High Net Purpose

Islandbridge
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  • BUSINESS
  • MONTHLY

Most of us are in pursuit of purpose, but it can be especially hard to bring purpose into your business. On this show, we invite growing businesses and industry leaders to share their purpose and give us ‘the pitch’.    We want to find out how entrepreneurs and global leaders in our network are allocating capital in a more responsible and purposeful way. But more importantly, we want to know what isn’t in the pitch deck. Joe McCarthy hits his guests with the hard questions in order to find the paradoxes and nuances in their pitches.   High Net Purpose is hosted by Joe McCarthy, founder of Islandbridge, a company focused on helping highly successful people allocate their capital in a meaningful way. Whilst traditional investing is often solely focused on the accruement of more wealth, Joe has been working hard to shift the focus to purpose-led investing and show that’s it’s not black and white, but it is worth it. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  1. Lessons From 26 Episodes in 2026

    12 FEB

    Lessons From 26 Episodes in 2026

    For the past two years, High Net Purpose has been a series of conversations about other people’s purpose. What we didn’t expect was how much those conversations would change us.   In this episode, we’re taking a break from the usual format to look back at the moments from the first 26 episodes that most influenced our thinking - and ultimately shaped Islandbridge’s journey to becoming the Purpose Driven Multi-Family Office.   This isn’t a highlight reel. It’s a reflection on the ideas that challenged our assumptions, sharpened our values, and changed how we think about allocating financial, human, and intellectual capital.   Along the way, we revisit lessons from guests including: Martha Lane Fox, Diego Piacentini and David Miliband.   This episode is for anyone asking what purpose really looks like in practice - and how listening carefully can shape the way you lead. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    28 min
  2. Building Culture That Wins: Inside Ric Lewis’ Playbook

    27/11/2025

    Building Culture That Wins: Inside Ric Lewis’ Playbook

    The most enduring companies aren’t just built on strategy, they’re built on culture.   For over two decades, Ric Lewis, founder of Tristan Capital Partners, has been showing what that really looks like. His firm has grown into one of Europe’s leading real-estate investment platforms, managing over $16bn in assets. Ric was also ranked #1 on the Powerlist 2019, recognising him as the UK’s most influential person of African or Afro-Caribbean heritage .   In this episode, Ric reveals the cultural architecture behind Tristan: the balance between what he calls the “Ministry of Science” and the “Ministry of Magic” - the discipline to execute and the imagination to differentiate .   In this episode, you will learn: How to build a culture that becomes a competitive advantage.Why authenticity and integrity can unleash high performance.Insights into some of Ric’s most important leadership principles.Ric's golden rule for managing time efficiently.Why radical candour is the most important thing in mentorship.  If you want to understand what it really takes to build high-performance culture, this conversation is essential listening. Chapters: 01:33 Building Tristan Capital Partners 02:11 Ric's Personal Philosophy and Purpose 10:03 Lessons from Competitive Sports 12:04 The Journey to Building a Real Estate Empire 17:55 Creating a Unique Company Culture 25:42 Challenges and Strategies in Real Estate Investment 27:56 Balancing Time and Saying No 29:19 The Importance of Self-Care 30:09 Finding Time to Think 31:38 The Journey of Philanthropy 40:21 Challenges in Mentorship 42:11 Staying Authentic and Honest 49:57 Next Generation and Succession 52:55 Maintaining Health and Wellness Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    56 min
  3. Saving Nature at Scale with African Parks’ Founder, Peter Fearnhead

    30/10/2025

    Saving Nature at Scale with African Parks’ Founder, Peter Fearnhead

    What if the only way to save nature was to run it like a business? In this episode, we sit down with Peter Fearnhead, CEO and co-founder of African Parks, the organisation protecting more of Africa’s wild landscapes than any other. Under his leadership, African Parks now manages 24 national parks across 13 countries, covering over 20 million hectares - a model that proves conservation can be financially sustainable, socially empowering, and ecologically transformative. Peter shares how he’s built one of the most ambitious conservation networks on Earth - from turning near-bankrupt parks into thriving ecosystems, to uniting governments, investors, and local communities behind a single mission. Along the way, we explore why conservation may hold the key to tackling wider economic, humanitarian, and climate crises, and what true leadership looks like in some of the world’s most hostile environments. This is the story of how business strategy is saving the wild.  Chapters: 00:00 Introduction to High Net Purpose 00:42 Meet Peter Fern: CEO of African Parks 02:17 Peter's Early Life and Passion for Nature 04:51 Founding African Parks and Early Challenges 07:17 The Public-Private Partnership Model 11:35 Conservation Strategies and Law Enforcement 14:25 Community Engagement and Economic Impact 18:10 Restocking Wildlife and Park Success Stories 24:07 Scaling African Parks and Future Goals 26:09 Competition and Collaboration in Conservation 29:12 The Importance of Authenticity in Leadership 30:44 Inspiring Individuals in Conservation 33:16 Challenges in Selecting the Right People 34:43 Managing Media and Mistakes in Conservation 36:57 Complex Trade-offs in Conservation Efforts 47:51 Translocation and Conservation Strategies 56:00 Personal Reflections and Advice Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    1 hr
  4. How to Build Unicorns Beyond Silicon Valley with Linda Rottenberg

