Peter could look around corners. He would say things that seemed rather simple but in fact were very profound. He saw the future.

By joining our companies together, we will dominate the two fastest growing segments of the financial services industry, retirement savings and international markets, ... This marriage is a great cultural fit, with complementary businesses and a distribution network that is second to none.

The biggest barrier we've seen to student progress is this: School policies and practices often prevent good teachers from doing great work and even dissuade some talented Americans from entering the profession. This needs to change.

To me, unconventional thinking is approaching a problem and asking, 'Why not? Why can't something be done?' If someone can't give me a good reason why you can't do something, I find a way to do it.

If you ask why I do what I do - I want to make a difference. I don't just want to maintain the status quo. I want to help people, to work with institutions or create ones when they don't exist.

Charity is just writing checks and not being engaged. Philanthropy, to me, is being engaged, not only with your resources but getting people and yourself really involved and doing things that haven't been done before.