Manning and Ross cover a lot of ground, starting with Southeastern’s history of investing in White Mountains multiple times, dating back to its predecessor Fireman’s Fund under the leadership of Jack Byrne in the ‘80s. Manning talks about how he joined White Mountains and discusses how the spirit of Jack Byrne still lives on at White Mountains today. Next, Manning answers what makes insurance a good (or not so good) business and how White Mountains is uniquely advantaged within that space. He then talks about how the company attracts and adds value through great partnerships, like NSM, includi ..read more

Jay and Staley have a wide-ranging discussion, starting with the story of Jay’s formative Southern roots and how he got to know Southeastern before joining AMG. Jay talks about how the value proposition of AMG’s model magnifies the inherent competitive advantages of each independent Affiliate by offering access to a broad range of strategic capabilities, including succession planning, distribution capabilities, and strategic product development, among others. He highlights the importance of being an active partner while supporting AMG’s Affiliates’ independence. Next, Jay discusses how AMG has ..read more

Ross and Mark begin by discussing the global optimization of Hyatt as a brand under Mark's leadership. Next, Mark reviews his progress in increasing Hyatt’s global brand presence, while also transitioning to a more asset light strategy and discusses why Hyatt has been able to perform head-to-head with the industry’s largest brands to build a superior long-term growth pipeline. They then shift to discuss the impact of COVID on the hospitality industry - when Mark felt that consumers would begin to travel again, his views on when business and group travel will come back and the innovation and ef ..read more

Ross and Tony start by discussing Tony’s background, having grown up in the real estate industry, how he forged his own path and how that lead him to ESRT. Tony describes ESRT’s unusual IPO process and discusses how having a separate family office helps him as a real estate operator. Next, they discuss the iconic nature of the Empire State Building Observatory and how it has quickly adapted in the COVID environment. They then discuss how ESRT has been a leader in prioritizing ESG initiatives even before the company’s IPO. Tony discusses plans to reach net-zero by 2035 and talks about Governanc ..read more

In this episode, Southeastern's Vice-Chairman Staley Cates interviews highly respected peer and long-term friend of the firm, Jonathon Jacobson, Founder of HighSage Ventures and former CIO and Co-Founder of Highfields Capital. Staley and Jonathon have a wide-ranging discussion, covering the past, present and future of the industry. They begin with Jonathon’s decision to close Highfields and return investors’ capital in 2018, amidst a backdrop of value being dramatically out of favour [4:39 – 10:44]. Jonathon then touches on the work that his family foundation, the One8 Foundation, is doing and ..read more

In this episode, Southeastern’s Vice-Chairman Staley Cates interviews Larry Culp, Chairman and CEO of General Electric. They discuss how Lean manufacturing is much more than a process and how it can define a culture that is committed to continual improvement. Larry begins with an introduction to “Lean” and what it means to him [3:37 – 5:42]. They discuss whether Lean is a culture or a process [5:43 – 8:34] and what potential problems the approach seeks to address [8:35 – 10:50]. Larry next describes how he first learned about Lean and what made him embrace it as the optimal way to run a busine ..read more

In this episode, Southeastern’s London-based Senior Analyst and Principal, John Woodman, interviews Sébastien Bazin, Chairman and CEO of Accor. They discuss the short-term impact and long-term implications of COVID-19 on the hospitality industry [1:37 – 3:40], as well as steps Accor has taken to position itself to be a beneficiary of the travel recovery [3:44 – 6:20]. Next, Sébastien discusses the benefits of shifting to an asset-light model, [6:24 – 8:05] the recently announced merger with Ennismore and Accor’s plans to build out its lifestyle business. [8:10 – 15:23] They then discuss the po ..read more

In this episode, Southeastern’s London-based Global Head of Client Relations and Communications, Gwin Myerberg, Senior Analyst, John Woodman, and Junior Analyst, Alicia Cardale, have a broad-ranging discussion with Margaret Casely-Hayford CBE. A British lawyer by trade, Margaret is an expert on corporate governance and diversity and inclusion, with extensive insight and experience in her roles as corporate board executive, charitable trust board trustee, entrepreneur and a leader within the arts and education world in the UK. They discuss Margaret’s background and family history of activism [3 ..read more

In this episode, Senior Analyst Lowry Howell and CEO and Head of Research Ross Glotzbach interview Ynon Kreiz, CEO of Mattel. They discuss how Ynon went from a windsurfing instructor to media entrepreneur at Fox Kids Europe, Endemol and Maker Studios before becoming CEO at Mattel. [3:06-9:02] Next, Ynon discusses how Mattel has remained innovative through the current environment, how COVID-19 has impacted the toy industry, as well as Mattel’s near-term strategy and how Mattel has given back during this unprecedented time. [15:12-29:56] Ynon discusses core brands Barbie, Fisher Price and Hot Wh ..read more

In this episode, the Longleaf Partners Small-Cap Fund portfolio managers – Mason Hawkins, Staley Cates and Ross Glotzbach – discuss why we believe re-opening the Fund will benefit our long-term investors.   We closed the Fund to new investors in August 1997 to manage our size against any potential liquidity constraints that would limit the opportunity set and to avoid diluting our shareholders, given rising cash at that time. The Fund has remained closed to new investors for more than two decades over the course of various market conditions.   Mason, Staley and Ross discuss what make ..read more