    25/09/2025

    How to Build Unicorns Beyond Silicon Valley with Linda Rottenberg

    The next wave of billion-dollar companies aren’t being built in Silicon Valley – but everywhere else. For nearly three decades, Linda Rottenberg co-founder and CEO of Endeavor, has been at the centre of that shift. Known as “The Entrepreneur Whisperer,” she’s backed over 350 companies (64 of them unicorns), created “mafias” of founders paying it forward, and built a global movement that’s reshaping economies across 45+ countries. In this episode, recorded at Trinity College, Cambridge, Linda shares: How to scale a business while staying true to your mission.The secret underestimated multiplier behind entrepreneurship.Why the next generation of entrepreneurs will become more women dominant. What makes female founders different.The inside view on emerging frontiers and regions to watch. Linda shows how purpose-driven founders everywhere can scale big - without losing sight of their people or their values. If you want to understand how high-growth entrepreneurship is being redefined beyond Silicon Valley - and why it matters for the future of innovation - this conversation is a must-listen.   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    1h 7m
  5. How Compassion Rewires Your Brain with Dr. James Doty

    28/08/2025

    How Compassion Rewires Your Brain with Dr. James Doty

    What if compassion wasn’t just a virtue, but a science that could rewire your brain, reduce stress, and even extend your life expectancy? This conversation is one of our earliest recordings, now released for the first time, with the late Dr. James Doty: Stanford neurosurgeon, New York Times bestselling author, entrepreneur, and founder of Stanford’s Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education (CCARE). Recorded in our early days but never shared until now, this conversation captures Dr. Doty’s extraordinary wisdom on the science and practice of compassion. He explains how compassion rewires the brain, simple self-compassion techniques to silence the inner critic, and why compassionate organisations consistently outperform those built on fear. Along the way, he reflects on his own journey - from losing $80 million at the height of success to finding true fulfilment in service, and the role the Dalai Lama played in shaping his work at Stanford. Dr. Doty’s life was devoted to proving that compassion is not soft, but the foundation of human flourishing. We’re honoured to share this conversation from our archives as a tribute to his enduring legacy. To learn more about Dr Doty's life and legacy, visit: https://www.jamesrdotymd.com/ Follow High Net Purpose on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/highnetpurpose Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    1h 2m
  6. How We Lose Control of AI - and How to Stop It, with Kristian Rönn

    24/07/2025

    How We Lose Control of AI - and How to Stop It, with Kristian Rönn

    Everyone’s talking about ChatGPT—but what if the real threat from AI is happening elsewhere? Kristian Rönn is the co-founder of Lucid, a company helping governments track the movement and usage of AI chips globally. He previously founded Normative, the carbon accounting platform that helped shape EU and UK climate disclosure rules—and began his career researching existential risk at Oxford’s Future of Humanity Institute. He’s also the author of The Darwinian Trap, a bestselling book that explores how misaligned incentives—and short-term thinking—can push systems toward catastrophic outcomes. It’s a framework he now applies to AI, arguing that without global coordination, the very infrastructure powering this technology could spiral out of control. In this conversation, he explains why AI’s biggest risks aren’t in the models—but in the chips, supply chains, and silent diffusion happening behind the scenes. We explore: • Why frontier models are a distraction from the real governance challenge • The one global policy move governments must make before it’s too late • What a chicken sandwich teaches us about AI’s hidden complexity • And what carbon accounting taught Kristian about building systems that actually scale If you care about who’s really in control of AI—and how we avoid losing the plot—this is essential listening. Chapters 00:00 – Intro: Welcome to High Net Purpose 00:29 – Kristian Rönn: From Philosopher to AI Safety Pioneer 01:31 – Early Life: What Shaped Kristian’s Worldview 04:29 – The Impact of Peter Singer and Utilitarian Thinking 08:31 – Exploring Existential Risks and the Road to AI 13:20 – Building Normative: The Startup That Changed Carbon Accounting 21:29 – Why Kristian Left Climate Tech for AI Governance 23:22 – The Darwinian Trap: Why Good Incentives Lead to Bad Outcomes 25:36 – Darwinian Demons vs. Cooperative Systems 34:47 – The Challenge of Global AI Governance 35:23 – Centralization vs. Decentralization in AI Control 37:33 – The Chicken Sandwich Analogy: AI and Hidden Value Chains 39:28 – Can Decentralized Governance Actually Work? 40:49 – Enlightenment Thinking and Biological Drives 45:11 – AI Assurance, Risk Management, and Value Chain Complexity 48:27 – Who Should Govern AI? Security, Policy, and Global Standards 53:09 – What the Future of AI Regulation Could Look Like 01:05:18 – Final Thoughts: Purpose, Power, and What Comes Next Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    1h 10m
  7. The CIA, Area 51 & a world of secrets hidden in plain sight — with Annie Jacobsen

    26/06/2025

    The CIA, Area 51 & a world of secrets hidden in plain sight — with Annie Jacobsen

