Brookfield Asset Management CEO Bruce Flatt Talks Succession, AI and Strategy

Summary

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Bloomberg Talks: Brookfield Asset Management CEO Bruce Flatt Talks Succession, AI, and Strategy

Date: February 4, 2026
Host: Bloomberg
Guest: Bruce Flatt, CEO of Brookfield Asset Management

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Overview

This episode features an in-depth conversation with Bruce Flatt, CEO of Brookfield Asset Management, focusing on his recently announced succession plans, the firm's evolving approach to AI and infrastructure, and big-picture strategy for Brookfield in a rapidly changing financial landscape. Flatt reflects on leadership, talent, public and private markets, and the opportunities and bottlenecks in global infrastructure, especially as it relates to AI and energy transitions.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Succession Planning at Brookfield

[01:07 - 02:40]

• Announcement: Bruce Flatt will step down as CEO of Brookfield's $1T asset management arm but remain CEO of the parent company. Connor Teskey is the chosen successor.

• Reasoning & Approach:

  • Succession is viewed as core to building great businesses.
  • Brookfield has spent 15-20 years methodically developing leadership talent.
  • Flatt emphasizes the advantage of bringing “young new energy” to the business while he focuses on broader strategy as chair.
  • “We were very determined ourselves about making sure we have the best succession, the best run business on the planet.” (Bruce Flatt, 01:27)

• Evolving Role:

  • Flatt expects his day-to-day to remain similar: focusing on strategy, supporting teams, and client relations.

2. The Importance of Talent – Especially Amidst AI Shifts

[02:40 - 03:41]

• Talent is Everything:
  • Flatt resists the industry narrative that AI-driven changes will stall growth or hiring in asset management.
  • Brookfield’s real assets business is expanding, hiring, and entering new markets.
  • “People’s everything and it’s really, really important to focus on it. It’s the easiest thing to forget about and one should never forget about your people.” (Bruce Flatt, 03:31)

3. AI, Real Assets, and Infrastructure: Underinvestment Is the Real Risk

[03:41 - 06:40]

• AI Demands Real Assets:

  • Flatt outlines how building real assets (e.g., data centers, power infrastructure) is increasingly difficult yet vital to support AI's explosive demand.
  • “There is an underinvestment in what's going on in the private markets because everyone's looking for additional AI cloud capacity and it's very tough to build. … we need power. And as you know, we have a huge power business and that's the bottleneck in artificial intelligence for the next 10 years.” (Bruce Flatt, 04:05)

• Public vs. Private Market Perspectives:

  • Public market anxieties revolve around AI hyperscaler over-spending.
  • Brookfield’s real asset investments are typically long-term leases (25-30 years) to governments or major tech companies, insulated from short-term “nerves.”
  • The greatest risk is under-investing in new infrastructure and capabilities, not the sometimes loud headlines from public markets.

4. Power & Nuclear Energy: Strategic Partnerships

[06:40 - 08:25]

• Nuclear Investment with Westinghouse:

  • Brookfield’s foresight in buying Westinghouse, a nuclear firm, is coming to fruition as the need for new power sources grows.
  • Collaboration with the U.S. government (esp. Department of Commerce) supports new plant construction and supply chains.
  • “We're going to build now 8, 10 plants for them and we're going to build 8, 10 more plants for others and it's going to build a whole supply chain out in America for nuclear. … we're going to double the grid in the next 20 years.” (Bruce Flatt, 07:02)

• US Government Relations:

  • US agencies are described as highly practical and supportive partners, helping turn vision into reality.
  • “They were very transactional and they focused on the right things and we got a transaction done.” (Bruce Flatt, 09:55)

5. Global Approach & Cross-Border Considerations

[08:25 - 09:45]

• Operating in the US and Internationally:

  • 60% of Brookfield’s assets are in the US; operations are deeply embedded locally wherever they invest.
  • Flatt moves past anxieties about cross-border friction, emphasizing their model of being “great citizens” and only building within selected countries.

• Quote:

  • “We either lend to or we put equity into the backbone of the global economy. And that's what these countries need, including the United States.” (Bruce Flatt, 08:44)

6. Acquisition and Integration of Oaktree

[10:12 - 11:09]

• Maintaining Dual Brands:

  • Brookfield will preserve both the Brookfield and Oaktree brands post-acquisition, seeing unique and valuable strengths in each.
  • There will be some internal synergy efforts but outward brand identity remains distinct.

