Featured Interviews
Our interviews augment our document-based research by revealing general observations, valuable insights, and unanticipated “Lessons Learned” that we believe will be helpful to policymakers in the future.
Our interviews recount a multitude of perspectives and also provides a human dimension to these rare and extraordinary events. These are the stories of the decisionmakers, who, as the U.S. housing market crashed and the exposure of the inherent weaknesses in the financial system sent markets into a freefall, were tasked with crafting the emergency response not knowing how, or even if, they could contain the damage and restore stability. We hear from the deputies, the lieutenants, and the analysts who worked through the night shepherding possibilities and pouring over numbers. They are men and women who answered their government’s call to service, and put their expertise at its disposal, leaving jobs, families and vacations behind.
The practical revelations contained in these interviews combine with our case studies, and other research, to create a multi-dimensional record and powerful resource for crisis-fighting. You can access the interview transcripts and summaries below.
Browse the entire collection of Lessons Learned Transcripts and Summaries organized by the institution served during the Global Financial Crisis:
Federal Housing Finance Agency
Federal Reserve System
- Alejandro Latorre, Assistant Vice President, Federal Reserve Bank of New York
- Andreas Lenhert, Chief, Household and Real Estate Finance Section
- Donald Kohn, Vice Chairman, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
- Jack Gutt, VP, Head of Media Relations and Public Affairs, Federal Reserve Bank of New York
- Lorie Logan, Director of Treasury Markets, Open Market Trading Desk, Federal Reserve Bank of New York
- Paul A. Volcker, Chair of the Federal Reserve System
- Sarah Dahlgren, Executive Vice President and head of Financial Institution Supervision Group (FISG), Federal Reserve Bank of New York
- Scott Alvarez, General Counsel, Federal Reserve Board of Governors
- Thomas Baxter, General Counsel, Federal Reserve Bank of New York
- William "Bill" Nelson, Deputy Director, Monetary Affairs Division, Federal Reserve Board of Governors
- Zachary Taylor, Vice President - Head of Maiden Lane and TALF Portfolios, Federal Reserve Bank of New York
A Special Project: Inside the CDO Machine
- James K. Finkel, Former CEO and Co-founder, Dynamic Credit Partners
- Steve H. Kasoff, Former Partner, Elliott Management
- Sohail Khan, Former Managing Director, Citigroup
- Stephen King, Former Head of the Structured Credit Group, Barclays
- Eric Kolchinsky, Former Managing Director, Moody’s Investor Services
- Chris Ricciardi, Former Managing Director & Head of U.S. Structured Credit Products, CS First Boston (2000 – 2002) & Managing Director & Global Head of Structured Credit Products, Merrill Lynch (2003 – 2005)
- Brian Stoker, Former Director of ABS CDO & CLO Structuring, Citigroup (2005 - 2008) & Vice President, Merrill Lynch (1998 – 2005)
The Presidential Taskforce on the Automotive Industry
- Ron Bloom, Former Senior Advisor
- Matthew A. Feldman, Former Chief Legal Advisory
- Sadiq Malik , Former Taskforce Member
- Mara McNeill , Senior Counsel, Automotive Investment Financing Program
- Steven Rattner, Lead Advisor and Counselor to Secretary of the Treasury
- Harry Wilson, Senior Advisor
United States Department of the Treasury
- Edwin "Ted" M. Truman ,Counselor to the Treasury Secretary
- James Millstein, Chief Restructuring Officer
- Jenni Lecompte, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Public Affairs Operations
- Lewis "Lee" Sachs, Counselor to the Treasury Secretary
- Neel Kashkari, Assistant Secretary for Financial Stability
- Phillip Swagel, Assistant Secretary for Economic Policy
- Richard "Jake" Siewert, Counselor to Treasury Secretary
- Robert Hoyt, General Counsel
- Timothy Massad, Chief Legal Counsel, Office of Financial Stability
Other Organizations
We publish our Lessons Learned summaries in our online journal, the Journal of Financial Crises on an ongoing basis. This allows us to share the essence of the interview with the public sooner, even though the interview transcript may be embargoed for a period. You may view our published Lessons Learned summaries in our Journal of Financial Crises, or download the list of published Lesson Learned summaries marked with descriptive keywords .
Additionally, browse our full collection of Lessons Learned Materials and other materials related to crises throughout history with expanded search capability in the YPFS Resource library.
Lastly, find answers to frequently asked questions regarding the Lessons Learned Oral History Project here.