Blackstone Mourns One Year After Attacker Claimed Four Lives

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After the shootings, Blackstone, Rudin and the New York City police worked quickly to increase security at the scene. Within a week shattered glass was replaced, turnstiles moved. A new chief security officer arrived at Blackstone in March. As months have passed, the guards standing on the plaza have ceased to stand out.

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‘More Conscious’

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The firm’s leaders also had to find the right way to respond. 

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“I’ve definitely been trying to be more conscious of engaging with more people,” said Gray, who joined Blackstone right out of college in 1992. “It’s something I think about every day.”

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In preparation for this week, Blackstone managers have been given guidance on how to talk to employees.

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“The goal is to be supportive of all of our employees and meet people where they are,” said Paige Ross, global head of human resources. “Some knew Wesley, many did not. Some have been through a loss or trauma and others haven’t.”

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The room that was her office, once decorated with family photographs and her children’s artwork, is now the Wesley Mittman LePatner Lounge, a place with comfortable furniture where people can relax or hold meetings. There are shelves filled with books she loved like Sahil Bloom’s The 5 Types of Wealth. 

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Throughout the year the firm hosted events to bring people together and to honor LePatner. An award for an employee who embodies positive mentorship was created in her name, with $50,000 going to the honoree’s selected charity, marking LePatner’s own commitment to service.

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Her husband, with members of their family and community, established the Wesley Mittman LePatner Foundation to carry forward her legacy. The organization aims to develop 1,000 leaders in the coming decades, with its first program focusing on cultivating mentors. And the UJA, the Jewish philanthropy where LePatner served on the board, established an award in her name that will be give for the first time at its annual Wall Street Dinner in December.

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“You have to be grateful for the fact that you are here and that you have opportunities that were taken away from Wesley,” said Megan Hayes, chief operating officer of Blackstone’s technology and innovations group, who received the first LePatner award. “You have to lean into that and ask, ‘What can you do that’s a little bit better?’”

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Gray said it’s all about “letting people know that it’s OK to be in pain, both from the loss of Wesley or this traumatic experience they’ve gone through.”

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Stephanie McGowan, who co-chairs the women’s group LePatner used to lead and is a managing director in the real estate division, said she treasures certain things her mentor told her. “She encouraged me to look at how others paved their path, but that I didn’t have to follow that exact path,” she said.

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LePatner always dropped her kids off at school in the morning and was home in time for dinner. She told Gray that being able to do so was a condition of her taking the job.

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“Wesley astounded us on how much energy and care she could put into everything she touched,” said Giovanni Cutaia, president of Blackstone Real Estate, who knew LePatner since their Goldman days.

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—With assistance from David Gillen.

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