Episode 16 - Roddy Boyd

“The Wolf Den” hosted by Dan David

This week The Pack visits with a friend of the show Roddy Boyd (@RodBoydILM on Twitter). Roddy is the Editor and founder of the Foundation for Financial Journalism. I think Roddy is among the few remaining investigative journalists on the planet. Before FFJ, he was a reporter for Fortune, NY Post, NY Sun, and Institutional Investor News. In 2011 he published “Fatal Risk – A cautionary Tale of AIG’s Corporate Suicide”, a McKinsey Business Book of the Year. In 2012, The Huffington Post named him “one of the most feared financial reporters in America.” Roddy takes us through his upbringing, his early work, and events that shaped his career both personally and professionally. Sit back have a drink and enjoy!

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3:15 Roddy’s background; growing up as the son of a hedge fund titan, being taught the importance of hard work, and graduating from Fordham University

10:18 Roddy’s aspiration of becoming a journalist which was enhanced after the Watergate hearings, putting his dreams on pause to pay the bills for his new family, and working his way up from being a desk clerk

19:20 Roddy’s attempt to get a job as a writer, landing a financial journalism gig at II and writing his biggest gets on Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae which led him to the NY Sun and eventually the NY Post. Writing about overstock.com

30:00 Going after Fairfax Financial, overstock suing Rocker Partners which led to a wave of attacks on short-sellers and eventually journalists.

40:02 Roddy getting subpoenaed from the SEC for his Fairfax reporting, taking the case to the state supreme court and ultimately fighting off the suit, and how Dan and Roddy became in contact over the wave of Chinese fraud.

49:10 Where were you the first time you heard about Ben Wei and Freedom of Speech?

52:20 The time Roddy visited the China Media Express office, witnessed Jeffrey Toobin-esque activities and a sleeping R&D department, and the subsequent stop on trading the next day from the NASDAQ.

1:00:35 Roddy’s work on Valeant and their ultimate demise, Bill Ackman’s hypocritical stance on Valeant after playing the moral high ground on Herbalife.

1:12:40 Roddy’s continuous work and personal sacrifice to help bring down Insys Pharmaceuticals, and ultimately being thanked personally by a senior DEA officer on the case.

1:20:00 How Roddy makes a living off of donations to the Foundation for Financial Journalism, doing honest work and still getting attacked for taking donations from short-sellers.

1:30:20 Roddy’s journey towards sobriety and the moments that made him realize he needed to make a change, how drinking often becomes a problem for journalists and people on Wall Street. How Roddy has helped numerous people reach sobriety.