Talking to Alphabet's Dan Doctoroff

Dan Doctoroff gave Greater NY partners an inside look at the New York City he knows from his experience as deputy mayor for Economic Development and Rebuilding for the City of New York, as CEO and president of Bloomberg L.P., and now as chairman and CEO of Sidewalk Labs, Alphabet Inc.'s organization that designs, tests and builds urban innovations. Speaking to a small group gathered for breakfast, Doctoroff took questions and led the discussion on ambition, collaboration, getting things done and his new book “Greater Than Ever: New York’s Big Comeback.”

The theme of the morning was embracing a bold vision in the development of cities. Doctoroff drew from his experience leading the bid to bring the 2012 Olympics to New York City, the rezoning of Manhattan’s West Side and the development of The Shed, a flexible, multi-purpose arts venue in Hudson Yards and NYC’s newest cultural institution. For each of these projects, Doctoroff cited the people who had helped make them possible – some of them in the room – and emphasized the power of collaboration in making big change happen.

“Our job is to grow.”

“Our job is to grow,” said Doctoroff. “New York competes with other cities. We need to enable NYC to stay ahead.”

“We’re in the midst of the fourth urban technology revolution – the first was the steam engine, then electricity, the automobile and now digital communication.” Answering questions about how technology enables urban growth, Doctoroff said: “Technology allows us to align across institutions instead of keeping us siloed and not able to work together. No one is smart enough to plan a city. You need open architecture with digital infrastructure and culture that enables co-creation.”

“We’re in the midst of the fourth urban technology revolution – the first was the steam engine, then electricity, the automobile and now digital communication.”

Of the leadership skills needed for success, Doctoroff said: “Soft skills are really important, more than hard skills. You need to be able to operate on two speeds at the same time – patience and urgency. Mastering those two speeds is so hard.”

Doctoroff was introduced by his former Chief-of-Staff Sharon Greenberger, GNY ‘18, now president and CEO of the YMCA of Greater New York. Greenberger’s introduction offered a list of “ten lessons I learned from Dan Doctoroff.” She said, “I am the leader I am today because of the lessons I learned from Dan.”

Dan Doctoroff is chairman and CEO of Sidewalk Labs. He was previously president and CEO of Bloomberg L.P. from 2008 to 2014, and deputy mayor for Economic Development and Rebuilding for the City of New York under Mayor Bloomberg from 2002 to 2008. He founded NYC2012, the organization that spearheaded efforts to bring the Olympic Games to NYC. Doctoroff is founder and chairman of The Shed. He also serves on the Board of Directors of the University of Chicago and Bloomberg Philanthropies. Doctoroff received a B.A. degree from Harvard College and his law degree from the University of Chicago.

For the list of “Ten Lessons I Learned from Dan Doctoroff,” click here.

Greater NY holds quarterly breakfasts for its partners with speakers
from the public, private and nonprofit sectors