Welcome to the Altitude by Talon podcast, where we explore energy, AI, entrepreneurship, and investing with the experts building the future.
Each episode brings candid conversations with founders, investors, and industry leaders reshaping how we power our world, leverage artificial intelligence, build companies, and allocate capital. We cut through the noise to deliver actionable insights from people who have done the work and achieved real results.
Whether you're an entrepreneur seeking your next breakthrough, an investor looking for emerging opportunities, or simply curious about the forces transforming our economy, Talon Talks provides the knowledge you need to stay ahead.
Topics: Energy innovation • Applied AI • Startup strategy • Investment trends • Leadership lessons from successful exits
Episode 15: From Oilfield to Amazon: Uwem Ukpong on AI and the Future of Energy & Power
In this episode of Altitude by Talon, host Charlie Leykum sits down with Uwem Ukpong, VP of AWS Industries, Sovereign Cloud, and International Expansion at Amazon Web Services, to trace a career that runs from Port Harcourt, Nigeria, through 22 years at Schlumberger and the $32 billion GE Oil & Gas and Baker Hughes combination, to leading AWS's global industry verticals. Uwem shares the stories behind the moves: a letter that brought him back to Schlumberger, the phone call that made him ...
1 Oct 2026
From Soviet Siberia to Wall Street: Sergey Vasnetsov's Path Into Chemicals
In this episode of Altitude by Talon, host Charlie Leykum sits down with Sergey Vasnetsov, who spent more than a decade as a top Wall Street equity analyst covering the global chemical industry at Lehman Brothers and Barclays, before crossing to the corporate side as SVP of Strategic Planning at LyondellBasell during its remarkable post-bankruptcy turnaround. Sergey traces his unique path from growing up across the Soviet Union and Uzbekistan, to a PhD in polymer chemistry in Siberia, to a So...
24 Sept 2026
Episode 13 How Energy and Power are Key Bottlenecks for the AI Boom with James West
In this episode of Altitude by Talon, host Charlie Leykum sits down with James West, Managing Director and Head of Energy and Power Research at Melius, and the top Institutional Investor–ranked energy analyst for a decade. James traces his path from DLJ to Lehman Brothers — where he was mentored by legendary analyst Jim Crandall — through Barclays, Evercore ISI, and now Melius, where he's built a research practice around what he calls the "Energy AI Nexus." The conversation covers why natural...
18 Sept 2026
Episode 12: David Darst's Asset Allocation Playbook
In this episode of Altitude by Talon, host Charlie Leykum sits down with David Darst — widely regarded as one of the fathers of asset allocation, and, as it turns out, Charlie's father-in-law. David spent 25 years at Goldman Sachs, including six years launching and running the firm's private bank in Zurich, followed by more than two decades at Morgan Stanley as chief investment strategist of wealth management and founding chairman of its asset allocation committee. The author of more than 15 ...
4 Sept 2026
Episode 11: Charles Ellis on 50 Years of Investment Management and the Yale Endowment Model
In this episode of Altitude by Talon, host Charlie Leykum sits down with Charley Ellis — founder of Greenwich Associates, former Chairman of Yale's endowment investment committee, longtime Vanguard board member, and author of 24 books, including the landmark Winning the Loser's Game and his newest, Great American Investments. Charley traces his path from a childhood spent moving across America, to a discovery of art history at Yale, to Harvard Business School, and eventually to the index fund...
19 Aug 2026
Episode 10: From Finance to Mining: Graham Brown’s Trajectory to Arena CEO
In this episode of Talon X, host Charlie Leykum sits down with Graham Brown, CEO of Arena Industrial, to trace his path from studying finance at UT Austin to commercial banking, investment banking, and private equity and credit investing — and ultimately to running a sand and gravel mining company. Graham shares what it was like to step into a CEO role at 29 during the depths of COVID and a down frac sand market, how Arena diversified into filter media and specialty construction materials, an...
6 Aug 2026
From Welder to CEO: Danny Watkins on Building Petro Mechanical Services
We sit down with Danny Watkins, Founder and CEO of Petro Mechanical Services (PMS), to trace his path from a childhood in the shadow of Lone Star Steel in rural Northeast Texas, through a football scholarship at the University of Tulsa, and into a career that started as a welder's helper on offshore platforms in Houston. Watkins shares how mentors like fabricator “Mike” and later Mark Fisher in Pennsylvania shaped his understanding of the oilfield services business, and how the 2014-15 downtu...
22 Jul 2026
Schlumberger to Stratum: Ricardo Carossino's Journey to CEO of Testing & Measurement Leader
We sit down with Ricardo Carossino, CEO of Stratum, to trace his path from a mechanical engineering student in Buenos Aires to a 23-year career at Schlumberger spanning nine international moves, and ultimately to leading Stratum as a first-time CEO. Carossino shares the story of taking over the Weatherford Labs carve-out with a four-person leadership team just months before COVID and a major bankruptcy filing by the seller, and how the business emerged to post consistent growth. He walks thro...