• Quote:

  • “Oaktree brand is an incredible franchise and we’re going to keep that and it’s really important to us.” (Bruce Flatt, 10:30)

7. Market Outlook and Credit Opportunities

[11:09 - 12:37]

• Current Market Nervousness:

  • Brookfield sees opportunity—especially in asset-backed finance and lending to the real economy.
  • The firm largely avoids sectors currently under pressure (e.g., software), but may seek opportunities if dislocations create value.

• Quote:

  • “In our opportunistic business it creates a big opportunity because when things sell off often they go way too far and therefore opportunity comes about.” (Bruce Flatt, 11:28)

8. Long-Term Perspective vs. Short-Term Market Churn

[12:37 - 13:26]

• Enduring Value:
  • Flatt’s closing wisdom is to block out daily noise and focus on quality for the long run.
  • “20 years from now we will look back and the valuations will be ridiculously low for great companies and businesses… Stick with them, don't sell and just stay the course. And that's been our story for a long, long period of time and that's what it's going to continue to be.” (Bruce Flatt, 12:48)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Succession:
  “We were very determined ourselves about making sure we have the best succession, the best run business on the planet.” (01:27)
• On People:
  “People’s everything and it’s really, really important to focus on it. … one should never forget about your people.” (03:31)
• On AI Infrastructure:
  “...the bottleneck in artificial intelligence for the next 10 years [is] power.” (04:05)
• On US Partnerships:
  “We're going to... recreate an industry and create enormous number of jobs in America because of what they did.” (08:05)
• On Market Philosophy:
  “Stick with them, don't sell and just stay the course. And that's been our story for a long, long period of time.” (12:48)

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Key Timestamps for Important Segments

• [01:07] – Succession announcement and rationale
• [03:41] – Discussion on talent and impact of AI on hiring
• [04:05] – Investment risks in AI and infrastructure, the bottleneck of power
• [06:40] – Nuclear energy strategy, US government partnership
• [08:44] – Cross-border approach, global operations
• [10:30] – Oaktree acquisition and brand integration
• [11:28] – Credit market conditions and Brookfield’s approach to opportunities
• [12:48] – Long-term investment perspective

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This episode offers an authoritative look at how a major asset manager adapts to generational leadership change, the realities of AI and infrastructure investment, the importance of people, and a universal lesson in staying focused on the long view.

Transcript

[A]

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[B]

Bloomberg Audio Studios Podcasts Radio News One.

[C]

Of the giants of dealmaking is Brookfield and its CEO Bruce Flatt is an industry titan in his very own right. This morning the company announced that Flat will be stepping down from his post leading the company's $1 trillion asset management business. He of course, will stay on as the chair and as well as CEO of the parent company. I'm pleased to say that Bruce Flatt joins us now for Big Picture, an elevated look at the strategies and trends shaping corporate action. Bruce, thank you so much for joining. We're so thrilled to have you as our inaugural guest.

[D]

Thank you for having me as your first customer.

[C]

I was going to say there's no one else we'd want to kick things off with. And what a way to kick things off with this announcement that you're handing at least for the asset management business, the reins over to Connor Teskey. I have to say, in a lot of your industry, not only are there issues with succession planning, rarely do they lay out such a clear path. Why do this and why now?

[D]

So our business is about running great businesses. What we do is we buy into companies, we help management teams, we build them. And therefore we were very determined ourselves about making sure we have the best succession, the best run business on the planet. So we've been at this for 15, 20 years. We've been out with Connor for the last four, very methodically and all the other team across the board. And it's just the natural time and it's really great to have young new energy in the business and I can be the chair and help them out. As the chairman of the parent CEO of the parent company.

[C]

Going to say, how do you see your role evolving with this kind of.

[D]

The same thing I do today, I help with strategy, I help the team when they need me to do something, I help with clients and, and that's what I've done for the last five, 10 years and that's what I'll be doing in the future.

[C]

So does this mean the timeline speeds up for Connor to take some other of your roles for, for Brookfield Corp.

[D]

You know, so far right now enough Brookfield Asset management is enough and we've got a big insurance business. We're building a big investment business out in Brookfield Corp. So we've got lots going on up top and frankly giving up one job is, is helpful to make sure that we can focus on other things.

