How to… escape The Money Trap with Alok Sama

Money doesn't give you control — perspective does. Former SoftBank CFO and bestselling author Alok Sharma joins The C-Suite Framework to unpack what really happens inside financial bubbles, how AI is quietly reshaping white-collar work, and why the biggest career breakthroughs often arrive disguised as failure.

Drawing on his experience leading multi-billion-dollar deals at SoftBank, overseeing the acquisition of ARM Holdings, and navigating extreme wealth and pressure, Alok reflects on decision-making under uncertainty, operational leadership, and the human cost of success.

You'll learn how to:

• Shift perspective when navigating bubbles and market hype

• Recognise when leverage, not valuation, creates real risk

• Understand how AI is already displacing white-collar roles

• Prepare for career inflection points disguised as setbacks

• Balance operational execution with long-term vision

• Make better decisions by knowing your own cognitive limits

About Alok:

Alok Sama is the author of the bestselling literary memoir The Money Trap: Lost Illusions Inside the Tech Bubble. He serves as a Senior Advisor to Warburg Pincus LLC, chairs the Advisory Board for Valhalla Ventures and is a director of Baer Capital Partners.

He was formerly President & CFO of SoftBank Group International ("SBGI") and Chief Strategy Officer for SoftBank Group ("SBG"). While at SoftBank, Alok led the $59bn merger of Sprint and T-Mobile, the $34bn acquisition of ARM Holdings Plc, the $10bn disposition of SoftBank's stake in Alibaba Group Holding, among many other deals.

Alok has over 30 years of investment banking, capital market and investment experience in New York, London and Hong Kong. Alok was formerly a senior Managing Director at Morgan Stanley.

Alok co-founded Baer Capital Partners, an alternative asset management firm. He continues to be a Director of Baer Capital. He is a member of the CNBC Global CFO Council, and a former Chairman of the London Chapter of the Young Presidents' Organization (YPO). He also holds an MFA for Creative Writing from NYU.

Chapters:

01:15 — Writing The Last Bubble and avoiding "success memoir" clichés

03:44 — Writing, craft, and ego

07:30 — Are we really in a bubble?

09:43 — Valuations vs leverage

13:02 — Technology cycles and timing

16:21 — Operator vs visionary

20:57 — Wealth, control, and walking away

23:28 — Career breaks disguised as failure

25:39 — AI and job displacement

29:59 — What future generations should learn

32:51 — Immigration, identity, and storytelling

Resources & Links:

• C-suite Framework courses & books: https://csuiteframework.co.uk/

• Read Jenny's eight lessons from The Money Trap

• Read about Irish government funding fo the arts - https://www.ft.com/content/15a6d3b9-81c0-46c6-a4b7-f881b5eeadad

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