The Profile: Wall Street’s secretive power player & Gen Z’s favorite soda brand

This edition of The Profile features Jonathan Pollock, Jerry Seinfeld, Brittney Griner, and more.

Good morning, friends!

On Wednesday, I published a learning guide on public speaking techniques. My Twitter thread was viewed 2 million times (!), and tens of thousands of people have read the actual article.

So this tells me that we are all equally terrified about speaking in front of a crowd. Or that public speaking is a skill all of us can hone.

I hope this was helpful, and I’m accepting any and all suggestions for future “learning guides.”

If you missed it, you can check out the article titled, “11 Public Speaking Techniques from the World’s Greatest Speakers” here:

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HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY: Happy Mother’s Day to all of the incredible moms out there. If there’s anything I’ve learned so far, it’s to remind myself to enjoy the mundane moments — the lazy Sunday mornings, the sound of baby giggles, and even the sleepless nights. And in honor of Mother’s Day, I want to re-share the letter my own mom wrote to me about motherhood below:

Have a wonderful week ahead!

— Polina

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PROFILES.

— Wall Street’s secretive power player [**HIGHLY RECOMMEND**]
— The package king of Miami
— The scholar of comedy
— The WNBA star who was detained in a Russian prison
— The soccer star sharing her journey to motherhood
— Gen Z’s favorite soda brand

PEOPLE TO KNOW.

Wall Street’s secretive power player: Jonathan Pollock is the guy you send in to save a deal. Pollock, who now runs the $65 billion hedge fund alongside founder Paul Singer, would prefer to maintain a low profile, but, as heir apparent to the founder of a massive hedge fund, that’s not an option. Pollock has been the go-to guy — the levelheaded executive needed to reset relationships — whenever the firm’s deals have hit trouble. Meet one of the most powerful people (and most secretive) on Wall Street, who’s not well known outside the firm and beyond Elliott’s investors. (Institutional Investor)

“Tenacity is something people come with or don’t, but resilience is something that a good boss, a good supervisor, can help.”

The package king of Miami: Matthew Bergwall is a 23-year-old University of Miami student accused of committing $5 million in retail fraud. How did this happen? Bergwall was a talented coder who probably could have gone to an Ivy League school and gotten a job at any tech company. But that path has become less and less appealing lately. “I don't want to be a slave to Google,” he once told a classmate. So he went to UMiami and did … something else. (New York Magazine; if you can’t access this article, try this link)

“I want to build something. I want to run something.”

The scholar of comedy: Jerry Seinfeld made a fortune with “Seinfeld.” He could easily have lived out the rest of his life going to Mets games and eating cereal. Instead, he writes jokes for hours each day, as disciplined as a concert pianist. And now, for the first time, he has directed a movie. In this Q&A, Seinfeld opens up about the Seinfeld finale, directing a movie, and shaping his legacy. (The New Yorker; if you can’t access this article, try this link.)

“I didn’t think I was any funnier than any friend I had growing up.”

The WNBA star who was detained in a Russian prison: In the 17 months since she returned to the United States, Brittney Griner has never been bigger, but not by choice. The six-foot-nine center’s career highlights — from breaking out in college basketball at Baylor University and winning the 2014 WNBA championship for the Phoenix Mercury to bringing home gold medals at the 2016 and 2020 Olympics for Team USA — have almost been overshadowed by the events that unfolded in her life in 2022. In this Q&A, she talks about her 293-day detainment in a Russian prison. (New York Magazine; if you can’t access the article, try this link)

“There were so many nights where I went to sleep and was wondering when the next big story is going to come through and then the hype goes down, all the awareness goes down. But I never felt that drop.”

The soccer star sharing her journey to motherhood: Former pro soccer player Carli Lloyd helped the USNWT win two World Cups (2015 and 2019) and two Olympic gold medals (2008 and 2012). She's currently a soccer analyst and correspondent for Fox Sports and lives with her husband, Brian, in New Jersey. In recent years, she's been on a secret journey involving unexplained infertility and multiple rounds of IVF treatments. For the first time, she shares her full story, in her own words. (Women’s Health)

“I kept saying to myself, ‘Why is my body failing me?’”

COMPANIES TO WATCH.

Gen Z’s favorite soda brand: Poppi is an Austin-based soda company aimed at “health conscious” consumers largely made up of millennials and Gen Z. With cheerful neon packaging and flavors ranging from classic cola and grape to watermelon and strawberry lemonade, Poppi sodas only have 25 calories a can with five grams or less of sugar. But Poppi, for all its youthful cachet, started in a decidedly unsexy way. Here’s the origin story of one of the coolest soda companies right now. (Texas Monthly)

“It was a pivotal moment in time—everyone in the entire world was thinking about health and wellness.”

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