Hi there, Quartz members!
An exclusive Q&A with Priscilla Chan
If you’re celebrating (or just had the time off) we hope you’ve had a great time at the close of the year. Today, we have something a little different from our usual weekly offering—an extended interview with Priscilla Chan, cofounder of the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative.
CZI is a $45 billion foundation—funded by Chan and her husband, Mark Zuckerberg—charged with solving some of the biggest problems in the world. Since its founding, CZI has taken on issues including immigration, cell mapping, and education.
In writer Bob Safian’s interview, Chan discusses the work the foundation is doing; the way she and Zuckerberg divide up its responsibilities; her own background as a Vietnamese immigrant; and the difference between CZI and its primary source of funding, Facebook, which has moved from controversy to controversy over the past year.
Later this week: Rakuten’s CEO, and a new idea
We’ll continue our holiday week on Thursday with another exclusive Q&A—an interview with Rakuten founder and CEO, Hiroshi Mikitani. As the leader of Japan’s largest e-commerce company, Mikitani has pushed his company into the forefront of sports by becoming the global sponsor of world-famous football team FC Barcelona. In addition, Mikitani, one of Japan’s richest people, owns the Japanese football club Vissel Kobe. In our exclusive interview, Mikitani talks about the role sports play in his plans for expanding Rakuten’s brand, as well as Japan’s position in the global football community.
On Friday, we’re going to experiment with something new: a travel-strategy series. Less a look at where to go, we’re more interested in the most efficient and rewarding ways to get from point A to point B. We’ll be eager to get your feedback, so please email us at the address below with your thoughts.
Next week: A journey to the moon
Starting Monday, we’ll have a new field guide providing an in-depth loo at efforts to return to the moon. What used to be a competition between nations has expanded to include private industry. And with the tantalizing possibility of water on the moon, Earth’s satellite could prove to be a critical piece in the puzzle of getting to places like Mars and beyond.
Let’s keep learning. Send ideas, questions, comments, and Boxing Day gifts to members@qz.com.
Hope you have a rewarding day,
Sam Grobart
Quartz membership editor