Financial Issues Forum and Fordham University presents Rob Lalka on The Venture Alchemists: How Big Tech Turned Profits into Power (VIRTUAL)

Mark Zuckerberg, Larry Page. Sergey Brin. Keith Rabois. Peter Thiel. David Sacks. Travis Kalanick. Bill Shockley. J.D. Vance. In The Venture Alchemists: How Big Tech Turned Profits Into Power, Rob Lalka demystifies how tech entrepreneurs built empires that made trillions while also shattering our faith, as they are now blamed for spreading lies, breaking laws and causing chaos. Using leaked documents and previously unpublished archival material, Lalka takes readers inside Big Tech’s worst exploitations and abuses, alongside many good intentions and moral compromises.

But this story remains unfinished, and The Venture Alchemists ultimately offers hope from the people who, decades ago, warned about the risks of the emerging Internet. Their insights illuminate a path toward more responsible innovations, so that technologies aren’t dangerous weapons but valuable tools that ensure progress, improve society and enhance our daily lives.

About the Author
Rob Lalka is the Albert R. Lepage Professor in Business and executive director of the Albert Lepage Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at Tulane University. He is on the board of directors of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana and Public Democracy, Inc. Previously, he served on the US Secretary of State’s policy planning staff and in the State Department’s Office of Global Partnerships. He was a director at Village Capital and was a senior advisor at the Howard G. Buffett Foundation.