Andrew Lack joined Bloomberg Media Group as CEO and later served as Chairman. He accepted the role in October 2008, shortly after the collapse of Lehman Brothers, which triggered the global financial crisis and the Great Recession. Andrew Lack recalls, “I had been approached for the job, but as soon as the stock market crashed, it was, ‘Oh my gosh, this could be a hell of a job.’” With a background in network news and media leadership, he was tasked with elevating Bloomberg’s profile from a financial data provider into a global multimedia powerhouse during the Global Financial Crisis.
Expanding Bloomberg’s Global Reach
Andrew Lack expanded Bloomberg’s footprint to 11 television channels worldwide. This global push strengthened the company’s presence in key financial centers and made Bloomberg the name for essential business and economic news, not just a tool for professionals using terminals. Andrew Lack emphasizes the scale of Bloomberg Media by pointing out that it “has more reporters than The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times combined.”
His daily routine often involved overseeing a wide range of media globally with teleconferences spanning from London to Hong Kong to Dubai.
Andrew Lack’s Approach to Bloomberg’s Growth
One of Lack’s major achievements was successfully doubling revenue while cutting operational costs. By consolidating overlapping services and streamlining production, he made Bloomberg Media more efficient without sacrificing quality. His approach helped create a sustainable foundation for growth.
Lack described Bloomberg as a place of relentless pace and innovation. “The game here is you must see it, share it, read it, visualize it, experience it—and it never stops,” he said. “We spend a fair amount of our time talking about what’s ahead of us. We try to figure out how much information we can give you in the most exciting ways that make the most sense. We hope that we are breaking new ground.”
Andrew Lack’s Vision for the Future of Bloomberg Media
While leading Bloomberg Media, Andrew Lack recognized the importance of diversifying beyond TV. He invested in digital platforms and enhanced Bloomberg’s radio properties, ensuring the brand could reach audiences across multiple formats. He called it Bloomberg’s “every-screen strategy”—a plan to deliver content to every possible device, from high-definition TVs to smartphones and tablets.
Looking ahead, he predicted that mobile media would be transformative. “With mobile, we’re just at the beginning,” he noted. “Nobody’s got much of a business model there yet, but I think mobile will be one of the game changers at Bloomberg.”
Conclusion
Andrew Lack’s tenure at Bloomberg was defined by expansion, innovation, and efficiency. He left the company with stronger global visibility, improved financial performance, and a more modern, diversified media portfolio.
His time there proved that Bloomberg was more than a financial data company, it was a leader in global media. To read more about Andrew Lack’s leadership at Bloomberg, check out his feature “News Without End” in the Bostonian.