• I schmoozed with CEOs, founders, and investors at Business Insider's The Long Play in New York.
• Attendees heard from speakers ranging from Barry Diller to Ashley Graham — and spent a whole lot of time networking.
• Some attendees tried pitching deals. Others debated the future of work.

The New York venue was bustling with executives, some of whom governed companies with thousands of employees.

I met my first one within seconds of walking in.

On Thursday, I attended Business Insider's The Long Play event at Perelman Performing Arts Center. (Full disclosure: Business Insider is my employer, and you're probably reading this on its website.) I entered the event with a mission: to chat, network, and maybe learn a thing or two about my own career.

Mingling among the crowd, I chatted with the founders of AI startups and communications chiefs. They debated remote work, asked about management styles, and discussed working together. "I've got to work on my elevator pitch," one CEO told me.

I sat down for lunch with some attendees to discuss a question: Is workplace loyalty dead? Most said no, or that it was more complicated. One brave soul, the content creator Colin Rocker, said yes.

"I still think it's dead," he told me after the lunch chat. "But, I will say, I got more context that it's not necessarily working across the org chart."

He added: "That hurts managers, too."

Others at our table traded mentorship techniques and thoughts on leading an office. Nitzan Shapira said that, while working at Intel and Cisco, meetings were crucial. He has more flexibility while leading his AI startup, Harmony. "I'm kind of allergic to meetings," he said.

Munching on my plate of salmon, salad, and a caprese sandwich, I continued to chat with the crowd. Then came the dimming of the lights and the voice on the loudspeaker. The interviews were about to begin.

A who's who of the audience

You can tell a lot about the crowd from when people raise their hand — and when they don't.

I learned, for example, that much of the crowd had played "Grand Theft Auto." What better way to blow off some steam after a career-building conference than with some virtual vice? The attendees didn't consider themselves avid gamers, though; only a few hands shot up when Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick asked.

There were also a handful of investors in the crowd. Supermodel Ashley Graham asked for a show of hands, and I spotted three. During one of the breaks between talks, I talked shop with yet another venture capitalist.

As for GLP-1s, the crowd was less eager. Senior correspondent Melia Robinson asked while interviewing Ro CEO Zach Reitano, and she got only a few raised hands. (I bet, if we swapped the public hand-raising for a blind survey, that number would go up.)

The attendees around me were rapt. My seatmate, who worked for an AI startup, took notes with pen and paper. I saw some others jotting down learnings in the Notes app on their phones.

WeWork CEO John Santora described upping the once-freewheeling company's dress code. When he got there, Santora spotted pajamas and shorts; he now spots some salespeople in sport coats.

It prompted me to look around and check out what the audience was wearing. There were lots of blazers, button-ups, and slacks. A handful went more casual with their denim jackets and colorful blouses.

There were belly laughs, like when my talented colleague Sarah Needleman flubbed "how do you define success" with "how do you define sex" while interviewing Zelnick. He chuckled; the crowd joined in, and it bonded the audience.

And there were sobering moments, like when Noa Argamani described her drive to fund Israeli startups after spending 246 days in Hamas captivity.

The list goes on: There were chats with media mogul Barry Diller, banking entrepreneur Cristina Junqueira, and Nadia Carlsten, the CEO of the sneaker-company-turned-AI-infrastructure-provider Smartbird.

The event was really about meeting other people, though, and being inspired. I endlessly looped around the room, talking to C-suiters at startups and public relations agents. You could always hear the hum of new connections coming from the back of the room.

It ended with glasses of wine and hors d'oeuvres. After biting into a surprisingly delicious slider — Graham talked about pairing her wine with Korean barbecue and lasagna, and it made me hungry! — I had officially reached my schmoozing limit.

I ended the day with a full heart and a handful of new phone numbers. If you gave me yours, expect a text soon with plans to get coffee.

• Take-Two's CEO says his 13,000 employees share a collective goal: make the world's best entertainment.
• His philosophy to get there? A formulaic pay program aligned with that mission, empathetic listening, and direct CEO access.
• Take-Two Interactive is getting set to launch its hotly-anticipated GTA 6 in November.

Strauss Zelnick is relentlessly focused on making "the best entertainment on earth." There's no confusion about that mission among his employees, he said.

"I have 13,000 colleagues," the Take-Two Interactive CEO said at Business Insider's The Long Play event in New York City on Thursday. "100% of them can and will tell you exactly what I just said."

