Smart Money Circle

Adam Sarhan

This show interviews the “smart money” (large money managers & CEOs) for timeless investing advice. My goal is to provide you with timeless/actionable advice that you can use to make smarter investment decisions, and help you become intellectually wealthy. The Host: Adam Sarhan, Author, Investor, and Forbes Contributor, interviews real money managers with over $100 million in assets under management (AUM) and CEOs for timeless advice. Disclaimer: All our work is general in nature and for educational/informational purposes only. No specific investment advice is given.

  1. 5D AGO

    This Money Manager Will Do ~$1B Of Transactions This Year and Shares How You Create Defensible Alpha

    Guest Scott Stevens, Founder and CEO Grays Peak Capital + Black Peak Group With Approximately $1B Of Transactions Year. Veteran portfolio manager who successfully led multi-billion-dollar portfolios at top funds including Coatue Capital, SAC Capital, and JAT Capital. Scott Stevens is the Founder and CEO of Grays Peak Capital, a New York-based global investment firm that has deployed +$300 million of private credit loans over the last 12 months using next gen data science and AI in its loan screening and investment process. He is also the Founder and CEO of Black Peak, the specialized National Security arm of the business that invests in Defense Technology, Military & Government Contracting. Grays Peak has completed over 60 venture investments into 8 unicorns and 15 exits with a specialty in technology, software and FinTech. The private equity portfolio consists of a broad range of companies with a specialty in mid-market companies with a long history of profitability. Scott has 25+ years of global investment experience across venture capital, private equity, private credit, real estate and M&A. Prior to founding Grays Peak in 2014 and Black Peak in 2024, he held key positions at some of the leading asset managers and hedge funds. He began his career at Coatue Capital, a technology-focused fund founded by Tiger Cub Philippe Laffont, where he was one of the early investment professionals. Scott went on to hold senior investment roles at Ivory Capital, Strata Capital (Head of Research), and SAC Capital Advisors (now Point72), where he managed a $250 million TMT portfolio, before ultimately serving as a Managing Director at JAT Capital, overseeing a $1 billion long/short equity portfolio in the technology, media, and telecom (TMT) sectors. Before joining the buy-side, Scott worked at Merrill Lynch & Co. in the Mergers & Acquisitions Group, completing more than $20 billion in transactions across aerospace/defense, media, healthcare, and energy, and also served as an Analyst for the Taurus Fund, a private equity fund focused on early- to mid-stage telecommunications investments. He earned a B.A. in Economics from the University of Michigan. About Grays Peak Capital + Black Peak Grays Peak Capital is a global investment firm that has invested $300 million in the past year alone in companies focused on the public market, private equity, real estate, and credit. With a strategic emphasis on data science and analytics, the firm deploys capital into companies that are shaping the future of their industries. The Grays Peak portfolio includes multinational brands that have created value by disrupting industries and embracing technology led innovation. Black Peak is a specialized platform that focuses on National Security, DefenseTech and Government Contracting. For more information, please visit https://grayspeakcapital.com and https://blackpeakgrp.com/.

    23 min
  2. 6D AGO

    This Biotech CEO is Working on Making The Impossible Possible & Helping Us Fight Bad Bacteria.

    This Biotech CEO is Working on Making The Impossible Possible & Helping Us Fight Bad Bacteria. Meet Dr. Deborah Birx (Armata Pharmaceuticals -ARMP) Guest CEO Full Name: Dr. Deborah Birx CEO, Armata Pharmaceuticals Company Name: Armata Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Website: http://www.armatapharma.com/ Ticker: $ARMP (NYSE American) Dr. Deborah Birx Bio: Deborah L. Birx, M.D., was appointed Chief Executive Officer on July 10, 2023. Prior to joining Armata, Dr. Birx served as a member of Innoviva's Board of Directors from March 2021 until July 2023.Dr. Birx is a world-renowned medical expert and leader who most recently served as the response coordinator of the White House Coronavirus Task Force. Previously, she served as Ambassador-at-Large, when she assumed the role of the Coordinator of the United States Government Activities to Combat HIV/AIDS and U.S. Special Representative for Global Health Diplomacy. Dr. Birx also served as the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator where she oversaw the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) at the CDC and as the Director of the U.S. Military HIV Research Program (USMHRP) at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research. From 1980 until 2008, Dr. Birx served in the United States Army, retiring with the rank of colonel. Dr. Birx has published over 230 manuscripts in peer-reviewed journals, authored nearly a dozen chapters in scientific publications, as well as developed and patented vaccines. She received her medical degree from the Hershey School of Medicine, Pennsylvania State University, and beginning in 1980, she trained in internal medicine and basic and clinical immunology at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center and the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Birx is board certified in internal medicine, allergy and immunology, and diagnostic and clinical laboratory immunology. Company Bio: Armata is a late clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the development of high-purity pathogen-specific bacteriophage therapeutics for the treatment of antibiotic-resistant and difficult-to-treat bacterial infections using its proprietary bacteriophage-based technology. Armata is developing and advancing a broad pipeline of natural and synthetic phage candidates, including clinical candidates for Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, and other important pathogens. Armata is committed to advancing phage therapy with drug development expertise that spans bench to clinic including in-house phage-specific current Good Manufacturing Practices manufacturing to support full commercialization

