Blackstone's Jon Gray goes jogging and goes viral. I took a run with him.
Blackstone president Jon Gray is using viral running videos on LinkedIn as a unique business strategy to engage with junior employees and build his personal brand. The author joined Gray and over 100 staff members for a run in Central Park to experience this leadership style firsthand.
Why it matters
It highlights how modern corporate leadership is shifting toward social media-driven engagement to foster culture and recruitment in high-finance firms.
Jon Gray and summer analysts ran through Central Park on Thursday. 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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