His management philosophy — "establish a mission, establish a strategy, and promulgate collective culture" — is about to get its biggest test in years.

Take-Two is the publisher behind popular games like "Red Dead Redemption" and "NBA 2K," and, on November 19, they'll launch a new "Grand Theft Auto." The wildly popular series hasn't had a new mainline installment since 2013 and has delayed its launch twice in an effort to meet the studio's exacting standards. GTA 6 is central to Take-Two's forecast for at least $8 billion in net bookings for fiscal 2027.

Zelnick has run the company since 2007. To align employee incentives with Take-Two's big expectations, he believes compensation should be based on a formula aligned with the company's mission — not left to manager discretion.

"I personally believe that discretionary compensation programs are toxic," he said, adding that they create "politics and get you the wrong results, especially over time."

"So, we're all formulaic," he said. "You perform, the company performs — you get paid. You perform, the company doesn't perform — you don't get paid. Company performs, you don't perform — if you still have your job, you get paid."

Zelnick also said he has no chief of staff, is available on Slack 24/7, and shares his cellphone number with employees.

"If you're not president of the United States, you have no reason to have a chief of staff," he said.

That doesn't mean he will swoop in and override an employee's manager, said Zelnick, who considers himself an empathetic listener. He said workers should feel heard — and that he will try to help them solve a problem.

Still, he doesn't believe his formula at Take-Two is necessarily the right approach for every leader.

"Leadership comes in all flavors," he said. "You have to be your own kind of leader, and I don't think anyone should adopt my skills, because you're not me."

If Chinese models dominate, there will be a grim future for free societies. 

If Chinese models dominate, there will be a grim future for free societies. 

• Dropbox co-CEO Ashraf Alkarmi announced layoffs of roughly 200 workers.
• Alkarmi said the cloud-based storage company is profitable but needs to make "hard choices."
• You can read his full email to employees below.

Dropbox is dropping the layoffs hammer.

Dropbox co-CEO Ashraf Alkarmi announced on Wednesday that the cloud-based storage company is laying off roughly 9% of its global workforce.

"Today, we're making difficult choices about where we invest and how we organize Dropbox to achieve the product and growth priorities that will matter most for our long-term strategy," Alkarmi wrote in an email to workers that the company posted publicly.

Alkarmi said Dropbox is eliminating roughly 200 roles across its across Engineering, Product, Design, and G&A team. The company, Alkarmi wrote, is profitable but needs to make "hard choices" about where it spends its money.

"Delivering on that strategy requires concentrating our resources on the priorities that will have the greatest potential for customer impact and growth," he wrote.

As part of the changes, Alkarmi also announced that chief technology officer Ali Dasdan will be stepping down.

Read the full email

Hi everyone,

Today, we're making difficult choices about where we invest and how we organize Dropbox to achieve the product and growth priorities that will matter most for our long-term strategy. As part of these changes, we've made the decision to eliminate about 200 roles across Engineering, Product, Design, and G&A teams (approximately 9% of our global workforce). For most impacted Dropboxers, today will be their last day.

S-team and I take full ownership of this decision and recognize that these colleagues have made meaningful contributions to Dropbox, our products, our customers, and our teams. Our first priority today is to treat every person affected with the care and respect they deserve.

Changes to Senior Leadership

I also want to share that Ali Dasdan has decided to move on from Dropbox. During his time here, Ali led and strengthened many of the technical capabilities we'll rely on as we move into the next phase of our transformation. I'm grateful for his leadership, his partnership, and the foundation he and the team have put in place. Ali's last day is November 18th, and he'll be focused on ensuring a smooth transition through next month. We wish him all the best in what comes next.

Why we're making these changes

Our business is profitable, and we've built real momentum this year. Our two-year strategy sets a clear direction for growth: solving more of our customers' critical workflows; reaching more of our chosen customers, including larger companies; and bringing our technology to new markets.

Delivering on that strategy requires concentrating our resources on the priorities that will have the greatest potential for customer impact and growth.

That means making hard choices about where we invest, how we're organized, and what work we simplify, scale back, or stop. Those choices include the difficult decision to reduce the size of our team.

How we'll prioritize going forward

In order to be successful, we can't take the same work and spread it across fewer people. We'll streamline teams and concentrate support and resources against product areas that have the highest impact on our customers and Dropbox as a business.