    28 min
  3. APR 6

    This Biotech CEO Created The RedTail Platform To Fight Cancer. Meet Eric Poma CEO of Calidi Bio $CLDI

    This Biotech CEO Created The RedTail Platform To Fight Cancer. Guest: Eric Poma CEO of Calidi Bio CLDI Company Name: Calidi Biotherapeutics Website: https://www.calidibio.com/ Ticker: NYSE: CLDI Eric's Bio: Eric Poma, Ph.D. has served as Chief Executive Officer and board director of Calidi since April 2025 and brings more than 30 years of experience in the biopharmaceutical industry, with a strong record of capital fundraising, big pharma collaboration agreements, and clinical program development. Prior to joining Calidi, Dr. Poma served as CEO of Molecular Templates (NASDAQ: MTEM), a clinical-stage biotech focused on the development of a novel class of therapeutic agents with unique biology in oncology. At Molecular Templates he raised over $250 million in equity financing and secured over $150 million in strategic capital through agreements with Takeda, Vertex and BMS. He previously served as Vice President, Business Development of Innovive Pharmaceuticals. Prior to that he held various senior level positions at Imclone Systems, Inc., primarily in business development. Earlier, Dr. Poma served as a Healthcare & Biotechnology Analyst with the healthcare fund Eagle Growth Investors, LLC. Dr. Poma received a Ph.D. in Microbiology and Immunology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, an M.B.A. from the Leonard N. Stern School of Business and a Bachelor of Science in Biology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Company Bio: Calidi Biotherapeutics is a biotechnology company pioneering the development of targeted genetic medicines for cancer and other diseases through its RedTail platform. The company's lead compound, CLD-401, is a systemically delivered oncolytic virus that expresses high levels of IL-15 superagonist only in the tumor microenvironment. The company expects to file an IND to initiate clinical studies for CLD-401 by the end of 2026. The company continues to advance what the RedTail platform can achieve and will be presenting additional data throughout the year.

    14 min
  4. APR 4

    This CEO Is Revolutionizing Aviation Fuel With Waste & Other Cutting Edge Methods - Chris Cooper, Chief Executive Officer XCF Global $SAFX

    This CEO Is Revolutionizing Aviation Fuel With Waste & Other Cutting Edge Methods Guest Chris Cooper, Chief Executive Officer XCF Global $SAFX Company XCF.Global About XCF Global XCF Global is one of the only publicly traded U.S. companies focused primarily on sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), which can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 80% compared to traditional jet fuel while remaining fully compatible with existing aircraft engines. We produce scalable, waste based SAF that is sourced entirely from domestic feedstocks. Our flagship Nevada facility has a permitted annual capacity of 38 million gallons, and we are actively developing additional U.S. sites along with a growing international platform. With modular, replicable infrastructure and secure feedstock access, we are building a SAF system designed for reliability, affordability, and energy security, especially important in today’s volatile global fuel markets. NASDAQ Ticker = SAFX Guest Chris Cooper, Chief Executive Officer Chris Cooper leverages more than 25 years of experience in the global energy industry. As President of Neste U.S. (North America), he oversaw regional leadership for renewable products, following his tenure as Vice President, Americas, Renewable Aviation. As Head of Renewables Trading at BGN, Chris led global trading activities for renewable fuels, including SAF, renewable diesel, and biogenic feedstocks. Earlier in his career, he spent nearly two decades at Phillips 66 and Chevron, holding a range of leadership roles in commercial strategy, downstream operations, and business development. A professional pilot, Chris brings a unique perspective on the aviation sector, combining operational depth with an international view of energy transition, renewable fuels, and infrastructure innovation.

    26 min
  5. APR 2

    This CEO Is Disrupting The Insurance Industry With Tech & AI.

