy, Part 3

For the third time ever—a record!—private equity giant Blackstone’s chief technology officer Bill Murphy joins the podcast. Anthony and James joined him at Blackstone’s new offices in midtown Manhattan to hear about what went into building the space and the benefits gained. To listen to his two previous appearances on the podcast, click here and here.

1:00 In April, Blackstone’s innovations team moved into its new office on the 22nd Floor at 601 Lexington Avenue. Murphy explains the move and how they went about designing the space.

3:00 The key to sound: While the trend is going toward open-floor plans, Murphy explains the need for “quiet,” hence why they build “little neighborhoods,” as he calls them.

8:00 Blackstone is growing in size and complexity, and they will be hiring in 2018. So, Murphy talks about how they built the space with growth in mind. 

9:45 Murphy gives his thoughts on why having generalists and people who can move between teams is important. 

15:00 Is there a danger of creating an environment for the innovation team that is almost too sequestered away from the business side at Blackstone?

18:00 Looking at trends—in 2018, AI will continue to advance.

25:00 The value of recording conversations with friends and family—which is not as creepy as it sounds.
 

Contact Info

As is the case with everything we do, we'd love to get some feedback from our listeners. Feel free to reach out to Anthony or James via Twitter or email.

Anthony: @a_malakian; anthony.malakian@infopro-digital.com

James: @JimRundle; james.rundle@infopro-digital.com

Past 10 episodes:

Episode 95: Bitcoin/Blockchain News, BNP's Acquisition, Post-Trade Tech

Episode 96: CAT Concerns & Big Tech Takes Aim at Asset Managers

Episode 97: C-Level Execs Talk Bitcoin, Fintechs, Cognitive Computing & Open-Source Tech 

Episode 98: A Focus on Asia, Rolet Out at LSEG, Nasdaq's Bitcoin Futures

Episode 99: Fintech and Innovation, a Discussion

Episode 100: Bitcoin Futures...Again

Episode 101: The Top 10 Stories of 2017

Episode 102: The Best of Longform Journalism in 2017

Episode 103: Mifid II is Now Law; How to Apply for the Women in Data & Tech Awards

Episode 104: Regulators Struggle with AI; SS&C Snaps up DST Systems