Peter Grauer
Quick Facts
Biography
Peter T. Grauer (born 1945) is an American businessman and entrepreneur. He has been a member of the Bloomberg L.P. Board since October 1996 and was named chairman of the Board in March 2001 succeeding Michael Bloomberg. Grauer joined Bloomberg full-time in his executive capacities in March 2002. Prior to becoming a member of Bloomberg L.P. in 1996, Grauer was the founder of DLJ Merchant Banking Partners and Investment. He also currently serves as the lead independent director of the health-care services firm, DaVita, Inc.
Personal life and education
Grauer was born in Philadelphia, PA in 1945. He graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1968 with a Bachelor's Degree in English, and Harvard University Graduate School of Business, Program for Management Development in 1975. Prior to Chapel Hill, Peter graduated from Hotchkiss School.
Grauer is a member of the Board of the USA Cycling Development Foundation and a member of the Board of the Prostate Cancer Foundation. He also serves as President of the Board of Trustees of the Inner City Scholarship Fund in New York City.
In June 2013, Grauer was appointed an Independent Non-Executive Director of Glencore plc, later rising to Senior Independent Non-Executive Director in May 2014.
In 2014, Grauer became the founding chairman of the American chapter of the 30% Club, an international organization aimed at increasing women’s representation on corporate boards.
Grauer was named to the Global Advisory Board of Out Leadership, which partners with senior executives to advance LGBT equality, in late 2014. OutStanding and the Financial Times named Grauer #4 in their 2015 list of Leading LGBT & Ally Executives, citing his active commitment to LGBT workplace inclusion in Bloomberg LP’s global offices.
Grauer sits on the boards of several prominent educational institutions. He serves as the Founding Board Chair of College Advising Corps, a national nonprofit organization that supports low-income, first generation students on the path to college. He is also a member of both the Board of Trustees of Rockefeller University, a global center for scientific research and education, and the Emeritus Board of literacy and education nonprofit Room to Read. Grauer currently serves as the Chairman Emeritus of Big Apple Circus, an award-winning New York circus performing company and community outreach organization.
Grauer is a former member of the Board of Trustees of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Chairman of the External Advisory Board of the Undergraduate Honors Program, as well as a member of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Foundation Board and the UNC Global Research Institute Board. Additionally, Grauer is the former President of the Pomfret School Board of Trustees. In 2015 Grauer voted against changing the name of Saunders Hall at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill when an objection was raised concerning William Saunders's prominent Ku Klux Klan activity.
Grauer also serves as an advisor to multiple global business institutions. Grauer sits on the advisory board of McKinsey & Company, a global management consulting firm. He is a member of the International Advisory Board of BritishAmerican Business, a transatlantic business network connecting leaders in New York and London. In June 2016, multinational investment firm Blackstone Group appointed Grauer to its board of directors.
Professional career
Prior to his time at Bloomberg L.P., Grauer was the managing director and senior Partner of the investment bank Donaldson Lufkin & Jenrette from 1992 to 2000, when DLJ was acquired by Credit Suisse First Boston. He was also the founder of DLJ Merchant Banking Partners and DLJ Investment Partners. Grauer has been a director of DaVita, Inc. a Colorado-based healthcare company since 1994 and the lead independent director since 2003.
He is a member of the Executive Committee of The Business Council, starting in 2011 (still currently involved).
Bloomberg
Grauer met the Founder of Bloomberg L.P., Michael Bloomberg, during equestrian shows both their daughters participated in. It was not until 1996 that Grauer was asked to become a member of the Bloomberg L.P. board of directors where he was later named Chairman of the Board in March 2001, succeeding Michael Bloomberg.
Despite the economic downturn in 2007, Grauer has been credited with bolstering the workforce at Bloomberg L.P., adding nearly 1,000 employees in 2009. Additionally, while Chairman of Bloomberg L.P, Grauer led the company to purchase BusinessWeek from McGraw-Hill being quoted as saying he would like Bloomberg to become, ‘the most influential source of news for the financial and business community.”
In July 2011, Daniel L. Doctoroff was promoted to Bloomberg L.P.’s chief executive officer and assumed majority responsibility of the company from Grauer, who remained chairman and to whom Doctoroff continued to report. Following Doctoroff’s departure from the company in September 2014, Mike Bloomberg resumed overall leadership of Bloomberg L.P., with support from Grauer and Tom Secunda.