In this episode of Capital for Good, we speak with Dan Doctoroff, the chairman and CEO of Sidewalk Labs, and one of the country's great civic leaders and visionaries.
Before launching Sidewalk Labs, Alphabet's pioneering urban innovation company that provides products and services that integrate smart design with cutting edge technology to radically improve urban life, Doctoroff was president and chief executive officer of Bloomberg L.P., the leading provider of news and information to the global financial community.
Prior to joining Bloomberg L.P., Doctoroff served as Deputy Mayor for Economic Development and Rebuilding for the City of New York. With Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, he led the city's dramatic economic resurgence after 9/11, spearheading the effort to reverse New York's fiscal crisis through a comprehensive five-borough economic development strategy. In that role, Doctoroff oversaw the creation of PlaNYC, New York's pathbreaking sustainability plan. His memoir-manifesto, Greater than Ever: New York's Big Comeback, chronicles his experience in City Hall.
Before joining the Bloomberg Administration, Doctoroff was managing partner of the private equity investment firm Oak Hill Capital Partners. While at Oak Hill, Doctoroff founded NYC2012, the organization that spearheaded efforts to bring the Olympic Games to New York City.
In this conversation, we explore "crisis as catalyst," how New York's leaders re-imagined and rebuilt the city in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks with strong management and execution, resourceful innovation ("doing more with less"), and a belief that "the impossible is possible." Doctoroff explains that these elements are essential for recovery today, along with a commitment to "inclusive growth." Accordingly, we explore some of the projects and innovations that Doctoroff is pursuing at Sidewalk Labs, including those that promote more sustainable, affordable, and accessible mobility; energy efficiency; housing design and fabrication; and health care, to name a few. We also discuss the critical issue of trust, such how to earn the trust of historically marginalized communities that commitments to inclusive growth are real, and how to regain the public's trust that companies can develop and manage technologies responsibly. Doctoroff shares his hope and optimism that, with strong leadership, New York City will emerge stronger from this crisis, precisely because hope and optimism are in New Yorkers' DNA.
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