Blackstone COO Jonathan Gray Becomes Unexpected LinkedIn Influencer Through Running Videos
Jonathan Gray, president and COO of Blackstone, has amassed millions of views on LinkedIn by posting short videos of himself jogging in various locations around the world. Gray initially resisted creating social media content but discovered success when he shifted from formal corporate posts to casual travel videos filmed during his business trips. The trend reflects a broader expectation for modern C-suite executives to maintain active social media presence and engage directly with audiences.
Jonathan Gray, the 56-year-old president and chief operating officer of Blackstone, has unexpectedly become a LinkedIn star by posting nearly 50 jogging videos over the past year, with individual videos regularly garnering hundreds of thousands of views. Gray initially resisted suggestions to create social media content, beginning with formal corporate posts that generated minimal engagement. His breakthrough came during a 2025 business trip to Sydney when he experimented with casual travel videos—a format he had previously used in family group chats—showing himself jogging at famous landmarks. The shift proved successful, with his videos now averaging over 100,000 views each and regularly generating nearly 440,000 impressions per post. Gray's content strategy aligns with a broader trend across Fortune 500 companies, where over two-thirds of Fortune 100 CEOs now maintain social media accounts, with 71% posting at least monthly—a 37% increase from the prior year. His relentless travel schedule for Blackstone effectively serves as a content engine, allowing him to showcase the firm's global reach while maintaining an authentic, accessible persona.
What's missing
The article does not address potential criticisms of executive social media use, such as whether this represents an appropriate allocation of a COO's time, concerns about personal branding versus corporate messaging, or how this trend might affect corporate governance and accountability. Additionally, there is no discussion of whether such content creation could pose risks related to market-sensitive information or regulatory compliance.
How coverage differed
Fortune's coverage frames Gray's social media success as a positive adaptation to modern corporate expectations, emphasizing authenticity and accidental success. The article presents this as a natural evolution of executive communication rather than questioning whether such personal branding serves shareholder interests or represents appropriate use of executive time.
What different sources said
- FortuneCenter
A top Blackstone executive is becoming an unlikely LinkedIn star thanks to his running videos
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