The Amazonian fires of August 2019 served as another sign that Earth’s climate is under duress. The dry heat and unforgiving conditions in the region contributed to an accelerated damage to Brazil’s annual fire season. The forest’s destruction had wide ranging economic implications for American companies; the most consequential of which didn’t share a geography or much of an economic interest.
A 2013 Boston Globe report on Baz Luhrmann’s version of The Great Gatsby included a throwaway line that caught my eye. Theoni Aldredge was a legendary costume designer credited with films like Moonstruck, Ghostbusters, and Annie. But her contribution to 1974’s Gatsby was different and the film’s effects and retail tie-ins would change lifestyle branding forever thanks to a then-unknown designer. Some would argue that a small-time tie-maker out of Manhattan defined a menswear style that would last decades.
When Peiman Raf sat for a Los Angeles dinner with 20 or so executives in commerce and media, he carried himself like the junior person at the table. Seated just five places down, I remember observing his humility. That evening’s 2PM Executive Member Roundtable was attended by some of the best and brightest. And yet, it was the rest of the table that could have taken to pen and paper.
