👤 The Profile: Russia’s most famous prisoner & the CEO caught in memestock mania

This edition of The Profile features Evan Gershkovich, Vlad Tenev, Blake Lively, Mark Zuckerberg, and others.

Good morning, friends!

As I was reading this week’s highly recommended story, Inside the Secret Negotiations to Free Evan Gershkovich, I was stunned by the closing anecdote.

A quick summary of the recent events: Evan Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal reporter, was detained in Russia on March 29, 2023, on charges of espionage. The Russian government accused him of gathering state secrets, which both Gershkovich and the Wall Street Journal deny. His detainment drew widespread international condemnation and calls for his release.

On Aug. 1, Gershkovich was released from Russian detainment as part of a larger hostage exchange involving 24 individuals.

The article noted one particular moment that paints a perfect picture of Gershkovich’s character.

From the article:

The Russian Federation had a few final items of protocol to tick through with the man who had become its most famous prisoner. One, he would be allowed to leave with the papers he’d penned in detention, the letters he’d scrawled out and the makings of a book he’d labored over. But first, they had another piece of writing they required from him, an official request for presidential clemency. The text, moreover, should be addressed to Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin.

The pro forma printout included a long blank space the prisoner could fill out if desired, or simply, as expected, leave blank. In the formal high Russian he had honed over 16 months imprisonment, the Journal’s Russia correspondent filled the page. The last line submitted a proposal of his own: After his release, would Putin be willing to sit down for an interview?

A journalist through and through, Gershkovich requested an interview with the man who had unjustly held him prisoner for over a year.

I am constantly left in awe by people who choose courage over fear — people who don’t cower to their oppressors or their circumstances. As Winston Churchill once said, “Fear is a reaction. Courage is a decision.”

— Polina

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ONE MORE THING: I used to have horrible stage fright. Now, I get to interview people for a living. If you have an upcoming event and need an interviewer, feel free to email me at polina@readtheprofile.com with the details.

PROFILES.

— Russia’s most famous prisoner [**HIGHLY RECOMMEND**]
— The CEO caught in memestock mania
— Meta’s CEO learning to laugh at himself
— The nonprofit CEO funding her lavish lifestyle
— The last movie star

PEOPLE TO KNOW.

Russia’s most famous prisoner: This longform piece details the secret negotiations to bring home Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and others. It unfolded on three continents, involving spy agencies, billionaires, political power players and Gershkovich’s fiercest advocate—his mother. There are so many details that will stay with you long after you’ve finished reading this one. (Wall Street Journal; if you can’t access this story, try this link)

“This guy is obviously not a spy, he’s just a kid.”

The CEO caught in memestock mania: Love or hate the fintech app Robinhood, there’s no denying it has changed the way Americans invest. It popularized rash mass purchases of stocks like GameStop and Dogecoin, but also spurred the broader brokerage industry to copy its no-cost, mobile-first approach. Robinhood has also changed its founder and CEO Vlad Tenev. The 37-year-old first-generation American (he’s a fellow Bulgarian!) has weathered a series of crises, some self-inflicted, that Silicon Valley veterans say would have crushed most CEOs, emerging more canny and focused. Tenev is also just getting started. (FORTUNE; complimentary link provided)

“Sometimes the pirates become the navy.”

Meta’s CEO learning to laugh at himself: For all my fellow millennials reading this: Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is now 40 years old, married with three kids. (Woof….I remember when Facebook came out and I was in high school). ANYWAY, for years, Zuckerberg has been one of the internet’s favorite punching bags, mocked mercilessly for how he drinks water or how liberally he applies sunscreen, often in viral posts on services his own company operates. He’s almost always the butt of the joke. And because he’s no longer considered ‘cool,’ he’s decided that if people are going to laugh at him, he’s going to laugh right along with them. “I think as I’ve gotten older, I’ve just, like—all right, whatever. It doesn’t matter,” Zuckerberg says. “Just kind of try to be myself as much as I feel comfortable being.” Take a look at his latest identity reboot. (Bloomberg; if you can’t access the story, try this link)

“At least make them good memes.”

The nonprofit CEO funding her lavish lifestyle: In January 2023, Sarah Kate Ellis made her way from a seat in Delta’s most exclusive cabin to a waiting Mercedes. It was there to chauffeur her to the Swiss Alps, where she and her colleagues would stay at the Tivoli Lodge, a 7-bedroom chalet that cost nearly half a million dollars to rent for the week. Ellis doesn’t run a Wall Street bank or a high-flying tech startup. She is the CEO of the nonprofit organization GLAAD, one of the country’s leading L.G.B.T.Q. advocacy groups. According to a New York Times investigation, GLAAD paid for Ellis to fly first-class, rent a Cape Cod house, and remodel her home office. All of this may have violated the organization’s own policies as well as Internal Revenue Service rules. (The New York Times; if you can’t access the story, try this link)

“It appears she may have fallen into the trap of excess.”

The last movie star: People often refer to Blake Lively as one of the last true movie stars. But what does that actually mean? “It’s someone who is comfortable in their own skin,” says friend and fellow actor Hugh Jackman. “You can’t make that happen. You can’t bestow it on someone. She says she’s shy. And I believe that. I think there’s a shyness there. I’ve seen it before. Nicole Kidman and others have it. There’s a shyness, and it leads into this ability to morph and shape-shift. And she’s, as I said, walking around in pajamas and then five minutes later—it’s Elizabeth Taylor! At the height of her beauty. And you’re like, What? How? And it’s totally…it’s miraculous. It’s a beautiful thing to watch.” (Vogue)

“It may sound corny, but a movie star projects light. They’re more luminous in a scene or on the screen.”

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