As president of Blackstone and the person who served as global head of the investment giant's real estate group for several years, Jon Gray may be as connected as anyone in the industry.
So when he joined LinkedIn last week and posted a photo of himself at his desk in 1992, his first year at the company, the social network was atwitter. He quickly amassed more than 20,000 followers and received welcome messages from commercial real estate executives across the globe.
"Thrilled to see you’ve joined LinkedIn Jon Gray," James Seppala, Blackstone's London-based head of real estate in Europe, said in a comment. Marc Irizarry, founder and CEO of MSI Capital Management and a former Goldman Sachs managing director, said, "Could’ve been at Goldman…instead chose smaller, creating an institution envied by all of Wall Street for its formidable business model, strong culture, and outstanding brand."
In his initial post, Gray said he was excited to join LinkedIn, the business social network that launched May 5, 2003, about 11 years after he began his career at Blackstone. In addition to president, Gray is the firm's chief operating officer.
Referring to the photo of himself at his desk more than 30 years ago that he posted, he wrote: "There was certainly no LinkedIn on that computer… Here’s a glimpse at my days as a first-year Blackstone analyst in 1992. It’s remarkable to think about how much the firm has grown in the last 31 years."