[C]

I'd love to get your philosophy on, on talent more broadly because clearly it's something that's near and dear to you as a leader of this, of this industry leader. There is this moment right now, we've heard from other financial services companies like Goldman that growth is going to, and talent hiring because of things like AI. Do you see the same thing ahead?

[D]

You know, I don't know. Maybe we're different because we're backbone, real asset investors and we've never had a better time. We keep raising more money, we keep deploying it, we're in good returns, things are great and the business is accelerating. So, and even our credit, it's asset backed finance credit, it's not what you see in the news today. And therefore our business keeps growing. We keep adding people, we keep adding countries, we keep adding clients. It's pretty good and, but we're always focused talent people, especially in a business like ours, but especially in every business, people's everything and it's really, really important to focus on it. It's the easiest thing to forget about and one should never forget about your people.

[C]

So at the same time you mentioned it, just the real asset business that you have in this really big bet on infrastructure that's been evolving at Brookfield, everything from mega deals with the hyperscalers to creating your own cloud company. There's a lot of really interesting work you're doing. If I could borrow a phrase and kind of bastardize it from Alphabet, Sundar Pichai, what is the risk right now? Is it under or overinvesting?

[D]

So if you're in the real asset space in the private markets, it's very difficult to entitle land, it's very difficult to get power, it's very difficult to build because you can't get, you can't get people to build and therefore the investment is tough to do. And, and that's why there's, there's, the returns in it are excellent because people need skills to be able to do it. Now what most people focus on is the public markets. There's a few securities which everyone wants to own and therefore multiples go higher and, and, but in the private markets it's very different. And the, there is an underinvestment in what's going on in private markets because everyone's looking for additional AI cloud capacity and it's very tough to build. Easy sites have been built or committed, the hard sites. Now the hard work starts. And in particular we need power. And as you know, we have a huge power business and that's the bottleneck in artificial intelligence for the next 10 years.

[C]

I definitely want to talk with that because you've been doing some really interesting stuff there. But, but I do wonder just on the public market side of things, again, the fear is less about the infrastructure. It's more these hyperscalers are spending so much and maybe they don't have the revenue to back it up and maybe that trickles down into infrastructure. Do you see any red flags or do you think public markets are misplaced? When you see some of those nerves.

[D]

First are when we build out infrastructure, we're generally leasing them for 25, 10, 2010, 2030 years to governments or large scale technology companies. And we just have long term contracts. This is just a leasing business. But we're building things for them that are super critical and only we and a few others can build them. So we're providing that backbone infrastructure and they need more of this and they need it at scale and they need it in the United States today. But it's, it's now going global in all countries in the world. For various reasons we don't have time to get into all of them here. But for various reasons it's accelerating all over the world.

[C]

So I say to, just to answer that question, it sounds like the risk is indeed underinvesting that maybe we're not doing enough.

[D]

We, we are not doing enough in the private markets because it's tough to do. And that's where we are and that's where we focus on because it's like really it's not. We could do way more with the amount of money we have. It's the technical capabilities to bring on power, data centers, artificial intelligence infrastructure and everything that's around it. That's where the bottlenecks are.

[C]

Well, first of all, on the power side of things, I know in 2023 you did a deal with Westinghouse, a nuclear energy company, which by the way, incredible foresight to see just the immense need that we would need. What it need for that. And then late last year we also learned that the US government is doing a partnership too. How is that partnership evolved? How much is The US Government, for example, been involved so far since, since that was announced.

[D]

So we had a discussion with the US Government to ensure that we could bring power on America and we couldn't do it ourselves. We can't build all nuclear plants in the country. We're not big enough for that. We needed their help and the Department of Commerce and the President saw fit that they would help support us to build out the industry. And we need to build a whole supply chain out because you can't just build one plant. We're going to build now 8, 10 plants for them and we're going to build 8, 10 more plants for others and it's going to build a whole supply chain out in America for nuclear. And this is very, very important because it's bringing on power, it's bringing baseload power, it's bringing on power that's much needed in America and, and we're going to double the grid in the next 20 years. And this is super critical because it's baseload capacity and it's very, very important to the United States.

[C]

Yeah, a lot of your infrastructure is really important to the United States. Have you had talks with the US Government in other aspects about striking more partnerships, Joe?

