The summer season is finally here, bringing long weekends, beach days and a welcome chance to make progress on the books that have been sitting on your nightstand. To help build your reading list, we asked dealmakers to share the books that have shaped the way they invest, lead and think. In the first installment of our two-part summer reading series, we’re spotlighting recommendations on finance, economics, AI, geopolitics, innovation and corporate strategy.
Tune in tomorrow for The Human Side of Dealmaking: Dealmakers Share the Books That Shaped Their Leadership and Perspective.
Michelle Fang, Managing Director, Marketing & Investor Relations at S3 Capital:
Co-Intelligence by Ethan Mollick
“A constructive perspective on embracing AI as partner rather than foe.”
Bad Blood by John Carreyrou
“A truly fascinating account of the Theranos failure covering ambition, deception, and unexpectedly complicit leadership.”
Mark Hantho, Executive Chairman at Bow River Capital
The Money Trap by Alok Sama.
“For those who want to know the details of the recent technology bubble, Softbank and Sama had a front row seat; the book offers wonderful perspective on the brilliance of Softbank CEO Masayoshi Son and the decisions that were made in a buoyant time. I found the book particularly interesting as Softbank has been my client for many years; it was incredibly interesting to read the perspective of Sama, who was Softbank’s key decision maker.”
Ignacio Jayanti, CEO of Corsair Capital
Lords of Finance by Liaquat Ahamed
“Ahamed skillfully brings to life and shines a light on the world’s most important functionaries in the interwar period during a time of excess and calamity, pre and post the 1929 crash. Central bankers, led by Kevin Warsh, may be tested like never since the late 1920’s – that’s why it’s a worthwhile re-read.”
1873: The Rothschilds, the First Great Depression and the Making of the Modern World by Liaquat Ahamed
“Once again, Ahamed picks a pivotal and poorly understood period in modern economic and political history to shine a light on issues ranging from new technology and its buildout (the railroads), capital allocation and the metastasized growth of massive inequality during a period of seeming growth and wealth creation driven by new technologies and corporate consolidation. Food for thought.”
Talent by Anish Batlaw and Ram Charan
“Batlaw and Charan use the combination of academic case study method and practitioner experience to inform and educate business owners and operators about the importance of talent and how it is approached in a variety of business models and situations, and its clear criticality to creating shareholder value – a lot of common sense, business insights, and a call to focus on execution, not concepts.”
Defending Taiwan: A Strategy to Prevent War With China by Eyck Freymann
“One of the three dominant geo-political theaters today, the China-Taiwan conflict has the potential to change the world as we know it. Freymann posits that leveraging a combination of deterrents is the way to avoid military conflict. A thoughtful treatise on its subject, but also stimulates the reader to think about using multiple factors to solve real world problems, and how to think about combining multiple approaches to accomplish a single objective.”
Shant Mardirossian, Managing Director, Chief Operating Officer and Head of Strategic Initiatives at Littlejohn & Co.
Good to Great by Jim Collins
Dinesh Vasandani, Managing Director at MiddleGround Capital
Winning Moves by Dan Cremons
“I recently read Winning Moves, which emphasizes being intentional about the few decisions that drive outcomes—where to play and how to win, rather than pursuing incremental initiatives. That aligns closely with my approach to private equity: value creation typically comes from a small number of high-impact decisions, where clarity and discipline in decision-making are critical.”
Marilyn Yang, Managing Director at Branford Castle Partners
Loonshots: How to Nurture the Crazy Ideas That Win Wars, Cure Diseases, and Transform Industries by Safi Bahcall
“Loonshots explores why breakthrough ideas succeed or fail inside organizations and how leaders can create environments where innovation flourishes without sacrificing operational excellence. There are also many stories within about remarkable inventions and achievements that wouldn’t have been possible without the perfect mix of timing, resilience, and the right people being in the right place to allow the ideas to flourish.”
The Culting of Brands: Turn Your Customers into True Believers by Douglas Atkin
“While this book is now over 20 years old, it’s still very much relevant in today’s marketing landscape and provides a useful framework for understanding why certain companies command outsized customer loyalty, pricing power, and resilience that often prove difficult for competitors to replicate.”