Taking care of impacted employees

To those leaving Dropbox, we're committed to supporting you through this transition. Departing Dropboxers are eligible for a severance package in line with the following:

Severance, equity, and transition support:

Sixteen weeks of pay beginning today, plus one additional week for each completed year at Dropbox. International packages will reflect local practices and legal requirements

Q4 equity vesting

For employees on the Corporate Bonus plan, a prorated lump-sum payment based on their 2026 bonus target

Immigration support for impacted visa holders

Healthcare and well-being:

U.S. employees will receive six months of COBRA subsidy, if elected and eligible

Modern Health access will continue through the end of the separation month to support mental well-being, with extension options detailed in severance packages

Payment for eligible current and approved upcoming paid leaves, including medical and family leave

Additional support:

Devices: Impacted employees will be eligible to keep (1) Dropbox laptop, (1) mobile device if assigned, and all existing desktop peripherals

Job placement: Job placement services and career coaching will be available at no cost

What comes next

Right now, our focus is on the colleagues who are leaving Dropbox. Please give them the space and support they need.

And to everyone leaving Dropbox: thank you. Your work to build our capabilities, serve our customers, and contribute to our culture has been deeply meaningful. I'm grateful for everything you've contributed.

Ashraf

Vladimir Putin has a theory of victory in Ukraine. It’s not the Russian president’s first theory – that was a quick, dayslong campaign – nor his second or third, which involved different land offensives in the east that quickly petered out. Instead, Putin’s latest hypothesis is that the relentless bombing of Ukrainian cities will impose […]

The post Polling: scorched earth isn’t driving Ukrainians to sue for peace appeared first on Asia Times.

Portugal ocupa a 21.ª posição num ‘ranking’ de 30 países na avaliação da sua imagem e reputação, mantendo um desempenho classificado como “moderado”, revela o estudo anual da consultora OnStrategy divulgado esta terça-feira.

De acordo com o documento, a reputação da marca Portugal regista uma pontuação global de 61,7 pontos numa escala de 100, sendo mais favorável junto do público externo (62,6 pontos) do que do público interno (60,9 pontos).

A avaliação revela que os principais “embaixadores” do país são os turistas e os líderes empresariais, quer nacionais quer internacionais. Em sentido oposto, os cidadãos nacionais (59,1 pontos) e os emigrantes (58,2 pontos) surgem como os principais potenciais detratores da imagem do país.

Entre os vários atributos analisados, o item “Beleza, Valores, Cultura e Tradições” é o único a atingir o patamar de “excelência” (mais de 80 pontos) tanto para o público interno (89,8 pontos) como para o externo (82,6 pontos).

Por outro lado, a “Exposição, Comunicação e Relevância Internacional” continuam a ser apontadas como os fatores mais vulneráveis pelos inquiridos externos. No caso do público interno, juntam-se às fragilidades áreas como o “Ambiente Político e Económico”, “Governo e Ética”, “Liderança e Visão” e “Segurança e Estilo de Vida”.

No plano regional, apenas Lisboa, Porto, Madeira e Algarve (Faro) recolhem consenso como ativos impulsionadores da imagem do país, com destaque para o Porto (88,0 pontos internamente) e Lisboa (78,9 pontos externamente). A OnStrategy assinala que, de forma geral, as regiões dependem mais da marca Portugal para a sua projeção do que o inverso, sobretudo no mercado externo.

Ao nível dos setores de atividade, o Turismo, a Alimentação e Bebidas e o Desporto sobressaem como os principais motores da reputação nacional. Entre as marcas corporativas e comerciais, Cristiano Ronaldo, as regiões de Lisboa e Algarve, a Vista Alegre, o Porto, a Madeira, o SL Benfica e a Delta figuram entre os raros nomes reconhecidos como embaixadores internacionais do país.

O estudo calcula ainda o valor financeiro da marca Portugal em 257,1 mil milhões de euros, o equivalente a 83,3% do Produto Interno Bruto (PIB) nacional. Enquanto o PIB português cresceu 6% entre 2024 e 2025, o valor financeiro da marca registou uma progressão de apenas 0,8%.

Na tabela global liderada pelos Estados Unidos (73,7 pontos), China (73,3) e Japão (72,1), Portugal (61,7) surge à frente de países como a África do Sul (61,2), Polónia (60,9), Índia (60,1) e Grécia (58,7).

O trabalho de campo da OnStrategy decorreu durante o primeiro semestre de 2026, envolvendo mais de 140 mil inquiridos em 30 países, no âmbito de metodologias em conformidade com as normas internacionais.

