logo
episode-header-image
Jul 16
47m 35s

S8E7: Ken Griffin Still Checks His P&L

StanfordGSB
About this episode

Ken Griffin heads the most profitable hedge fund in history. But Citadel’s founder and CEO is focused on the future — not the scoreboard.   

“I like to think I haven’t accomplished yet what I will be remembered for,” Griffin tells Michael Liu, MBA ’25. “That this is not a view from the top, but a journey to a destination yet to be determined.”

From entrepreneurship — “If you want to be an entrepreneur, you have to first learn how to sell” — to the importance of lifelong learning — “If you’re going to go to work at a firm and you’re the smartest person in the room, you have so screwed up your Stanford MBA” — Griffin reflects on what he’s learned since the early days of Citadel and why he's still laser-focused on learning today.

“​I think legendary investors really know when they have an advantage — and they press it. They’re confident in their conviction, and when they're wrong, they move on.”

This conversation was recorded on April 25, 2025.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Up next
Aug 6
S8E8: Luis von Ahn Is Making Screen Time Count
Luis von Ahn was a tenured professor of computer science at Carnegie Mellon University who had sold a company to Google. “You were pretty set, a lot of us would say, so why were you so hungry to build something new with Duolingo?” asks Ayesha Karnik, MBA ’25. “For the first time ... Show More
57m 51s
Jun 18
S8E6: Aravind Srinivas Has All The Answers
Aravind Srinivas leads Perplexity — whose AI-powered search engine provides direct, sourced answers to any question you might ask it. On this episode of View From The Top: The Podcast, Srinivas joins Aislin Rorth, MBA ’25, for a conversation that provides unique insight into how ... Show More
1 h
Jun 4
S8E5: Lisa Su Is Still Curious About How Things Work
Lisa Su, the chair and CEO of Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), leads one of the world’s most influential technology companies, a pioneer in high-performance computing and designer of chips that power everything from cellphones to supercomputers.On this episode of View From The Top: ... Show More
55m 23s
Recommended Episodes
Aug 2024
#224 Important Things to Look for in MBA & EMBA Programs with Prof. Steven DeKrey, HKUST Business School
Steven DeKrey, Senior Advisor and Professor Emeritus at HKUST Business School, has over 40 years of experience in building and running top-ranked MBA programs worldwide, including at Northwestern Kellogg, the University of Florida, Asian Institute of Management and HKUST, where h ... Show More
50m 5s
Oct 2023
#214 Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) MBA Program & Admissions Interview with Prof. Wan Wongsunwai
Professor Wan Wongsunwai, Associate Dean of MBA Programmes and Director of MBA Programmes at The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) Business School, discusses what makes the CUHK MBA unique, the school's admissions process, career opportunities and more. Topics Introduction ( ... Show More
1 h
Mar 2024
#220 GLOBIS MBA Program & Admissions Interview with Tomoya Nakamura - "Find Your Kokorozashi"
Sometimes, it's hard to differentiate MBA programs. That is not the case with GLOBIS University, Japan's number 1 MBA, which prizes entrepreneurial skills, societal impact, and helping its students find their kokorozashi (personal mission). Professor Tomoya Nakamura, President of ... Show More
1h 14m
Mar 2024
#220 GLOBIS MBA Program & Admissions Interview with Tomoya Nakamura - "Find Your Kokorozashi"
Sometimes, it's hard to differentiate MBA programs. That is not the case with GLOBIS University, Japan's number 1 MBA, that prizes entrepreneurial skills, societal impact, and helping its students find their kokorozashi (personal mission).   Professor Tomoya Nakamura, President o ... Show More
1h 14m
Sep 2024
#225 Is an MBA Worth It for Startup Founders? with Bridget Pujals, Berkeley Haas MBA '24
Should aspiring entrepreneurs get an MBA? Bridget Pujals, University of California Berkeley Haas MBA '24 and Co-Founder of Saelo, shares her experience being an active founder during her Full-time MBA. What resources did she find most helpful? What should active and aspiring entr ... Show More
50m 6s
Jun 2022
MBA2063 Guest Teacher – Iliana Bobova – How to Maximize Your MBA ROI
Are you ready for your MBA?  First, you need to make sure it’ll be (more than) worth it.  Becoming a Master of Business Administration can take years, tens of thousands of dollars, and a whole ‘lotta sweat. It might be the biggest investment you ever make! Before your first day o ... Show More
19m 55s
Feb 2025
Uncertainty and Enterprise with Amar Bhidé
In Uncertainty and Enterprise: Venturing Beyond the Known, Amar Bhidé revisits and modernizes the concept of Knightian uncertainty. Introduced more than 100 years ago, the concept offers great potential for better understanding corporate decision-making.A renowned expert on innov ... Show More
26m 2s
Jun 2024
#223 How to 3x Your Chances to Top 10 MBA Programs with Melody Jones, Vantage Point MBA
Melody Jones, Co-Founder of Vantage Point MBA Admissions Consulting, has been helping applicants get into top 10 MBA programs for over a decade. How does Vantage Point help applicants triple their chances compared to other applicants? Melody shares key learnings, examples and que ... Show More
46m 39s
May 2024
#206 The Venture Mindset with Ilya Strebulaev, Economist & Professor at Stanford Graduate School of Business
In almost every industry, the rate of innovation is increasing, and this is great for consumers around the globe. However, with constant innovation and continual disruption of the status quo, where to innovate next becomes much harder to identify. If your industry hasn’t been dis ... Show More
1 h
Aug 2024
Should You Go To Business School?
To go to business school or not to go to business school? In this episode, Ross goes in depth about his experience attending Stanford's Graduate School of Business. From why he went back to school at 29 years old, to how an MBA has affected his career. Natalie shares her perspect ... Show More
44m 53s