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Jeff Lindor in conversation with Ray McGuire on stage at the Gentlemen's Factory Innovation Lab in Brooklyn
The GF Journal · Fireside Chat

An Exclusive Fireside Chat with Ray McGuire

Wall Street veteran and former New York City mayoral candidate Ray McGuire sat down with Jeff Lindor at the Gentlemen's Factory Innovation Lab for a candid conversation about his run for mayor, decades in finance, Black wealth and what it will take for our community to rise together.

In conversation with Ray McGuire · · Downtown Brooklyn

When
2022
Where
Gentlemen's Factory Innovation Lab, Downtown Brooklyn
Guest
Ray McGuire
Theme
Leadership, Black wealth and rising together
Photography
Kevin Jean-Jacques / KvonFoto

Some conversations change how a room thinks about what is possible. In 2022, Gentlemen's Factory welcomed Ray McGuire, one of the most accomplished Black executives in the history of Wall Street, to our Innovation Lab in downtown Brooklyn for an exclusive, up-close fireside chat.

McGuire spent decades as a dealmaker in finance and served as Vice Chairman of Citigroup before stepping away to run for mayor of New York City in 2021. He sat down with Jeff Lindor, founder and CEO of Gentlemen's Factory, in front of a full room of professionals, entrepreneurs and community leaders.

A full room

By the time the conversation started, every chair, couch and standing spot in the Innovation Lab was taken. That is the point of these chats: to put leaders who have reached the top within arm's reach of the people coming up behind them.

A full room at the Innovation Lab for the Ray McGuire fireside chat
A full room at the Innovation Lab.
A guest smiling during the conversation
Guests laughing in the audience
A guest listening with arms crossed

The conversation

Jeff and Ray covered ground few rooms get to hear in one sitting:

  • The race for mayor. What it took to step out of finance and into a citywide campaign, and what he learned about New York along the way.
  • A career on Wall Street. How he built a career at the highest levels of finance, and what it means to be the only one in the room.
  • Black wealth. Why the wealth gap persists, and how ownership, investing and access to capital can close it.
  • Rising together. How our community can unite so that we rise above the economic challenges we face, instead of facing them alone.
Ray McGuire speaking during his fireside chat with Jeff Lindor
Ray McGuire in conversation with Jeff Lindor.
Jeff Lindor and Ray McGuire under the Innovation Lab screen
A guest in a straw hat watching the conversation

Questions from the room

Then the room took over. Guests stood up one by one with questions about careers, capital, politics and leadership, and the conversation became a dialogue.

Lobbyist Vladimar Sterling asking Ray McGuire a question during the Q&A
Vladimar Sterling, lobbyist, with a question from the room.
Coach Ted Gustus asking a question during the Q&A with Ray McGuire
Coach Ted Gustus.
Corporate executive Curtiss Jacobs speaking during the Q&A with Ray McGuire
Corporate executive Curtiss Jacobs.
Jeff Lindor with a young guest during the Q&A
Guests applauding during the Q&A

After the conversation

Long after the microphones were off, guests lined up to shake Ray's hand, trade business cards and keep the conversation going.

Jeff Lindor and Ray McGuire shaking hands at the Gentlemen's Factory Innovation Lab
Jeff Lindor and Ray McGuire after the conversation.
Ray McGuire smiling while talking with guests after the fireside chat
Ray McGuire with two guests
Jeff Lindor embracing a guest after the event
A guest wearing a shirt reading Equality does not equal Equity
Guests exchanging business cards

Why it matters

Access is one of the most valuable forms of wealth there is. When a room of Black and Brown professionals can sit a few feet from someone who has led at the top of Wall Street and run for the city's highest office, ask him anything and leave with his perspective, that access compounds. It is the idea behind every Gentlemen's Factory convening and our Wealth & Ownership cohort.

Thank you to Ray McGuire for his time and candor, and to everyone who filled the Innovation Lab that evening.

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