Tom Ryan, Founder & CEO, ICR – New Year, New Outlook: Welcome to the Arena's 2024 Year-End Wrap-Up
01/01/25 • 9 min
Summary:
This year, news cycles were dominated by American election coverage, groundbreaking advancements in AI, and distressing updates on global conflicts. After a year marked by uncertainty on so many fronts, will 2025 see a leveling out of the macroeconomic landscape, or persistent volatility? On this brief, end-of-year episode, Tom Ryan, founder and CEO of ICR, and host of Welcome to the Arena reflects on the key market trends of 2024 and explores the potential economic shifts that could define the year ahead.
Happy new year from everyone at ICR and Welcome to the Arena. Watch out for new episodes and more incredible stories from our guests in 2025.
Links:
Feedback:
If you have questions about the show, or have a topic in mind you'd like discussed in future episodes, email our producer, [email protected].
Summary:
This year, news cycles were dominated by American election coverage, groundbreaking advancements in AI, and distressing updates on global conflicts. After a year marked by uncertainty on so many fronts, will 2025 see a leveling out of the macroeconomic landscape, or persistent volatility? On this brief, end-of-year episode, Tom Ryan, founder and CEO of ICR, and host of Welcome to the Arena reflects on the key market trends of 2024 and explores the potential economic shifts that could define the year ahead.
Happy new year from everyone at ICR and Welcome to the Arena. Watch out for new episodes and more incredible stories from our guests in 2025.
Links:
Feedback:
If you have questions about the show, or have a topic in mind you'd like discussed in future episodes, email our producer, [email protected].
Previous Episode
Michael Saylor, Executive Chairman, MicroStrategy – The Bitcoin Buy-in: Embracing a New Paradigm of Digital Capital
Summary:
With a new, crypto-friendly administration incoming, 2025 may be the year we see Bitcoin integrate more fully into mainstream finance in America and globally. Though volatile, and with an uncertain future that will heavily depend on how macroeconomic conditions and regulatory policies play out across the year, there's reason to believe that Bitcoin could soon be more prominent than ever. Today's guest is here to tell us why.
Michael Saylor is the Executive Chairman and co-founder of business intelligence company MicroStrategy (Nasdaq: MSTR), and a leading advocate of Bitcoin. MicroStrategy considers itself to be the world's first Bitcoin Company, and under Michael's leadership have adopted a unique Bitcoin acquisition strategy with approximately $42 billion in Bitcoin held to date.
Michael will also be the keynote speaker in ICR's 27th annual conference, held in Orlando, Florida in January 2025.
In this episode, Michael describes his journey from skeptic to Bitcoin maximalist, emphasizes the importance of understanding Bitcoin as a digital capital asset, and discusses its potential to disrupt traditional valuation methodologies in finance.
Highlights:
- Michael recommends resources for Bitcoin beginners (2:37)
- Why fear of progress holds us back (3:55)
- Michael points out the clues suggesting Bitcoin is here to stay (7:11)
- What USD maximalists get wrong (13:15)
- How we can understand the potential of Bitcoin through an engineering lens (16:25)
- Why valuation methodologies need to adapt to include Bitcoin (18:48)
- How Bitcoin outperforms traditional investments (28:09)
- Why supportive regulatory environment is crucial for Bitcoin's growth (30:54)
- Michael explains why the current capital market structure favors a select few (34:59)
- Why sound money is critical for societal progress (39:00)
Links:
Book: The Bitcoin Standard by Saifedean Ammous
Feedback:
If you have questions about the show, or have a topic in mind you'd like discussed in future episodes, email our producer, [email protected].
Next Episode
Julie Masino, President & CEO, Cracker Barrel – Leveraging Legacy: Fusing tradition with transformation to drive growth
Summary:
What does it take to revitalize a legacy brand, while maintaining its identity? By balancing tradition and transformation, any company can breathe new life into its business and consistently evolve to meet the changing expectations of customers and employees alike.
Today's guest is Julie Masino. Julie is President and CEO of Cracker Barrel, a role she took on just over a year ago in November of 2023. Since then, she's led the company with a focus on innovation and growth drawing on her over 30 years of experience in the restaurant and retail industries. Previously, Julie served President of International at Taco Bell and before that, President of North America. She's also held senior leadership positions at Sprinkles Cupcakes, Mattel, Starbucks, and began her career at iconic brands like Godiva, Coach, J. Crew, and Macy's.
In this episode, Julie shares her vision for the brand and the five-pillar transformation strategy she is implementing aimed at enhancing market share, guest experience, and profitability.
Highlights:
- Julie explains the opportunity she saw for Cracker Barrel (2:58)
- Julie's fiver pillar strategy for Cracker Barrel's transformation (4:25)
- Why dinner remains a key area for increasing market share (9:23)
- What updates are being made to Cracker Barrel's pricing strategy? (12:39)
- Improving facilities and team satisfaction (15:44)
- Julie highlights the metrics correlated with sales growth (18:48)
- Digital and off-premises growth (23:00)
- How Cracker Barrel is engaging younger consumers (27:05)
Links:
Feedback:
If you have questions about the show, or have a topic in mind you'd like discussed in future episodes, email our producer, [email protected].
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