Peter T. Grauer ’64 has been named the recipient of the Alumni Award, The Hotchkiss School’s highest honor. He is a philanthropist and business leader who served as a top executive at Bloomberg, the global financial technology company, for more than two decades. He will be honored during a ceremony in Katherine M. Elfers Hall later this month.

“Returning to Hotchkiss to receive the Alumni Award brings back reflection on my three years at the School,” Grauer said. “Hotchkiss was instrumental in building the foundation of my leadership that resulted in a career in business that exceeded my wildest expectations and enabled me to give back to a number of important causes.”

Grauer first joined Bloomberg full-time as chairman, president, and CEO in March 2002. Prior to that, he had been a member of the Bloomberg Board of Directors beginning in October 1996 and was named chairman of the board in March 2001, succeeding Michael R. Bloomberg. Grauer was named chairman emeritus in 2023 and retired from Bloomberg in 2025.

Prior to joining Bloomberg, Grauer was a managing director of Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette from 1992 to 2000, when DLJ was acquired by Credit Suisse First Boston. He is a founder of DLJ Merchant Banking Partners and DLJ Investment Partners, and he also served as a managing director and senior partner of CSFB Private Equity. He graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the Harvard University Graduate School of Business, Program for Management Development. 

Grauer was named Hotchkiss Alum of the Month in August 2023. His profile reflects on his time at Hotchkiss, where he served as president of the Student Council and co-captain of the football team. It also includes praise from Hotchkiss Trustee Emerita and former Board President Jean Weinberg Rose ’80, P’18. “Peter Grauer embodies the essential characteristics and qualities with which we want our students to graduate,” she said. “He is passionate about everything he does and is an inspiration to those around him.”

Grauer's list of career accomplishments is extensive. Currently, he is president of the Board of Trustees of the Inner City Scholarship Fund in New York City. He serves as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Wildlife Conservation Society, the WNET Group, and the Buzzards Bay Coalition. He is a member of the board of the Prostate Cancer Foundation, chairman of the College Advising Corps, and founding chairman of the U.S. 30% Club. He is also a trustee of The Economic Club of New York and Rockefeller University.

Previously, Grauer served on the World Economic Forum’s Media, Entertainment and Information, Financial Services, and Gender Parity Board of Governors, and he is the founding chairman of the Community of Chairmen at the World Economic Forum. He is also a member of the British American Business International Advisory Board. 

Among many other career highlights, Grauer served as lead director of DaVita Inc., a healthcare services company based in Colorado. He was the senior independent director and chairman of the Nominations and Audit Committees of Glencore. He is a former independent director and member of the Audit Committee of Blackstone. He is a former member of the Business Council, McKinsey Advisory Council, International Business Council of the World Economic Forum, the Asia Business Council, Out Leadership's Global Advisory Board, and the Partnership for Inner City Education Board of Directors.

Grauer is an emeritus board member of Room to Read and the Board of the USA Cycling Development Foundation. He is a former member of the Board of Trustees of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and several UNC entities, including serving as chair of the Undergraduate Honors Program. He is the chairman emeritus of the Board of Directors of The Big Apple Circus, a former member of Jazz at Lincoln Center, and a former president of the Pomfret School Board of Trustees.

He is a recipient of the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Happy Warrior Award. He also received the Peterson Business Award, the William Richardson Davie Award, the Dean's Award for Distinguished Service to the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and the Papal Order of Merit. In 2017, he was inducted into the North Carolina Media & Journalism Hall of Fame.

Since 1931, the Hotchkiss Alumni Association has presented the Alumni Award to notable alumni. Selected by the nominating committee of the Board of Governors of the Alumni Association, recipients have brought honor and distinction to themselves and Hotchkiss through their achievements. Nominate an individual for the Alumni Award.