Money Maze Podcast

Sport is one the world’s most powerful convening forces, but the way fans connect and engage is evolving, technology is offering new experiences and the investing world increasingly wants a piece of the action. 
One of the powerful new players, is SURJ, Saudi Arabia’s sports investment arm, and leading their team is Danny Townsend, CEO, whose career has moved from professional football, to leading sports and entertainment businesses. We also welcome a co-interviewer, a titan of the sports commentary world, John Inverdale. 
In today’s discussion, Danny explains how they weigh the state of play. Priorities, opportunities, risks, trends, & forces in sport. He discusses the influence of technology, how the fan experience is changing and why much of it is AI proof. He discusses which sports might be ripe for change, where barriers to evolution lie, and how Saudi’s long term vision blends investment and societal ambitions.
‍The Money Maze Podcast is kindly sponsored by J.P. Morgan Asset Management, IFM Investors, World Gold Council and LSEG.
During the episode we cite J.P. Morgan Asset Management as Europe’s leading active ETF provider by assets under management. This is sourced from J.P. Morgan Asset management and Bloomberg, data as of 30 March 2026.

Some lives trace the currents of history; a childhood in Wales, growing up in the shadow of parents who had escaped Nazi Germany, academic distinction at Oxford and Wharton, followed by a career that moved from journalism to the apex of Silicon Valley venture capital and a philanthropic record that speaks quietly, but profoundly. 
In this episode, we also welcome co-interviewer, Sandra Robertson, former guest and previous CIO at Oxford University Endowment Management. 
In this fascinating conversation Michael starts by discussing what “makes a brilliant entrepreneur”, before reflecting on investing in Stripe, why the US has such an edge in VC, and on weighing, vision valuation and imagination. 
He discusses allocating his own personal capital and his priorities, and then on his philanthropy and the process around identifying beneficiaries and assessing the impact of gifts made. 
Then we turn to Ausländer, where he fuses pathos and humour, and has created a brilliant story of his family’s destruction and part survival, and raised vital questions around antisemitism and where the storm clouds are gathering.
Ausländer by Michael Moritz is published in the UK by Profile Books

You can also find the book here.
‍The Money Maze Podcast is kindly sponsored by Schroders, IFM Investors, World Gold Council and LSEG.

Moreover, if executed well, it offers the potential to act with a long-term horizon as true asset owners, and to unlock investment opportunities that individual funds might struggle to access alone. 
Today in the UK, one of the most consequential organisations in UK pensions, is Border to Coast. They sit at the centre of one of the most significant shifts in UK institutional investing in a generation, and as of April 2026, will oversee nearly £120bn of local authority assets.   
Rachel Elwell explains their investment approach, the motivation behind the merged pools and the advantages scale offers. Specifically, she discusses insourcing versus outsourcing, passive v active, where and why, UK v global, and the role of private assets, fees, as well as why Leeds is such a great place to live and work. 
The Money Maze Podcast is kindly sponsored by Schroders, IFM Investors, World Gold Council and LSEG.

We have had some extremely distinguished guests over the last 6 years, but we haven’t secured one who combines, a Rhodes Scholar, US Army Colonel, Counter terrorism expert, leading the US’s cyber intelligence defence agency, and a lecturer at Oxford and beyond, whilst also having worked at Morgan Stanley, and now CEO at RSAC. 
Jen plots a journey from Oxford to Westpoint, from Colonel of the US’s first Cyber Battalion to the Whitehouse, working under Condoleezza Rice and then chosen by President Biden to create CISA, The US’s first cyber defense agency.
In a whirlwind, world-wide tour, Jen plots the risks, defines the adversaries, reflects on intelligence, cooperation, and the real and present cyber risks to industries.
She offers advice to boards, the existential risks for businesses who think this is just a “technology issue” and leaves us with a stark observation. If the cost of annual cybercrimes were aggregated into one number, it would be equivalent in GDP terms to being the third largest economy in the world!
The Money Maze Podcast is kindly sponsored by Schroders, IFM Investors, World Gold Council and LSEG.
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A first! For the first time since our inception 6 years ago, we welcome back a guest for their third visit. General David Petraeus, once described by Simon Sebag Montefiore as the ultimate soldier-scholar, is Chairman of the KKR Global Institute. 
Prior to this, David had a distinguished US military career and was the CIA Director during the Obama administration. 
He assesses the heat map of geopolitical and military tensions which is glowing red. Starting with the Indo-Pacific he assesses President Xi’s removal of his top Generals, what this might mean, and why peace must prevail despite the undercurrent of tensions.
Having returned recently from Ukraine, he then gives some fresh perspectives which challenge stale narratives and describes the immense scale of loss of Russian lives and the technological prowess of Ukraine manufacturing and know-how.
He then weights Iran’s options; the US’s potential moves and the perspective of other Middle Eastern nations.  Finally he offers advice for leaders in an environment where “just in time” has morphed into “just in case”.
The Money Maze Podcast is kindly sponsored by Schroders, IFM Investors, World Gold Council and LSEG.
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