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Big (ish) changes at the Borg. Here’s a memo that Mike Bloomberg just sent out to the world’s most profitable cult data empire, which Alphaville obtained from a source.
Our emphasis below:
One of the hallmarks of Bloomberg is our ability to make changes from a position of strength — not out of fear when times are tough. And from that perspective, there’s no time like the present. We’ve had 42 consecutive years of innovation and growth. Our lines of business and our geographic footprint are broader than ever. We’re continuing to invest significantly in our products and services, to the benefit of our clients and global markets. And we’ve built the best team that any organization could ask for.
Our decades-long growth, while terrific, also risks complacency. We’ve never been a place that just accepts the status quo. We’re successful because we change and adapt — always thinking about tomorrow, not what we did yesterday, and always doing things first. When PCs weren’t available 42 years ago, we built our own hardware. When the “cloud” didn’t exist, we created our own. Years before AI was fashionable, we created our own automation and machine learning tools.
If we’ve learned anything over the last 42 years, it’s that we don’t necessarily have all the good ideas, but with the adoption of new non-conventional solutions we can stay at the forefront of our industry. It’s critical that we never lose that mindset, particularly given the rate of change in the world, which none of us have seen before.
That also applies to our people. Much of our success stems from internal mobility, giving the next generation a chance to grow and lead, while bringing in the best and brightest to give us a fresh perspective. Tom Secunda, Peter Grauer and I have all focused on developing a deep bench, which now gives us the opportunity to focus on our clients in ways that others can’t, helping to lay a path for our sales force, as well as other big picture leadership roles. But doing the same thing with the same people in the same way doesn’t work forever — which is why I’m glad to announce the following changes.
I’ve asked JP Zammitt to assume the responsibilities of President of Bloomberg LP, Patti Roskill to be BLP’s Chief Financial Officer, and Vlad Kliatchko to be BLP’s Chief Executive Officer. All have done outstanding work and are ready to help take our company to new heights.
As part of these changes, we will also welcome a new Board of Directors for the company. I can’t thank those who’ve served enough for their services, great advice and ideas. Most of our Board members have served for over 20 years guiding our strategy and offering insightful advice. As with our company leadership, now is the time to build on what they did and get the next generation into place — and, as always, we are recruiting the best.
Mark Carney, former Governor of the Bank of England who has worked with Mary Schapiro and I on climate finance initiatives, will chair our new Board of Directors while continuing in his full-time job outside the company. We’ll add other new members in short order, and most existing members will move to “Emeritus Status” — while the next group can take a fresh look at where we are and where we should be.
I’m sure these changes raise questions about me, so let me put them to rest: I’m not going anywhere. Pete, Tom and I will continue “hitting the road,” Pete will also focus on our diversity and other initiatives, while also being President of Bloomberg Inc. (the holding company of BLP), and Tom will sit with me on the fifth floor and help me analyze and set priorities. I’ve never used a title in the company, so I won’t change what I’ll be called — just “Mike.”
We all can’t wait to get going. Thanks as always for everything you do.
Mike
The news first reported by The Information; a company spokesman declined to comment etc.
JP Zammitt being passed over as the CEO in favour of technology honcho Vlad Kliatchko is the biggest takeaway. As one of the main people in charge of the all-powerful terminal business, Zammitt has been the de facto frontrunner for ages. That might have actually been a disadvantage in the race to succeed a founder who delights in occasionally making big changes.
Saint Petersburg State University-educated computer engineer Kliatchko was only appointed to Bloomberg LP’s management committee in 2018, and has only been in charge of all of Bloomberg’s tech, engineering and data operations since 2022.
But as mainFT reported in a mag piece written by some dude earlier this year, some insiders had begun to see Kliatchko as a dark horse to be the next CEO of Bloomberg LP, after some central divisions were recently made his responsibility. Now, he is the Tom Wambsgans of the $12bn-in-revenue data company.
Patti Roskill has been Bloomberg LP’s accountant for ages, but only actually joined the company in 2021 when Bloomberg simply acquired Geller, the CFO outsourcing firm where she previously worked.
An entirely new board chaired by Mark Carney is a bit of a surprise though, We’re not quite sure “emeritus status” really means except it being an ego-cushioning thing? The memo makes clear that exiting chair Peter Grauer will continue to schmooze Bloomberg clients, which has been his main role for a while now.
However, the reality is that there’s always just one person who matters at Bloomberg. That’s the person whose name is on the door, the terminal, the TVs, the stationary etc etc — and as the memo says, he isn’t going anywhere.
So until he moves to the great financial data matrix in the sky, there could yet be some twists and turns in the Bloomberg LP succession battle.
Further reading
— Bloomberg is contemplating life without its founder
Read the full article here
