A Managing Partner at Andreesen Horowitz, one of Silicon Valley’s most influential venture capital firms, Chris Lyons also runs the company’s Cultural Leadership Fund, the first consisting of 100% African American limited partners.

To date, CLF has invested in over 65 startups at the intersection of culture and innovation, and across multiple industries including consumer, enterprise, crypto, and fintech. Lyons also created Silicon Valley’s first “influencer network,” establishing numerous strategic partnerships between emerging technology companies and seasoned athletes, entertainers, musicians, and corporate executives. In 2019, he was named one of Fast Company’s Most Creative People.

But Lyons has a very atypical Silicon Valley success story.

He started his music business career as a sound engineer for Grammy-winning producer Jermaine Dupri, and initially went out to Silicon Valley for what he assumed would be a short trip. But in 2013, Lyons landed a position as Chief of Staff to Ben Horowitz, the Andreesen Horowitz co-founder, where his smarts, hustle, and well-developed network accelerated his rise through the ranks.

In this episode of “Out of Office,” Lyons talks to Rich and Gianni about how invaluable his music business background has been to his Silicon Valley success; the seeds of his friendship with Rich and KD; how he ended up founding Italian wine brand, Lyons Wine; and his passion for diversifying the ranks of tech entrepreneurs and VC professionals.

Jimmy Iovine’s impact on modern music, the media business, and technology can’t be understated.

From his modest origins in Brooklyn, he worked his way up to legendary status as a music producer, working with artists like Bruce Springsteen and John Lennon, then co-founding Interscope Records, where he nurtured artists like Tupac Shakur and Eminem. Iovine would go on to partner with Dr. Dre on Beats by Dre, which evolved into Beats Electronics, which was famously sold to Apple for $3 billion in 2014.

In this episode of “Out of Office,” Iovine talks about his first music job as a janitor in a recording studio, the time Steve Jobs diagrammed the hardware business for him on a dinner table, his admiration for former Disney exec Bob Iger, and why the program he and Dr. Dre are launching is poised to empower under-served high school students by emphasizing the importance of both technology and design. 

This conversation was recorded live for a Boardroom University event on March 10, 2021, and co-sponsored by USC Annenberg and USC Iovine and Young Academy.

Ray McGuire, former Vice Chairman of Citigroup, is a trailblazing African-American Investment Banker who’s currently running as a democratic candidate for mayor of New York City.

As an advisor to global corporations and boards, McGuire has worked on an estimated $600 billion in total deals, including Time Warner’s $108 billion merger with AT&T in 2018. Though McGuire grew up in a single-parent household in Dayton, Ohio, his smarts, work ethic, and vision for his future landed him at Harvard, where he earned multiple degrees. But last year, McGuire, a committed philanthropist, stepped down from his position at Citigroup to enter the brutal arena of New York City politics. 

His campaign has emphasized his unique qualifications to lead the city at this critical time: “New York is in a financial crisis that has exploded into a whole bunch of crises — educational, health and criminal justice. If there is a moment in history where my skill set can help lead, this is it.”

In this episode of “Boardroom: Out of Office,” McGuire shares with Rich and Gianni his four Ps for success: “prayer, preparation, performance and paranoia”; how he navigated his path as a trailblazing African American banker in the ‘80s and ‘90s on Wall Street; his pride in his happily-blended family, including stepson Cole Anthony, rookie point guard for the Orlando Magic; and his vision for leading New York City into a brighter future.

Dan Porter and Zack Wiener are co-founders of Overtime, the multi-platform digital sports channel that launched in 2016, then blew up in 2017 when, among other highlights, it posted a block from then-high school star Zion Williamson.

The Overtime website describes its mission as building the “sports network for the next generation of fans,” but Porter has also revealed the company’s ambition to be the biggest global sports network on the planet. Currently, Overtime content has 14 billion views a year, and a global audience of 45 million across all platforms. But in its most audacious effort, the multimedia digital sports juggernaut just announced a new venture that may disrupt the landscape of NCAA basketball. They launched Overtime Elite, a professional basketball league for high school prospects that will pay six-figure salaries, offer equity in the league, and provide college scholarships for players who ultimately opt out of pursuing a career in the NBA.

Porter and Wiener talk to Rich and Gianni on “Boardroom: Out of Office” about the motivations behind launching Overtime Elite, the advice that KD gave them that helped hone the OTE concept, and what it’s like for the unique co-founder duo (Porter is in his 50s, Wiener is in his 20s) to combine their generationally-distinct perspectives, experience and networks in forming a dynamic digital brand with global ambitions.

This week on “The ETCs,” KD and Eddie talk to iconic designer, founder of Fear of God, and newly-minted head of Adidas basketball Jerry Lorenzo. Jerry discusses the origins of Fear of God, “style” vs. fashion, his inspirations for the brand, how sports is always at the roots of anything he does, his new partnership with Adidas, and the idea of having signature athletes signed to Fear of God athletics.

Jerry and KD reminisce on KD’s legendary dagger in the 2017 NBA Finals, the NBA’s new runway culture, and what it means to have “natural” style vs. trying too hard. Finally, Jerry shares a look into the close relationship he had with Nipsey Hussle and much, much more.

This week, KD and Eddie are joined on “The ETCs” by famed writer, director, and producer Rick Famuyiwa, known for his work on movies and TV series like The Wood, Brown Sugar, Dope, The Chi, and The Mandalorian.

Rick, KD and Eddie talk about Rick’s journey from a high school hoops star to a walk-on at USC and all the way to Hollywood as a filmmaker. They also discuss Rick’s forthcoming Magic Johnson documentary, the difference in play styles between basketball in the 80s and basketball now, the idea of the lack of animosity in today’s game, and the role someone like Stacy from The Wood plays in real-life neighborhoods.

Plus, Kevin tries to get Rick to jump ship from his beloved Lakers to the Brooklyn Nets bandwagon and much, much more.

This week KD and Eddie are joined by legendary NBA reporter Shams Charania from The Athletic and Stadium. The guys talk with Shams about what he’s doing away from basketball, including the shows he’s bingeing, the music he’s listening to and how often he gets to go hoop. Plus, Shams breaks a little news, and KD discusses trash talking on the court and how Kevin Garnett’s trash talking legacy left its imprint on the league for years to come.

Back from hiatus, KD and Eddie are joined by the newest member of the Boardroom family, Pierce Simpson, and Fox Sports’ Kameron Hay. They talk the Super Bowl, The Weekend’s halftime show, and Kevin’s favorite player Calvin Johnson making the hall of fame. Then they pivot to music and discuss Lil Durk’s rise to superstardom, the artists they’re looking out for in 2021, and of course the NBA’s COVID protocols and Shams Charania’s very, very in depth reporting and much, much more.