Welcome to FinTech TV.
I'm Memory Blair.
Artificial intelligence is already transforming private markets and nowhere faster than in private credit, and lenders are using artificial intelligence to automate borrower diligence as well as speed up underwriting and also generate financial memos in minutes, not days.
Now borrowers are streamlining capital raises and reporting with AI tools, but general purpose AI models aren't enough.
Financial analysis demands precision, not guesswork.
Well, joining me to talk about the future of AI and finance as well as social capital, is Alan Guarino, vice chairman at Korn Fair.
Well, Alan, great to have you back on.
Thank you so much for joining me.
Well, first and foremost, we know that AI has been a hot investment theme in 2025, when it comes to AI and private credit.
What's going on here?
Well, what's going on here is what's going on here.
Except 25 years ago.
So the reason I point this out, we're on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.
There's a lot happening, but it's a very different place than it was 20 years ago.
A lot less people, a lot more technology.
Those people, by the way, are in other jobs now, higher order, different work, right?
So while the way that the work gets done changed, there was still a career opportunity and people moved along.
Technology was definitely an enabler.
I'd like to be.
Optimistic around AI and think the same.
So when we talk about private credit, it's right now a bilateral market.
It's highly bespoke.
It is very opaque, and those are all analogous with what existed in the equities markets in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
And then as a result, fast forward, we were able to through various technology enhancements and some regulatory changes, and regulation is really important when we talk about AI.
Um, create an environment where we could trade cheaper and faster and theoretically better, and that was ultimately good for shareholders and that's the whole journey that equities were on.
Well, now today private credit.
It's, it's very difficult because you know when it comes to equities, it's a QSip.
OK.
There's, you know, an easily identifiable way to electronically measure and link a stock to a buyer, but with thousands and thousands of different types of private credit agreements and borrowers may very well be similar to the buyers of a stock.
Those borrowers have different yield desires, so as a result, it's hard electronically to match that.
AI is going to change it.
It's going to make it easier.
Well Alan, let's talk about how AI is going to change the future of finance.
So you talk about private credit and of course we're here at the New York Stock Exchange.
If we look at photos of this trading for decades ago, we know that it.
With a pack trading for and we still have the DMM model when it comes to the New York Stock Exchange and that is what sets it apart from other exchanges out there.
But in terms of how AI is going to affect the future of labor, in particular in finance, what do you expect to see?
Well, I wish I had the answer because that is absolutely the thing that everyone needs to understand because the ramifications are huge.
So What I've been saying is, OK, this is not an asteroid, OK, but it's big and it's big because the potential for technology for the first time.
To replace The edge that people have always brought, which is the ability to theoretically the ability to think, not at current levels of AI, but as you get into AJI, right, and so before.
This technology enhancements helped people be more productive.
AI today helps people be more productive, but it couldn't fully replace a person when it came to judgment, intuition, and so on.
I don't think we're close to that yet.
If you want to get into the idea of quantum down the line, it could be really scary, but I think in the near term it's all about companies having Organizational approaches to partnering people with AI and Teaching folks how to use AI just like we taught folks how to use other technology in the past to make them more productive, so not replacing them but making them more productive and making their jobs easier, and by the way, allowing them to potentially do higher order work.
So that's where we are today.
It's going to happen faster than other technological advancements have taken to get to full adoption.
I think it's going to be a lot faster and so regulation is important too.
On the other hand, regulation disrupts free markets, right?
And so it's got to be smart regulation and it has to be enforceable regulation and it's daunting, but it's it's here and I'm optimistic that talent is still going to rule and I like to say that you know EI emotional intelligence is more important now with AI. than it has ever been.
Yeah, and we have to think about the fact that leadership is key when we're talking about every single company that's listed here at the New York Stock Exchange because leadership trickles down to management, which does seep into the corporate culture and there is this conversation around artificial. how it's going to affect all of us whether we work in healthcare, entertainment, finance.
Despite the industry, we know that artificial intelligence is going to change the way that all of us work.
So how important is social capital when it comes to talent and leadership?
Social capital, talent, leadership, that's the ultimate combination, I think that's going to keep.