    What if the most powerful secrets shaping our world were hidden in plain sight? Annie Jacobsen is America’s most fearless investigative journalist. A seven-time bestselling author and Pulitzer Prize finalist, she’s spent decades uncovering the truth behind the CIA, covert military operations, nuclear war planning, and the government’s deepest classified programs - from Area 51 to assassination missions you were never meant to know about. Annie pulls back the curtain on stories that challenge what we think we know about power, secrecy, and war. She shares what it’s like to earn the trust of the world’s most dangerous men - and why the truth is often stranger, and scarier, than fiction. You’ll learn: How Annie went from earning $0 as a writer to breaking into national security reportingThe advice that changed her life — and how it led to bestselling investigationsWhat it takes to gain the trust of CIA operatives and intelligence insidersWhy “alpha individuals” survive — and what their psychology reveals about resilienceHow secrets stay buried despite being technically declassifiedWhy U.S. ICBMs don’t have the range to hit North Korea without flying over RussiaThe chilling truth behind the 72-minute nuclear war scenarioHow a single miscommunication between the U.S. and Russia could trigger World War III Chapters: 00:00 Welcome to High Net Purpose 00:24 Meet Annie Jacobsen: Master of Government Secrets 02:45 Annie’s Purpose: Telling Astonishing True Stories 05:13 From Struggling Writer to National Security Reporter 09:31 Billy Waugh: The CIA’s Most Legendary Spy 16:31 Inside the Shadow World of Espionage 22:02 The Secrets Behind Intelligence and Covert Ops 25:49 The CIA’s First Hunt for Bin Laden 26:23 Clinton, Bin Laden, and the Mission That Didn’t Happen 27:59 Disguises, Deception & Espionage Tactics Revealed 29:05 From Field Reporting to Bestseller Author 29:53 The Lucky Break That Led to Area 51 30:58 Nuclear War Planning: Too Real to Ignore 36:56 NATO, Russia, and the Future of Global Security 42:12 Writing About Dangerous Truths: The Personal Risks 45:56 Staying Grounded in a World of High-Stakes Secrets 49:51 Final Words for Future Truth Tellers Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    51 min
  8. Longevity by Design: Lessons from Blue Zones Founder Dan Buettner

    29/05/2025

    Longevity by Design: Lessons from Blue Zones Founder Dan Buettner

    What if everything you’ve been told about living longer was wrong? Dan Buettner has spent decades uncovering the truth. He’s the mastermind behind Blue Zones - the five places in the world where people live the longest, healthiest lives on Earth. His discovery of the Blue Zones sparked a global movement. Since then, he’s written four New York Times bestselling books, starred in a hit Netflix series, won 3 Emmy awards and helped over 70 cities redesign themselves for better public health - impacting more than 10 million lives for good. In this episode, Dan shares the powerful habits, community rituals, and environmental designs that make living well in to you 100s not just possible - but probable. You’ll learn: What every Blue Zone has in commonThe overlooked food that could add 4 years to your lifeThe ritual proven to reduce stress in minutesWhy purpose is a stronger predictor of longevity than any supplementHow cities are using design to make well-being the default Chapters: 00:33 – Dan Buettner: Explorer, Author, Longevity Pioneer 01:52 – Ancient Wisdom, Modern Living 03:16 – His Global Quest for the Secrets of Long Life 08:06 – How the Blue Zones Were Born 09:42 – Why Where You Live Shapes How Long You Live 17:06 – What the Longest-Lived People Really Eat 23:27 – Purpose, Belonging & the Longevity Effect 25:02 – The Link Between Volunteering & Wellbeing 25:34 – Rethinking Public Health Through Urban Design 25:46 – Inside the Blue Zones Projects 28:10 – Longevity in Action: Real-World Results 31:01 – What Singapore Got Right About Health 34:00 – Love, Connection & Relationships That Last 35:41 – Loneliness: The New Public Health Crisis 37:04 – Food vs. Pharmaceuticals: What Works Best? 39:42 – How to Manage Stress Like a Blue Zoner 45:04 – Dan Buettner’s Playbook for a Longer, Better Life 46:36 – Final Reflections on Health, Happiness & Legacy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    49 min
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About

Most of us are in pursuit of purpose, but it can be especially hard to bring purpose into your business. On this show, we invite growing businesses and industry leaders to share their purpose and give us ‘the pitch’.    We want to find out how entrepreneurs and global leaders in our network are allocating capital in a more responsible and purposeful way. But more importantly, we want to know what isn’t in the pitch deck. Joe McCarthy hits his guests with the hard questions in order to find the paradoxes and nuances in their pitches.   High Net Purpose is hosted by Joe McCarthy, founder of Islandbridge, a company focused on helping highly successful people allocate their capital in a meaningful way. Whilst traditional investing is often solely focused on the accruement of more wealth, Joe has been working hard to shift the focus to purpose-led investing and show that’s it’s not black and white, but it is worth it. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Information

  • Creator
    Islandbridge
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2026
  • Episodes
    27
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Joe McCarthy
  • Show Website
    High Net Purpose

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