Computer engineering alum guides Bloomberg through the AI revolution
At the financial, software, and media company, Wayne Barlow ’93 drives the future of the Bloomberg Terminal, a cutting-edge financial technology platform.
Wayne Barlow ’93 chose Virginia Tech for his undergraduate degree from nearly 500 miles away.
“During a college fair, I happened to stop by the Virginia Tech booth,” said Barlow, a New Jersey native. “I think the beautiful pictures of campus made it really interesting. Plus, it was a well-regarded engineering university.”
As a computer engineering graduate, Barlow has worked in technology and financial services for more than 30 years, serving in numerous roles, from software engineering manager to global head of engineering.
Today, Barlow serves as global head of Terminal products at Bloomberg, where he oversees the Bloomberg Terminal, one of the most widely used financial technology platforms in the world, and enterprise-grade products that facilitate the use of artificial intelligence at financial institutions. From the heart of New York City, he guides Bloomberg’s path to building a “Terminal of the future” using emergent technologies.
Barlow chatted about his path to computer engineering, his leadership growth as an engineer, and his best advice for Hokie engineering students.
What drew you to computer engineering?
I’m a first-generation college student, so I didn’t have a lot of guidance about which major to choose. Many people around me were encouraging chemical engineering, especially coming from New Jersey. I originally thought I would pursue mechanical engineering, partly because my father had a mechanical background. Two things pushed me toward computer engineering: my roommate and Fortran.
My roommate was an upperclassman in computer science, so I was exposed early to someone who was enjoying that path. Additionally, all engineering students had to take Fortran programming. It’s an older programming language that was very math-focused and widely used in engineering at the time. That class ended up being my favorite part of freshman year. I genuinely enjoyed the programming assignments and even helped other students with theirs. The logic and problem-solving aspects of programming resonated with me.
You’ve been at Bloomberg for 20 years. What has made you want to stay so long?
Every few years, something changes, whether it’s technology, market structure, geopolitical events, or customer needs. The market today is very different from the market 20 years ago, and the problems financial professionals face continue to evolve.
Most recently, I’ve been focused on building the Terminal of the future. Understanding how large language models, AI agents, and open-source protocols will transform both our product and the broader financial landscape is incredibly interesting. That constant evolution has kept the work exciting.
How did you grow from being the engineer who was doing software work to being a leader?
Moving from individual contributor to leader requires learning how to delegate, which is one of the hardest transitions. Engineers often make one of two mistakes: either holding on too tightly to the technical work or delegating everything and losing touch with it.
Engineers want to be led, not managed. To lead effectively, you have to understand what they do. Early in my career, being hands-on meant working directly in the code and architecture. Over time, being hands-on evolved into shaping organizations and defining systems.
Trust is critical — both trusting your team and earning their trust. As a leader, your job is also to provide context. You have to understand the broader business and bring that context back to your team so they can be successful.
What advice would you like to share with Hokie engineers?
For incoming freshmen, many will have been at the top of their class in high school. College may be the first time they feel truly challenged, and that’s okay. Growth happens when you’re uncomfortable. It’s important to adopt a growth mindset and recognize that you won’t know everything immediately.
For graduating seniors, I would say don’t turn away opportunities simply because they feel like a stretch. We’re never fully prepared for the next step in our journey, and that’s why we have to take it. Every opportunity that opens up deserves consideration, even if it feels uncomfortable. That’s how you grow and build a career.
