Mike Bloomberg created a tech company called Hawkfish that's helping his 2020 campaign and employs ex-Facebook CMO Gary Briggs and ex-Foursquare CEO Jeff Glueck
CNBC
Context & Ripple Effects
Hawkfish is Mike Bloomberg's answer to the digital-operations gap between his late-starting 2020 bid and rivals who spent years building in-house data teams: rather than embed technologists in the campaign, he funded a standalone company led by ex-Facebook CMO Gary Briggs and ex-Foursquare CEO Jeff Glueck. The structure matters because it sits outside normal campaign-finance reporting rhythms while doing core electoral work.
The move kicked off a broader build-out — weeks later Bloomberg's operation was asking hundreds of tech leaders on a conference call to refer their best staff to New York, and pairing with Meme 2020 for sponsored Instagram posts. The arc ran further than one candidacy: an inside look at Hawkfish showed it later working behind the scenes for Joe Biden before shutting down in May 2021.
First-order effects
Briggs and Glueck give Bloomberg a consumer-internet-grade targeting and analytics bench from day one, letting his campaign buy reach and measure persuasion like an ad platform rather than a traditional field operation.
Second-order effects
Rival campaigns face pressure to match the model — either poaching similar tech-executive talent themselves or ceding the digital-targeting edge — while Silicon Valley becomes a recruiting pool, as Bloomberg's call asking tech leaders to refer top staff made explicit.
Third-order effects
If wealthy candidates keep funding private companies to do campaign work, election infrastructure drifts toward opaque, donor-controlled vehicles whose lifespan outlasts — or ends abruptly with, as Hawkfish's post-Biden shutdown showed — the candidacy that created them, raising structural questions regulators have not yet answered.
The trend: Presidential campaigns are being supplemented by privately funded tech companies that hire consumer-internet executives, turning election operations into venture-style projects that can outlive or vanish with their patron.
Not sure it will work at the scale required, but this is a very interesting move: https://www.cnbc.com/...
@matt_kiser
Matt Kiser on x
Mike Bloomberg is plowing millions of dollars into a secretive tech firm he founded months ago to power his 2020 presidential bid https://www.cnbc.com/... via @CurrentStatus
@jeffglueck
Jeff Glueck on x
PLEASE send us the very best people who want to join the cause full time in NYC (NOT Vendors please!): data scientists, infra engineers, account strategists, creatives, project managers, etc. And warning, this is a 7 day a week workplace through Super Tuesday and beyond!
@jeffglueck
Jeff Glueck on x
I've been an advisor for months here, but the time came to hop in with both feet and follow my passions. After 20+ years in tech startups, it' a chance to contribute on things I care deeply about, like climate change, gun safety, women's rights, education, access to healthcare...
@jeffglueck
Jeff Glueck on x
Our first major customer is Mike Bloomberg for President, but we have already done work on behalf of Dem candidates in state elections. The talent here is really impressive. A mix of people from Silicon Valley companies, data scientists, and experienced Dem campaign veterans.
@jeffglueck
Jeff Glueck on x
Now I can share the rest of my news: I have joined as Head of Digital for Hawkfish, a new startup to build state-of-the-art data and tech infrastructure for Democrats and progressive causes. Our clients are political campaigns, advocacy groups, and PAC's.
@cnbc
@cnbc on x
Mike Bloomberg turns to secretive tech firm he founded months ago to power White House run https://www.cnbc.com/...
@schwartzbcnbc
Brian Schwartz on x
@tuckerhiggins NEW: Hawkfish, according to the Bloomberg campaign, is providing digital ad services, including content creation, ad placement and analytics. It was put together in early 2019 after Bloomberg met with the likes of investors Ron Coway and Fred Wilson. https://www.cn…
@schwartzbcnbc
Brian Schwartz on x
@tuckerhiggins NEW: The original purpose of Hawkfish was to overtake President Donald Trump's juggernaut of a digital operation. While that's still the case, they are now the “primary digital agency and technology services provider for the [Bloomberg] campaign.” https://www.cnbc.…
@michael_calia
Mike Calia on x
Bloomberg's secretive tech firm worked on Democratic efforts in Virginia and Kentucky this year, but his campaign wouldn't say which races. Dems took the Virginia statehouse for the first time in over 2 decades and unseated a GOP gov in red Kentucky. https://www.cnbc.com/...