There appears to be little prospect of lasting peace between Iran and the United States while Donald Trump remains in the White House. This is a view that an increasing number of serious actors across the region now seem to share. Eight months into the Iran war, Washington has neither broken Tehran’s resolve nor found […]

The post Why the Middle East is already waiting out Trump’s presidency appeared first on Asia Times.

The European Union unveiled a new Arctic strategy Tuesday aimed at strengthening maritime security, expanding icebreaker capacity and protecting critical infrastructure as melting sea ice opens new shipping routes and...

The Tikvah Fund created a program training right-wing Israeli leaders for key defense posts, including Shin Bet chief.

The Russians are struggling on land and at sea, and are having real difficulty protecting themselves from Ukrainian long-range attack. That has left them with one real strategic “advantage” and that is what we will see the next few months. As reports this week made clear, the Russian strategy is now to make Ukraine unlivable, […]

The post Russia’s new strategy aims to make Ukrainian cities unlivable appeared first on Asia Times.

Par Vincent Clairmont

Troisième exercice de transparence depuis l'article de doctrine du 24 mai. La part valorisable de l'allocation est repassée en territoire positif après le bilan négatif de juillet. Je publie le tableau, puis je publie le calcul qui en annule l'essentiel. Aucun pourcentage ne bouge.

Entre le 29 mai et le 2 octobre 2026, soit 126 jours, l'once d'or est passée de 4 460 à 4 143,66 dollars, soit −7,09 %. Le Bitcoin est monté de 73 500 à 86 000 dollars, soit +17,01 %. Le bon du Trésor américain à trois mois rendait 4,00 % le 1^er octobre, contre 3,75 % fin mai. Et l'euro s'est déprécié face au dollar, de 1,1644 à 1,1225.

Je reprends l'exercice dans l'ordre du bilan de juillet : ce que la doctrine a modifié, ce que l'allocation a produit, et ce que le chiffre cache.

1. Ce qui a bougé dans la doctrine : aucun pourcentage, une clarification

L'allocation de référence du 24 mai — 30 % or physique, 25 % T-bills, 20 % foncier de qualité, 5 % devises tierces pour la branche sûre ; 10 % Bitcoin, 5 % options longues, 5 % capital-risque pour la branche risquée — n'a pas varié d'un point depuis le 29 mai. Les quatre règles d'exécution posées en juin et juillet tiennent : les deux axes, l'épargne de précaution hors Barbell, le DCA accéléré sur correction de plus de 10 %, le rééquilibrage daté de janvier 2027.

Une seule chose s'est ajoutée, le 27 septembre puis le 4 octobre, et elle est négative : j'ai maintenu 0 % d'obligations souveraines de la zone euro alors que l'OAT à dix ans passait de 4,66 % à 4,92 %. C'est une position qui coûte visiblement de l'argent, et je la réaffirme ici pour qu'on ne puisse pas dire plus tard qu'elle a été discrètement abandonnée.

2. Le bilan chiffré, sur un portefeuille de 100 000 euros

Valorisation au 2 octobre 2026 pour une entrée au 29 mai, aux taux de référence de la Banque centrale européenne.

Poste	Investi	Valeur au 2 oct.	Écart	%
Or physique (30 %)	30 000 €	28 913 €	−1 087 €	−3,62 %
T-bills 3-6 mois (25 %)	25 000 €	26 280 €	+1 280 €	+5,12 %
Foncier de qualité (20 %)	20 000 €	20 000 €	0 €	0,00 %
Bitcoin (10 %)	10 000 €	12 137 €	+2 137 €	+21,37 %
Devises tierces (5 %)	5 000 €	5 061 €	+61 €	+1,23 %
Sous-total valorisable	90 000 €	92 391 €	+2 391 €	+2,66 %
Options longues + capital-risque (10 %)	10 000 €	non valorisables : primes non cotées, participations illiquides

3. Lecture poste par poste

L'or supporte encore la perte, mais moins qu'en juillet. En dollars, le métal recule

The European Parliament has backed calls for an EU-wide strategy to tackle worsening shortages of healthcare professionals, including an ambition to increase the health workforce by one million, as doctors, nurses, pharmacists and dentists urged the European Commission to turn the recommendations into concrete action.

The own-initiative report, led by MEPs Loucas Fourlas (EPP, Cyprus) and Ruggero Razza (ECR, Italy), warns that shortages of doctors, nurses, carers and other professionals are becoming structural, driven by ageing populations, rising demand for care and persistent burnout...