[D]

Look, I would say they're very commercial in what they're, what they do, where it makes sense and where business entrepreneurs can put money to work. They're very supportive and, and they were very good with us. And we're, we're going to build out, we're going to, we're going to recreate an industry and create enormous number of jobs in America because of what they did.

[C]

Have you felt any more friction because of your Canadian roots or your cross border type of business? There had been this fear and we saw it very present at Davos that it's a more insular United States and maybe foreign powers and Mark Carney speech, who I know you know very well, talks about the need of the middling nations to come together. Do you feel that flow through so.

[D]

So 60% of our assets are in the United States. We're headquartered in the US we have a huge business here. This is super, super United States. Super, super critical to us, as is every country. Remember, what we do is we build local infrastructure in countries and we sell goods and services to individuals or companies. That's it. We don't move over the borders, we just build out and sell in the country. So we pick countries very wisely. We go to them and we build out in those countries. So we're friends with every country in the world. And, and we try to be great citizens. We try to do well for the country. We always try to be on the side of the doing the right thing for the country. Never get cross thread with any and and, and build out infrastructure in the country. And what we're doing is as you noted, super important for the backbone of the global economy. That's all we do. We either lend to or we put equity into the backbone of the global economy. And that's what these countries need, including the United States.

[C]

I heard from someone that this administration, someone said this recently to me is just like much more willing to pick up the phone, is much more willing to listen. Is it just much easier to, to get things done in this country right now?

[D]

Yes. Yes. Department of Commerce. Like our transaction was done with Department of Energy and specifically Department of Commerce Howard Ludnick. And they were very, they were very transactional and did they focused on the right things and we got a transaction done.

[C]

Late last year you announced that you were going to be buying the rest of Oak Tree, a company that you had also long had a partnership with beginning in 2019. How is that combination going to evolve as you work through it? Does the Oak Tree Bland brand get blended into Brookfield? Does it remain its own entity? How are you thinking about this?

[D]

So we, we have two. I, I'm going to say this as we have two amazing brands. Brookfield is an incredible brand, but Oaktree is an amazing brand as well. And we plan on keeping both behind the scenes. Some of the things that we do will be we'll join them together and we'll do things to get cost synergies and benefits and all those kind of things. But the two brands are unbelievably valuable in our opinion and they're going to stay and you know, for, for opportunistic accredit investing, which today is super important or more important this week than it was last week. The Oaktree brand is an incredible franchise and we're going to keep that and it's really important to us.

[C]

Just, just on that note, because you mentioned this at the start of the conversation, that there does seem to be a little bit of nerviness around credit markets. I know in your 2026 outlook you and the team had written credit markets are rewarding those with underwriting standards focused on ass. Say that kind of implies that maybe there are others who aren't focused on quality. Is there a real divergence?

[D]

I don't comment on any other, any other group's business, but What I would say is our business focused on asset backed finance, opportunistic credit and lending to things we understand lending to the real economy and therefore we have very little exposure to the types of things that are going on today. And that may be fortuitous. I'd say in our opportunistic business it creates a big opportunity because then when things sell off often they go way too far and therefore opportunity comes about.

[C]

So are you calling up your team saying hey, look at what happened this week, there might be something.

[D]

Yes, yes, we're very focused.

[C]

I say because you're not that exposed to software, would this be an opportunity maybe to get in there a little bit more?

[D]

It's, we're, we're very underexposed to software. We're a real asset business. But, but in our, in our, our, our private equity, our opportunistic strategies for credit, look at industries when they sell off and when there is value to be had. And I suspect somewhere in this cycle of software there's going to be some amazing value to be made.

[C]

There feels to be like a lot of reckonings happening in this market. You've outlined a lot of changes, be it globalization, otherwise some of what you're doing in infrastructure. Is this a moment of a market reset?

[D]

Look, I think the world 20 the thing I start off by saying is everyone gets excited about day to day changes in the markets. They, they listen to your show and then go or go and buy or sell. But 20 years from now we will look back and the valuations will be ridiculously low for great companies and businesses and, and that's what people should really be focused on, focused on the long term focus on buying great companies and businesses. Stick with them, don't sell and, and just stay the course. And that's like, that's, that's been our story for a long, long period of time and that's what it's going to, going to continue to be.

[E]

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