Forbes Iconoclast Summit Returns to New York, Bringing Together Wall Street’s Sharpest Minds
It’s undeniable, tectonic shifts are impacting global markets at an accelerating pace. As a result, investors need to be more nimble than ever, says Maneet Ahuja, Author and Senior Editor at Forbes.
On June 12th, 2023, the Forbes Iconoclast Summit, founded by Ahuja, will once again return to New York City, bringing together global titans of investing to debate the most critical issues shaping markets and the economy today.
Entering its second year, the Iconoclast Summit will offer invaluable access and transparency into an industry facing a multitude of stressors, ranging from the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and the related lender shock, ongoing geopolitical tensions, Federal Reserve tightening, and record consumer debt. The closure of three major banking entities has introduced significant risk, prompting global investors to question the implications of these events and how best to navigate them.
Ahuja shared that her hope for the inaugural summit was to bring a fresh Forbesian perspective to the vast landscape of financial summits, set against a backdrop of continued economic uncertainty. One of the standout conversations from the first event, she noted, was between Maverick Carter, CEO of the SpringHill Company, and Marc Rowan, CEO of Apollo Global Management. She described it as a particularly compelling pairing, since Carter built one of the most powerful athlete driven businesses in the world alongside LeBron James, growing it into a nearly billion dollar company, while Rowan leads the relatively quiet Apollo Global, one of the largest private equity firms with more than half a trillion dollars in assets under management. Despite coming from entirely different worlds with very different paths to success, Ahuja said the two had remarkable onstage chemistry, allowing her to bring their perspectives together through a conversation about leadership styles and the key lessons each had learned along the way.
From Wall Street Intern to Industry Insider
Maneet Ahuja began her career in the early 2000s on Wall Street as an intern at just seventeen years old. She earned the nickname Wall Street Maneet while working in the financial institutions department at Citigroup, all while completing her undergraduate degree simultaneously. As the financial crisis intensified, journalism became something of a safe haven for Ahuja, and she took a position at The Wall Street Journal, where she applied her analytical skills as a junior member of the money and investing team. Her stories soon caught the attention of CNBC through a partnership between the two media brands in the pre-News Corp era, ultimately leading to her recruitment by the network in early 2008.
A few months after joining CNBC, Ahuja landed her big break. Her first major story involved working with hedge fund manager David Einhorn of Greenlight Capital on his short thesis regarding Lehman Brothers during the financial crisis. From there, she began building relationships with the world’s top hedge funds, eventually co-creating Delivering Alpha, CNBC’s marquee investor summit developed in partnership with Institutional Investor.
Today, Wall Street Maneet serves as Senior Editor at Forbes and holds the distinct honor of being the only person on the editorial team to have been featured on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list. As a longtime member of the Forbes family and published author of Alpha Masters: Unlocking the Genius of the World’s Top Hedge Funds, Ahuja has firmly established herself as an industry insider whose work continues to drive the Iconoclast Summit’s success.
Watching the Trends That Shape Tomorrow
For Ahuja, tracking trends and understanding how markets evolve through each new cycle, or crisis, is simply part of the job. She sees family offices steadily growing their influence, directing significant capital toward cutting edge technologies in biotech and research, alongside innovative solutions to some of the world’s most persistent challenges, including climate change and poverty.
Much like her instinct for market trends, Ahuja also has a sharp eye for the next generation of industry leaders as part of the team that edits Forbes’ 30 Under 30 Finance list. Former 30 Under 30 alum Ryan Israel, named Chief Investment Officer of Pershing Square last summer, is considered by Ahuja to be a genuine rising star in the industry. She also points to twenty six year old Kate Dunbar, Macro Research Lead at Bridgewater, as someone clearly on the rise.
Ahuja reflected that just a couple of years ago, it was difficult to find senior ranking women in boardrooms across corporate America, and especially on Wall Street. She believes that if there’s been any silver lining to emerge from the current economic environment and everything the industry has weathered, including the Me Too movement, it’s that women are finally beginning to step into their power in greater numbers.
A Platform for Rising Voices
One of Ahuja’s core goals is to bring the most prominent women on Wall Street into the Iconoclast conversation. At the first annual summit, keynote speakers were nearly evenly split between men and women. For Iconoclast 2023, Ahuja is especially excited to spotlight her recent cover story for Forbes’ annual Money Issue, featuring Mellody Hobson, President and Co-CEO of Ariel Investments, as one of the summit’s main keynote speakers. Beyond her role at Ariel, Hobson holds the distinct title of being the only Black female chair of a Fortune 500 company in the country, serving as chair of Starbucks.
Impactful newsmakers slated for Iconoclast 2023 include Ray Dalio, founder of Bridgewater Associates, the world’s largest hedge fund. Additional speakers include Boaz Weinstein, founder and Chief Investment Officer of Saba Capital Management, global economist and Baroness Dambisa Moyo, and Greg Fleming, President and CEO of Rockefeller Capital Management.
Forbes Iconoclast has plans to expand into EMEA this fall, continuing its mission to shine a light on the world’s institutional investors, pension funds, family offices, and endowments through a comprehensive approach. Both Ahuja and Forbes remain committed to elevating the conversation as they take a deeper look into the shifting economic landscape of 2023.
