Blackstone's Jon Gray goes jogging and goes viral. I took a run with him.
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Blackstone
- I went running with Jon Gray, Blackstone's president and chief operating officer, and analysts.
- Gray's running videos have gone viral, and I felt firsthand why they're a good business strategy.
- After the run, a sweaty Gray talked to me about navigating social media as a young person at his firm.
Around 7:15 am on Thursday, a photographer in a golf cart trailed a gaggle of young runners in matching black shirts through the southern corner of Central Park. This wasn't some Instagram-ready Gen Z run club, but had potentially as much virality, if not more, since Jon Gray, Blackstone's president and unlikely short-form video star, was leading the pack.
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I joined Gray and more than 110 interns, first-year analysts, and pre-MBA summer associates for a group run — and yes, it really was a run, since even those of us at the back kept a pace of 9:22 per mile, according to my Strava. The event was inspired by Gray's hugely popular running videos on LinkedIn, which are peppered with business advice and can rack up millions of views. Gray keeps the videos surprisingly casual, considering he's the heir apparent to a firm that manages more than $1 trillion in assets. He usually talks straight to the camera, wearing AirPods and shiny with sweat, which he told me is part of the appeal.
I felt that appeal firsthand on Thursday morning, when Gray brought much of the same energy and spent a few minutes mingling with employees outside the park. Before taking off, Gray paused to honor Wesley LePatner, a Blackstone real estate executive who was killed in the shooting at the firm's headquarters last year. He remembered her as someone committed to mentoring younger employees—a fitting note before spending the next 20 minutes running through Central Park with junior staff.
I wasn't at the front of the running pack with Gray and the associate holding a ginormous Blackstone flag, but everyone near me seemed pretty relaxed, apart from when we went uphill. (I, at an imposing 5'2, shared a quiet nod with the person who complained of the "long legs up front.")
Some New Yorkers were amused, like the older speedwalking gentleman who got stuck in the middle of our group, but told me he didn't mind. Another man and his very small, very upset dog weren't quite so generous, telling us that we were "not inconvenient at all!" And to all the bikers attempting to navigate our herd, consider this an official apology.
Few of the Blackstone employees wore headphones, opting instead to talk to each other throughout the two-mile loop. They didn't seem hyper-aware of running with Gray, a titan of finance and their ultimate boss, which proved how successful his affable running videos and vibe are.
By Gray's own admission, the videos have a business objective: they allow him to communicate Blackstone's goals and brand at scale, to investors and potential talent alike. He's by no means the only executive to lean into social media — remember the McDonald's CEO, anyone? — but is uniquely successful.
"The more human they are, the more they connect with people," he told me. "But it has to feel right. It has to be authentic. If it becomes overly produced or scripted, I don't think it works."
The same thing goes for this run, which got a slightly more polished video of its own, Gray said. He got to connect with analysts and associates, the latter were part of a program for military veterans, more intimately than when he spots them at the back of a big investment committee room.
"It's interesting — it's allowing you to communicate at scale, but the beauty of it is, it allows for this one-on-one communication," he said, though I couldn't tell if he was talking about the morning jog or the videos he films from all over the globe.
At least some of the young Blackstone employees knew of Gray's videos before joining the firm. Abigail Miles, a first-year analyst on the private credit strategies team, said she'd watch them "all the time," and that other executives should adopt a similar social media strategy.
"I think it's really important, especially at a junior level, to see senior leadership and recognize that they're people, too," she said.
Miles, 21, added that Thursday's run deepened her respect for Gray's hustle, since he finds time to run and film while working such a high-intensity job. Cy Aminzadeh, 22, and another first-year analyst, said the slight cringe factor actually helps the content.
"He's such a giant in the finance world, and for us young people at the beginning of our careers who look up to him in so many ways, seeing him being normal and so down to earth, and doing things that our dad would do, or that we would do — it humanizes him," he said.
The compliance team reviews all of Gray's videos, but he said younger talent has a tougher time navigating the thicket of social media rules at top firms. Earlier this year, a group of self-identified finance bros came under fire for a now-infamous photo shoot, raising the question of how Wall Street is handling the age of the influencer.
"I do think for young people it's harder because they grew up in a world where they post everything, and now they're working at a firm and there is a certain standard," Gray said. Typically, he said, young employees at Blackstone regulate their content to align with the firm's image and values.
When he left the park around 8 am, Gray had a big day ahead of him, since Blackstone was bringing Jersey Mike's public in one of the biggest restaurant IPOs. He assured me the office would likely be full of ginormous subs.
His post-cardio sandwich of choice? A turkey and provolone, "Mike's way."
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