The second episode of It’s Not Magic’s San Francisco Season features our hometown San Francisco Giants' very own Larry Baer, President and CEO, and Buster Posey, President of Baseball Operations.

In an exclusive conversation at Oracle Park, Sixth Street Co-Founder and Co-President David Stiepleman, Larry and Buster discuss the role of sports as a civic catalyst, highlighting how professional sports franchises can drive a positive impact on their communities. As pivotal forces behind the Giants’ success both on and off the field, Larry and Buster shared how the team has built a winning culture—uniting the organization from the dugout to operations to the team’s multi-generational fans and the broader San Francisco community.

Thank you to Larry and Buster for joining us for this special conversation. Let’s go Giants!

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The first episode of the San Francisco Season of It's Not Magic features a wide-ranging conversation between Sixth Street Co-President David Stiepleman and the 46th Mayor of San Francisco, Daniel Lurie.

Recorded at Sixth Street's San Francisco headquarters, the conversation delves into Mayor Lurie's vision for the city's future, focusing on public safety and behavioral health, fostering innovation, and keeping San Francisco "open for business." From "doing the little things well" to his commitment to hearing directly from community members and colleagues across the city, Mayor Lurie shared how he believes we can build momentum and advance San Francisco’s revitalization.

Thank you to Mayor Lurie for joining us for this insightful and timely discussion.

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On this episode of It’s Not Magic, Sixth Street Co-Founder and Co-President, David Stiepleman sat down with Kwame Owusu-Kesse, CEO of Harlem Children's Zone (HCZ), for a conversation on transformative business leadership and operational standards.

Kwame shares powerful insights into redefining HCZ as a "tax-exempt business" and emphasizes the importance of building a culture of excellence. From their transformative cradle-to-career model to innovative programs like Baby College, HCZ is working to create what Kwame calls the "vaccine to poverty."

Discover how intentional decision-making, transparent communication, and talent development drive success—not just for HCZ, but for any high-performing organization.

Thank you to Kwame for the important and timely discussion.

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What happens when you put two strangers from across the political divide together, not to talk about politics, but just to get to know each other as human beings? That’s what Dave Isay set out to answer.

From twenty-plus years of running StoryCorps, Dave has shown time and again the importance of recognizing the value of humanity in everyone regardless of their politics, religion, or background, and how the act of listening can provide new perspectives and transform lives in unexpected ways.

The StoryCorps team took that knowledge to form One Small Step, an initiative that bridges the gap between strangers with differing political views during a polarizing election season.

Dave came to San Francisco recently to speak to the Sixth Street team in a conversation with Sixth Street Co-President David Stiepleman about One Small Step and what he’s learned from a career of facilitating human conversations in an increasingly impersonal world.  

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During Westbound Equity Partners’ Annual Summit, Sixth Street Co-Founder and Co-President, David Stiepleman sat down with award-winning AI researcher and best-selling author Dr. Joy Buolamwini for a conversation about, in the words of her Algorithmic Justice League, getting the world to “remember that who codes matters, how we code matters, and that we can code a better future.”

On this episode of It’s Not Magic, you’ll hear how in her office at MIT, Dr. Buolamwini stumbled on the realization that nascent AI systems weren’t neutral and could prefer, and exclude, people based on how we look. We discuss Dr. Buolamwini’s journey from academia, to discovering ways to combine hard research and art, to becoming a Sundance documentary star, to walking the halls of power, to leading the movement for equitable and accountable AI. We also discuss how, if AI eliminates entry-level drudgery, we may be living in the “age of the last masters.”

We are proud to be a founding strategic partner of Westbound Equity Partners, an early-stage investment firm deploying financial and social capital to build great companies and close gaps for underrepresented talent. The conversation took place this summer at the Westbound Equity Partners Summit. Thank you to the Westbound Equity team for having us and to Dr. Buolamwini for the important and timely discussion.

Note: Westbound Equity Partners, formerly known as Concrete Rose Capital.

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Steve Kerr has won nine NBA championships as a member of three different dynasties: as Head Coach of the Golden State Warriors and as a player for the San Antonio Spurs and Chicago Bulls. 

Earlier this month at the Sixth Street Offsite, he was gracious enough to spend time with our team and share what he’s learned about leadership and life over the course of his career.

His conversation with Sixth Street’s David Stiepleman covered Steve’s approach to leadership, building strong cultures, and performing at the highest level of his craft, including what went through his head when Michael Jordan gave him the ball for the go-ahead shot in Game 6 of the 1997 NBA Finals.

He also walked us through how, after a career playing for legendary coaches like Phil Jackson and Gregg Popovich, he developed his own individual coaching philosophy.

Steve’s message to aspiring leaders was clear: be genuine.

