<p>On the latest episode of the Innovators' Exchange, Hiten Patel interviews Kunal Kapoor, CEO of Morningstar, a leading provider of independent investment research and financial services. Kunal shares his unique journey from joining Morningstar as a fresh college graduate in 1997,&nbsp;when the company had just over 200 employees, to leading it today as a global firm with&nbsp;more than&nbsp;10,000 employees.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p><br></p><p>The conversation&nbsp;dives into&nbsp;Morningstar’s evolution from a mutual fund data provider to a diversified financial services company through strategic acquisitions&nbsp;such as&nbsp;Aspect Huntley,&nbsp;Micropal, DBRS, and&nbsp;PitchBook, and&nbsp;through&nbsp;expansion into investment management and credit ratings. Kunal&nbsp;shares his&nbsp;insights on navigating industry disruptions,&nbsp;including&nbsp;AI&nbsp;transformation, the growing importance of private markets, and shifting wealth management dynamics. He also reflects on&nbsp;how his&nbsp;leadership&nbsp;style was&nbsp;shaped by deep company experience, a founder’s mindset, and&nbsp;a commitment to&nbsp;embracing change.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p><strong>Key topics include:</strong> &nbsp;</p><p><br></p><ul><li>Early&nbsp;years: Kunal reflects on his upbringing, being born and raised in India, and gaining early independence through boarding school experience.&nbsp;He then&nbsp;moved to the US in 1993&nbsp;for college education and joined Morningstar’s data collection team right after graduation in 1997.&nbsp;</li><li>Morningstar’s growth: Initially a small company (about&nbsp;200 employees in 1997) focused on Mutual Fund Binder and early software&nbsp;products;&nbsp;Morningstar’s growth was driven by&nbsp;a&nbsp;culture of ownership.&nbsp;Acquisitions&nbsp;of Aspect&nbsp;Huntley,&nbsp;Micropal, DBRS and&nbsp;PitchBook&nbsp;further allowed for international&nbsp;and capability&nbsp;expansion.&nbsp;</li><li>Investment management and credit ratings: Kunal shares how responding to&nbsp;financial advisors’ needs by building portfolio management and managed account&nbsp;services and developing a global investment management business across multiple countries positioned Morningstar as the world’s fourth-largest credit rating agency.&nbsp;</li><li>Views on&nbsp;AI, private markets, and wealth:&nbsp;Kunal&nbsp;argues&nbsp;AI disruption&nbsp;is&nbsp;real,&nbsp;but market reactions may overestimate short-term impact, with AI significantly enhancing&nbsp;personalization in investment management.&nbsp;He&nbsp;notes&nbsp;that private markets are&nbsp;growing due to companies staying private longer and changing capital&nbsp;raising but&nbsp;emphasizes the need for investors to understand liquidity and fee structures in these markets.&nbsp;As for wealth management,&nbsp;fees are likely to decline due to technological advances,&nbsp;so&nbsp;advisors must scale and add value.&nbsp;</li><li>Leadership lessons:&nbsp;From Kunal’s experience,&nbsp;an&nbsp;insider perspective offers deep cultural and client understanding but requires an outside-in mindset to avoid complacency.&nbsp;He emphasizes the importance of adaptability and embracing change for both personal and professional growth.&nbsp;&nbsp;</li></ul><p>&nbsp;</p><p>This episode is part of <a href="https://www.oliverwyman.com/our-expertise/podcasts/innovators-exchange.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Innovators’ Exchange</a>, a series that explores the financial infrastructure and technology landscape. Tune in for a captivating exploration of key themes and opportunities for both professionals and retail investors, touching on AI's transformative potential in financial markets. &nbsp;</p><p><br></p><p>Subscribe for more on: <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-innovators-exchange-by-oliver-wyman/id1705285126" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Apple Podcasts</a> | <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/3wxWh8I9RS7SdG8etJZMbr" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Spotify</a> | <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-rBgTpIQXAsSF9ZjcriutmWWACvs9jAI" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Youtube</a> | <a href="https://app.podscribe.ai/series/2301052" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Podscribe</a> &nbsp;</p>