    This CEO Is Disrupting The Insurance Industry With Tech & AI. “Never confuse effort for success” Guest Tim Johnson (Founder & CEO) Company Health In Tech, Inc. (Nasdaq: HIT) Website https://healthintech.com/ Tim’s Bio Tim Johnson is the founder and CEO of Health In Tech. He has spent his entire career in the insurance industry, beginning on the property and casualty side at a small regional insurer before moving to larger firms including Liberty Mutual and AIG. He later transitioned to the brokerage side, working at leading brokerage firms where he built captives and developed alternative risk solutions. Mr. Johnson has over 30 years of experience as an entrepreneur and has founded multiple successful companies in the medical insurance sector. He has extensive knowledge in the stop-loss insurance and self-funded benefits space, and between 2005 and 2007, he helped pioneer some of the country’s first Stop Loss captive programs for healthcare, applying proven techniques from the P&C world that had not previously been widely used in employee benefits. He also launched his own insurance carrier and built a vertically integrated platform offering underwriting, claims, repricing, and medical management services. Seeing how far behind healthcare was in technology, Tim began building Health In Tech with a system designed to help brokers quote and bind health plans more quickly and efficiently. That early tool ultimately evolved into the AI-powered platform Health In Tech is known for today. Company Bio: Health in Tech (“HIT”) is an insurance technology platform company, which offers a marketplace that aims to improve processes in the healthcare industry through vertical integration, process simplification, and automation. By removing friction and complexities, we streamline the underwriting, sales and service process for insurance companies, licensed brokers, and TPAs. Marketplace: We are a health insurance marketplace where insurance companies can list various stop-loss policy options for self-funded benefits plans. Licensed brokers registered on our platform can log in, upload certain required information, select policy plans, obtain a bindable quote and sell them to small businesses. Our technology enables us to medically underwrite insurance policies and usually produce bindable quotes within approximately two minutes, allowing us to deliver an integrated and seamless sales cycle. Customizable Solutions: Beyond policy underwriting and sales, our marketplace offers customization of health benefits plans, vendors, claims, and network services. Brokers can select customized plans that suit their customers. Accessibility and Savings: We make self-funded benefits plans and stop loss insurance accessible online for small businesses. We aim to deliver meaningful cost savings for low-risk, small employers with comparatively healthy employees through a digital medical underwriting process. We seek to deliver time savings for employers, brokers, TPAs, and carriers, by leveraging both external and internally developed technology. HIT was founded on the belief that self-funded benefits plans and stop loss insurance should be simple and streamlined with significant transparency. With over 30 years of industry experience of our management team, we understand the complexities of the healthcare insurance market, and we know how to integrate the multifaceted aspects of the industry. Our solutions and technology platforms do exactly this through vertical integration, process simplification, automation, and digitalization.

    25 min
  6. APR 1

    This Bank CEO Shares How The Best Banks Grow – Meet James Reuter CEO First Interstate Bank $FIBK

    Guest James (Jim) Reuter, President and Chief Executive Officer First interstate Bank FIBK Company Name First Interstate BancSystem, Inc. Website http://www.fibk.com Ticker $FIBK Company Bio https://fibk.com/overview/default.aspx Jim’s Bio James A. Reuter has been President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company and First Interstate Bank as well as a member of the Board of Directors since November 2024. Mr. Reuter leads with expertise drawn from more than 37 years in the banking industry. Prior to joining First Interstate Bank, Mr. Reuter was the President and Chief Executive Officer of FirstBank Holding Company of Colorado from 2017 to 2024. Mr. Reuter started his banking career at FirstBank in 1987 and, prior to CEO, served as the bank’s Chief Operating Officer, overseeing many of the bank’s divisions including: loan/mortgage operations; information technology (IT); digital banking; payments; business banking; contact center; online account/loan acquisition; marketing; and treasury management. Mr. Reuter has been actively involved in the industry, serving on the Board of Directors of the American Bankers Association (ABA), ABA Government Relations Committee, ABA Payments Systems Advisory Council, and the ABA Venture Investment Committee. He also served on The Clearing House Real Time Payments Business Committee, the Board of Directors for the Mid-Size Bank Coalition of America, the Federal Reserve Bank Faster Payments Task Force Steering Committee, and the Colorado Bankers Association. In addition to industry-related work, Mr. Reuter has served on the boards of numerous nonprofits including: the American Cancer Society of Colorado’s CEOs Against Cancer; Women’s Foundation of Colorado; Special Olympics of Colorado; Ability Connection Colorado; Blind Institute of Technology; and Cerebral Palsy of Colorado. Mr. Reuter currently serves as Chair of the First Interstate BancSystem Foundation Board of Directors. Mr. Reuter earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Finance from Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, and attended the Graduate School of Banking at the University of Wisconsin.