“You can’t be anyone but yourself. Your players will see right through it.”

He has nine rings to show for it. 

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During Sixth Street’s annual MaSH CxO Summit, David Stiepleman recorded our latest episode with two longtime political experts who have run dozens of statewide and national campaigns for Republicans and Democrats. The conversation was in front of a live audience of CEOs and other leaders from across our growth equity portfolio, and we dove into current political, geopolitical, and macro trends in this election year affecting their markets and companies.

Our guests are John Anzalone, one of the nation’s top Democratic pollsters and strategists, and founder of Impact Research, and Phil Cox, known as a “Republican kingmaker,” long-time political operative and founder of GP3 Partners, one of the largest corporate communications and public affairs firms in the nation.

Phil and John helped us separate signal from noise in the upcoming presidential and down-ballot elections here in the U.S., as well as what company leaders and individuals should be watching for as the year unfolds. The conversation sheds light on key challenges, opportunities, and nuances that shape our political discourse and is a key listen for business leaders looking for insight into how to navigate the next nine months.

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Sixth Street Co-founder and Partner Vijay Mohan sat down in our San Francisco office with two accomplished executives in the professional soccer world for a conversation about the power of accessibility in sports and how it can influence communities.

On this episode of It’s Not Magic, Vijay guest hosted a discussion with Ed Foster-Simeon, President & CEO of the U.S. Soccer Foundation, and Danielle Slaton, a former USWNT player and co-founding member of Bay FC.

During the discussion, Danielle and Ed shared their career journeys at the highest level of soccer, the opportunities and challenges the game has presented both professionally and personally, and the type of legacy they hope to leave behind through their work. Although the conversation focused on soccer, it was clear that they were discussing something much bigger than just a game.

This conversation is sure to leave you feeling inspired and eagerly anticipating the rest of the season.

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Our Sixth Street team plus friends from across our Dallas network came together for a night of conversation to discuss business leadership, culture, and connections. We were honored to be joined by our great friends United States Air Force Major General (ret.), Rod Lewis, True Ventures EIR and Investor Clarence Bethea, and Westbound Equity Partners co-founder Sean Mendy in a discussion led by Sixth Street Founder and Co-President David Stiepleman. Our panelists discussed their remarkable career trajectories, how they set their teams up for success, and how to adapt skills and mindsets for the different seasons of a career.

Note: Westbound Equity Partners, formerly known as Concrete Rose Capital

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The San Antonio Spurs have 5 NBA championships, but some of their biggest wins and longest-lasting contributions have come off the court. Dr. Kara C. Allen, the first NBA team executive dedicated exclusively to impact, joins to talk about the Spurs’ commitment to ensuring that the community always remains a priority in everything they do.

We learn how values translate into action for a franchise that’s developing the next generation of the Spurs, on and off the court and among the fans, and Kara offers her perspective on the importance and power of sport to bring people together, especially during moments of tragedy.

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Aly Wagner, lead analyst for Fox’s broadcast of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup and co-chair of Bay FC, joins us to talk about her career progression from winning gold medals for the U.S. Women’s National Team to announcing the games to co-founding a National Women’s Soccer League expansion franchise.

We ask her about her trailblazing path as the first woman to announce a Men’s World Cup game, and how she’s applied the lessons she learned playing soccer at the highest level to her post-playing career both in the broadcast booth and now building a professional sports team with global growth ambitions. Aly’s fearlessness and lifelong love for the game of soccer drives it all on this episode of It’s Not Magic.

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Recorded live at the Sixth Street offsite in Austin, Texas. Former Golden State Warriors President, NBA Hall of Famer, and Bay FC board member Rick Welts joins our host David Stiepleman to talk about pioneering moments in the history of the NBA, including the inception of the Slam Dunk Contest and All-Star Weekend. Rick and David also discuss the key trends driving the future of sports.

This is a special episode to kick off Pride Month as Rick has not only been recognized for the innovative thinking he introduced to the NBA, but for his leadership in advocating for LGBTQ+ inclusion in sports by proudly embracing his own identity and encouraging others to do the same. His story about coming out on the front page of The New York Times in 2011 is worth tuning in for.

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San Francisco has a powerful asset in its fight against its well-publicized civic challenges: its caring community of doers.

Kanishka Cheng, founder and CEO of TogetherSF, is working to revitalize the city by reconnecting its residents with their government. She’s built an organization, with the backing of Sequoia’s Michael Moritz, that provides educational resources and spaces for open dialogue on how to solve the complex issues faced by one of America’s largest and most culturally significant cities.

Join a conversation with our host, David Stiepleman, and Kanishka about the intentional steps TogetherSF is taking to help San Francisco reach its full potential.

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