Vice Chairman, PIMCO
This episode premieres Thursday, November 5, 2026 at 7:00pm ET
“Some of your best, most powerful talents are the ones that you bury.”
Summary
We often assume that generosity is a matter of money, and that giving is reserved for people with large sums to spare. John Studzinski has spent a lifetime arguing the opposite. The richest gifts, he believes, are the talents most of us leave buried.
On this episode of Leadership Matters, I sat down with John to discuss his remarkable life journey and the path that has taken him to the vice chairmanship of PIMCO, one of the world's largest investment management firms. From a soup kitchen he helped start with his mother at age six to more than four decades on Wall Street, John has never treated finance, faith, and giving as separate worlds. We explored the ways in which all of these strains have come together to inform his recent book, A Talent for Giving, and why volunteering your time can be as transformative for the giver as it is for the recipient.
At a time when trust in institutions is fraying and AI threatens to crowd out human connection, John makes a compelling case that the common good starts with the individual, and with the talents each of us already has.
Mentions & Resources in this Episode
Guest Bio
John Studzinski CBE is Vice Chairman of PIMCO and a managing director. As vice chairman, he helps advance PIMCO's global strategy and serves as a key strategic advisor to many clients around the world. Prior to joining PIMCO in 2018, he was vice chairman, investor relations and business development, and a senior managing director at Blackstone, overseeing sovereign and institutional investor relationships and advising large family offices. Mr. Studzinski was previously head of European investment banking at Morgan Stanley and deputy chairman of Morgan Stanley International. Mr. Studzinski is the co-founder of the Arise Foundation, which partners with local networks to stop human trafficking, and vice-chair emeritus of Human Rights Watch. He is also founder and chairman of the Genesis Foundation, a U.K.-based charity that supports young artists. He has 38 years of investment experience and holds an MBA from the University of Chicago and a bachelor's degree from Bowdoin College. In 2008, the Queen's New Year's Honours List named him Commander of the British Empire (CBE) for services to the arts and charity.