The world human, right, and you know AI is not going to become human.
There are things we have that AI is not going to replicate.
Leadership is what we do at Korn Ferry, and yes, we fill jobs, but a massive amount of our work with thousands of people around the world is helping leaders run their companies better.
What I've learned is that when you don't have a great leader, as an employee, clearly you're deeply challenged because the leader creates the environment, but I think I've come up with a secret sauce.
I'll call it a formula for success.
If I can't.
Through our consulting, make every leader a great leader, then I can help people.
Do well in tough environments and that is early career, mid career, and peak career and the way you do well is you deploy two.
Key components, what I call the 5 cues, five qualities passion, resilience, persistence, stamina, and courage.
Those are muscles you can build.
You had asked me earlier, you know, EI is something you can build.
Yes, you can work on it and you can, and that will get you so far.
So as you're encountering difficult situations, the ultimate, let's say a soldier in combat, those 5 cues. are critical, right?
Clearly the work environment is not that threatening, but there are difficult work environments and you will be frustrated and you will be unhappy with your leader.
But if you employ those 5 cus, you'll persist and you'll get through it and you won't have to work for that person for your entire life.
So those 5 cues are critical if you do that in your organization and your objective is to achieve this level of success, however you measure success.
They will get you here.
Social capital, which you asked about, is the other component.
That's the people around you, the network, the mentors, the friends that set you straight when you're going down the wrong road.
Those human beings that are part of the resources that give you leverage in moving towards your greatness objective are critical as well.
So the 5 Qs plus social capital.
That's the formula for success.
That's how you achieve greatness.
And Alan, finally, before I let you go, I do want to hear about how different generations are actually approaching the workplace because we know that there's a lot more awareness when it comes to corporate culture, especially after the pandemic.
So for people out there who might not be in their ideal job, their ideal workplace, what is your advice for them based on those components for your secret sauce?
Sure, well, the good news is there are To make it simple, 3 types of companies.
There are companies that are fully remote.
There are companies that are hybrid, and there are companies that are office centric, which is code for at least 4 days, maybe 5, as in return to office, right?
So that's the landscape.
You get to vote with your feet because you're an employee and no one can make you work at their company.
So my advice is simple.
Work in an organization that has the work environment that suits you.
It's not rocket science.
And here's what's exciting about this.
Well, for some people it's frustrating because they want to be in a particular industry and that industry is pushing hard for full return to office.
I want to be in that industry.
I want to do that kind of job, but the kind of company I'd have to work for is 5 days a week in the office.
It's not fair. it's fair or not, it's reality.
So if you find that 10% of the companies in that industry that have a hybrid model or a fully remote model, or you're going to have to make a career pivot because you can't force the world to do what you want.
You have to kind of work under the terms that the market's giving you, but you can choose.
So that's the first thing I want to remind people that you're not.
You're not stuck now.
Is it easy to change jobs?
No, but people do it every day and we move thousands of people every day, so it can't happen.
So that's my first advice is, you know, don't fight the system.
Leverage the opportunities that the market is giving you and go find a place where you're going to be happy that provides you the work, the work-life dynamic that you're out for.
And by the way, there are people that are in remote only companies who hate it and they're looking for that place where they can go 5 days a week and have human connection and sit across.
The desk who somebody is and so they'll have to leave that fully remote company to go find what they're looking for.
Well, Alan, at the end of the day we are humans, so I think it's very important to know where you stand and what values are important to you, especially when you're considering different work environments.
Absolutely you vote with your feet, you're in charge.
And by the way, leaders have to realize that too.
Leaders have to create environments that take pressure out of the system that make people want to come to work, want to come to work with them, lift those people up.
Empathy, empathy, empathy.
There's enough pressure created by the system.
The boss does not need to infuse more pressure into absolutely, Alan.
In terms of uncertainty, we know that there's a lot of volatility when we're talking about the markets, not to mention the world.
So this is important.
Thank you so much for joining me as always and thank you for sharing your nuggets of wisdom.
Thank you.
I appreciate it.
It's great to be here on FinTech and the New York Stock Exchange where our company is listed.
We'll come back soon.
Thank you.
