Ex-New York mayor returns to lead Bloomberg

Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is to return as head of Bloomberg, the data and financial news company he founded in 1981, replacing Daniel Doctoroff who has decided to step aside, the company has said.

The privately held company, in which Bloomberg is the majority shareholder, said on Wednesday that Doctoroff would step aside as president and chief executive at the end of the year.

Bloomberg, whose fortune is estimated at more than $32bn, had expected to spend much of his time on philanthropic efforts after leaving office in late 2013, the Reuters news agency reported.

Those efforts have included fights for public health and gun control.

In a statement, Bloomberg said he never intended to return to his company after 12 years as mayor.

But after reacquainting himself with its operations, he said, he could not resist its lure.

“I have gotten very involved in the company again and that led to Dan coming to me recently to say he thought it would be best for him to turn the leadership of the company back to me,” said Bloomberg, whose company has grown to employ more than 15,000 people in 73 countries and has made him a billionaire.

Doctoroff leaving

Doctoroff became Bloomberg president in 2008 and chief executive in July 2011.

During that period, the company’s revenues increased from $5.4bn to more than $9bn, he said in a memo to the company’s employees.

“So why have I decided to leave now?” said Doctoroff, 56, a former New York deputy mayor in the statement.

“Simply put, while Mike never intended to come back full time, after he left City Hall and started to get to know the company again, he rediscovered what an exciting and incredible place this is. So he naturally wanted to be more involved.”

During Doctoroff’s tenure at the company, the numbers of subscriptions for its terminals has grown from 273,000 to 321,000, the company said in a statement.

Doctoroff stressed he was not leaving for another opportunity, but would focus more of his time on non-profit activities.

He also accepted Bloomberg’s invitation to join the board of the Bloomberg Philanthropies.

Bloomberg started the company using a $10m severance package he received after he was laid off after investment bank Salomon Brothers had been acquired. He had headed equity trading at Salomon.