Contributor(s): Stephen A Schwarzman, Professor Andrés Velasco | Minouche Shafik talks with financier and philanthropist, Stephen A. Schwarzman, author of the new book What It Takes: Lessons in the Pursuit of Excellence, which draws on his experiences in business, philanthropy, and public service. Stephen A. Schwarzman is Chairman, CEO and Co-Founder of Blackstone, a leading global investment firm with over $564 billion in AUM and businesses in private equity, real estate, hedge funds, credit, infrastructure and life sciences. In both business and philanthropy, he dedicates himself to tackling big problems with transformative solutions. His major gifts have helped establish a new center at the University of Oxford to redefine the study of the humanities for the 21st century, create a new college at MIT dedicated to the study of artificial intelligence, build a first-of-its-kind student center at Yale, renovate and expand the New York Public Library, and found an international fellowship program, Schwarzman Scholars, at Tsinghua University in Beijing to educate future leaders about China. Mr. Schwarzman is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, Business Roundtable, and International Business Council of the WEF. He was named one of Barron’s “World’s Best CEO’s” in 2019; one of Forbes’ Top 50 “World’s Most Powerful People” in 2018; Forbes’ most influential person in finance in 2016; and one of TIME’s “100 Most Influential People” in 2007. His honors include the Légion d'Honneur and Ordre des Arts et des Lettres from France, and Order of the Aztec Eagle from Mexico. In 2019, Mr. Schwarzman published his first book, What It Takes: Lessons in the Pursuit of Excellence, a New York Times best seller which draws on his experiences in business, philanthropy, and public service. Andrés Velasco (@AndresVelasco) is Professor of Public Policy and Dean of the School of Public Policy at the London School of Economics and Political Science. Minouche Shafik is Director of the London School of Economics and Political Science. Prior to this she was Deputy Governor of the Bank of England. You can order the book, What it Takes: Lessons in the Pursuit of Excellence, (UK delivery only) from our official LSE Events independent book shop, Pages of Hackney. The LSE School of Public Policy (@LSEPublicPolicy) is an international community where ideas and practice meet. Our approach creates professionals with the ability to analyse, understand and resolve the challenges of contemporary governance. Twitter Hashtag for this event: #LSEExcellence