2 Jun 2026
Episode 07: Navigating Energy Shocks with Scott Sheffield and Andrew Gould
We sit down with energy legends Scott Sheffield and Andrew Gould for an in-depth conversation on the future of power, oil, gas, and global energy markets. Energy shocks are increasingly being driven by events like Middle East tensions, the Strait of Hormuz, and shifting OPEC dynamics; all of which are impacting oil prices, supply, and the long-overlooked “risk premium” tied to the commodity price. Scott and Andrew also break down the return of international exploration, headwinds to consolida...
7 May 2026
Episode 6: Pioneering U.S. Energy with Scott Sheffield
We sit down with Scott Sheffield, Founder and Former CEO of Pioneer Natural Resources, to unpack one of the most consequential careers in modern energy. He shares how he scaled Pioneer Natural Resources from a small West Texas operator into a shale powerhouse that ultimately sold to ExxonMobil for $70 billion, and the key decisions that shaped that journey. Sheffield walks through the rise of U.S. shale, the fight to lift the crude export ban, and how global supply, geopolitics, and capital d...
14 Apr 2026
Episode 05: Energy Super-Spiked: Arjun Murti on His Career on Wall Street, Goldman Sachs, and Energy Markets
In this episode of Altitude, we dive into what’s really driving energy markets today with Arjun Murti, former Goldman Sachs Partner, leading energy analyst, and the voice behind the “supercycle” oil call in 2024. He walks through his Wall Street career and how he developed a view on energy that challenges a lot of conventional thinking as well as energy stock picking. Murti explains why global demand keeps rising, why oil and gas commodities aren’t going away anytime soon, and how investors s...
27 Mar 2026
Episode 04: Global Energy at a Crossroads: Andrew Gould on his personal career, history of SLB and Outlook for AI and Energy
On today’s episode of Altitude, we sit down with Andrew Gould, the former Chairman and CEO of Schlumberger ("SLB") and Executive Chairman of BG Group, to discuss how the global energy system works. He provides a window into the corporate history of SLB, including his own 37-year journey at the company. He explains why oil and gas will remain part of the mix, what is driving demand for natural gas and LNG, and how AI and data centers are changing energy demand. Gould also reflects on key lead...
13 Mar 2026
Episode 03: The Energy Transition Explained: Dr. Diana Gragg on Electrification, Efficiency & the AI Surge
Dr. Diana Gragg leads the Explore Energy Program at Stanford’s Precourt Institute for Energy and teaches one of the university’s most popular courses on understanding energy. In this episode, she breaks down the “electrify everything” strategy, why solar and batteries are reshaping the power market, and how rising AI and data center demand is testing the limits of the U.S. grid. Drawing on her background in air quality research and energy systems modeling, Diana explains how policy, markets,...
16 Jan 2026
TRAILER: Inside the Thunderbirds: Col. Justin “Astro” Elliott on Leadership + the New F-47
A quick preview of Inside the Thunderbirds with Col. Justin “Astro” Elliott. We talk leadership under pressure, how boundary avoidance quietly wrecks teams, and what leaders can do to address issues directly. Plus, a look at the news around the new F-47. Catch the full episode: Inside the Thunderbirds: Col. Justin "Astr... #TalonTalks #Leadership #Thunderbirds Website: https://www.talon-cap.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/talon-capital-corp/ Contact: contact@talon-cap...
24 Dec 2025
Episode 02: Inside the Thunderbirds: Col. Justin "Astro" Elliott on Leadership, Boundary Avoidance & the New F47!
Colonel Justin "Astro" Elliott commanded the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds—the elite demonstration squadron featured in Netflix's "America's Thunderbirds." In this episode, Astro shares what it takes to lead a team that performs inches apart at 400+ miles per hour, and how those lessons translate to leadership in any high-stakes environment. Astro spoke at our Leadership Speaker Series this past December, and here, we bring those insights to a wider audience. Col. Justin J. Elliott Division Ch...
26 Nov 2025
Episode 01: How AI Breakthroughs Have Reshuffled the Trillion Dollar Chip Race w/Chris Miller, Author of International Best Seller, Chip War
The fragility of the AI boom is that supply isn’t the only constraint—power is. The U.S. is pouring new energy into rebuilding the chip industry at home, but the real story is how fast the demand for computing is growing. In this episode, Chris Miller, author of Chip War: The Fight for the World’s Most Critical Technology, helps us explore why semiconductors became a geopolitical battleground and how interdependence in the supply chain raises the stakes for everyone. We talk about Texas beco...
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