Peter Grauer Retires

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It was 2001 and I was working as the New York bureau chief at Bloomberg News. Mike Bloomberg had just appointed Peter T. Grauer chairman in anticipation of running for mayor.

Peter saw me getting coffee in the food court and came over to introduce himself and shake my hand. I knew who he was obviously, but I didn’t know he knew me.

He signaled for me to grab a seat and proceeded to ask me questions about how I was doing and what I was working on and what I thought was going well and what wasn’t.

It was incredibly flattering and totally sincere. It was an experience countless other people at Bloomberg and elsewhere had whenever they interacted with him.

Peter retired from Bloomberg LP this week after spending almost a quarter century in leadership roles, including chairman. Mike Bloomberg announced the change in an email to employees. 

Peter and Mike met and bonded in the mid-1990s when their daughters were both participating in competitive horse shows. Peter joined the board in 1996 and then was named Chairman in 2001 as Mike pursued a successful run for the mayorship of New York. 

During the dozen years Mike was effectively absent from the company running New York City, Peter worked first with Lex Fenwick and then Dan Doctoroff to keep Bloomberg LP on track. 

Inside the company, Peter was known as a global ambassador, logging more trips, especially to Asia, than anyone else in senior leadership. He was the most congenial board member and most likely to pull you aside to ask how things were going. He was known for his commitment to diversity in general and women’s advancement in particular. 

Peter was arguably the most important Bloomberg executive most people outside the company have never heard of. He was — ironically for someone who traveled and represented the company so widely — a consummate insider. 

Bloomberg was effectively a second career. He had worked as a Managing Director at DLJ from 1992 to 2000 and then at Credit Suisse First Boston when it acquired the firm. He founded DLJ Merchant Banking Partners and DLJ Investment Partners.

I wrote about Peter’s departure on LinkedIn and what struck me about the scores of comments was how many people focused on how Peter treated them with interested, respect and curiosity. And how much of an impression that made.

This is what Amar Rajani wrote:

One thing that always stood out when travelling to client meetings with Peter: he made time for everyone. Whether it was the driver, the receptionist, or the assistant, he greeted them with genuine warmth and kindness. No big ego, just a leader who valued people, no matter their role. A class act.

I cannot tell you how rare it is in corporate for leadership to make people feel seen. Even rarer is for them to ask questions in a direct, but open-ended way that solicits insights.

You cannot help wonder when you read the comments on the LinkedIn post how rare it is.

And how it’s something other executives would do well to emulate. 

Peter once told me the secret to Bloomberg’s success: “People like working for winners.“

It was the kind of direct, confident and assertive statement that strikes you as both deeply true and something most people would feel reticent to say. 

I thought he nailed it. Bloomberg the company has succeeded not because of the terminal or data or any particular strategy, but because of its people and ambition to win, something Peter both embodied and contributed to. 

As Mike wrote in a memo to employees, he will be missed.

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BRIEF OBSERVATIONS

OWNING THE LAKERS: It turns out that owning the Lakers didn’t make as much money as investing in the S&P 500. But it was undoubtably more fun.

YOU CAN JUST DO THINGS: Great perspective from Alex Cohen on X noting that you can build a business and make a lot of money from the simplest ideas.

SPENDING TIME WITH DAD: It may run counter to a perception, but Dad’s these days spend far more time with their kids than previous generations.

THE HAPPINESS GAP: There has been a lot of research on the fact that conservatives are happier than liberals. The gap seems to persist across all demographics.

VIRTUAL NOTE TAKERS: I think Chris Bakke has the right idea here. If we are going to be so dreadfully efficient, we ought to have some fun too.

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