    25 min
  7. MAR 30

    This CEO Is Creating Solar Battery Backups For Your Home -Meet Ardes Johnson CEO NeoVolta $NEOV

    This CEO Is Creating Solar Battery Backups For Your Home -Meet Ardes Johnson CEO NeoVolta NEOV Guest Ardes Johnson CEO NeoVolta $NEOV About NeoVolta - Solar Battery Backup for Home | NeoVolta Solar Energy Storage NeoVolta Inc. (NASDAQ: NEOV) is a U.S.-based energy technology company delivering scalable energy storage solutions for resilient residential and commercial power infrastructure. Founded in 2018, NeoVolta designs, develops, and manufactures advanced battery systems that enable efficient energy management, grid independence, and reliable backup power. Its solutions help homeowners and businesses reduce utility costs, optimize renewable energy usage, and maintain critical operations during grid outages. With a strong focus on performance, safety, and long-term reliability, NeoVolta is well positioned to support the growing adoption of distributed energy resources and the transition to a more resilient, decentralized energy system. About Ardes Johnson, CEO Ardes Johnson is Chief Executive Officer and Director of NeoVolta, bringing nearly 30 years of executive experience in the energy sector. He previously served as President and General Manager of Meyer Burger Americas, where he led a successful transition to module sales, built a multi-gigawatt backlog, and rapidly scaled manufacturing operations. Earlier, he was Director of Americas Sales and Marketing for Tesla’s Energy Products division, where he helped launch partner channel programs for Powerwall and Powerpack and secured a major energy storage contract with Southern California Edison. His career also includes senior leadership roles at SolarWorld Americas and General Electric. Johnson holds an MBA from Southern Methodist University and a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Texas Tech University.

    24 min
  8. MAR 27

    This CEO Is Creating A Vaccine To Cure Breast Cancer - Meet Dr. Amit Kumar, Chairman/CEO of Anixa Biosciences $ANIX

    This CEO Is Creating A Vaccine To Cure Breast Cancer - Meet Dr. Amit Kumar, Chairman/CEO of Anixa Biosciences $ANIX Guest Dr. Amit Kumar, Chairman and CEO of Anixa Biosciences Anixa Biosciences, www.Anixa.com, NASDAQ:ANIX Company Info Anixa Biosciences NASDAQ:ANIX https://www.Anixa.com/ Amit's Bio: AMIT KUMAR, PH.D. Chairman & Chief Executive Officer Dr. Kumar has been an investor, founder, director and CEO of several technology enterprises, both public and private. As CEO, he took CombiMatrix Corporation public and ran it for a decade while listed on the NASDAQ Global Market. He has worked in venture capital with OAK Investment Partners, and has been an advisor to investment funds, venture capital firms, and Fortune 500 companies. He was on the Board of Directors of Acacia Research Corporation from 2002-2008. Dr. Kumar is currently Chairman and CEO of Anixa Biosciences and he sits on the Board of other public and private companies. He has served on the Board of the American Cancer Society since 2016. He received his AB in Chemistry from Occidental College. After graduate studies at Stanford University and Caltech, he received his Ph.D. from Caltech and followed that with a post-doctoral fellowship at Harvard. Company Bio: Anixa is a biotechnology company focused on the treatment and prevention of cancer. Anixa's therapeutics portfolio consists of a cancer immunotherapy program which uses a novel type of CAR-T, known as chimeric endocrine receptor T-cell (CER-T) technology. Anixa’s vaccine portfolio consists of technology focused on the immunization against specific “retired” proteins associated with breast cancer, specifically triple negative breast cancer (TNBC), and ovarian cancer. Further, Anixa is developing additional “retired tissue specific protein” vaccines to address many intractable cancers, including high incidence malignancies in lung, colon, and prostate. Retired proteins are proteins that are expressed at certain times in life and then are no longer expressed in healthy people. Anixa continually examines emerging technologies in complementary fields for further development and commercialization.

    27 min
4.9
out of 5
15 Ratings

About

This show interviews the “smart money” (large money managers & CEOs) for timeless investing advice. My goal is to provide you with timeless/actionable advice that you can use to make smarter investment decisions, and help you become intellectually wealthy. The Host: Adam Sarhan, Author, Investor, and Forbes Contributor, interviews real money managers with over $100 million in assets under management (AUM) and CEOs for timeless advice. Disclaimer: All our work is general in nature and for educational/informational purposes only. No specific investment advice is given.

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