In a story reflecting a growing shift among young professionals, Bart Dziedzic, a 27-year-old former investment banker, has revealed why he walked away from JPMorgan Chase, taking a 50% pay cut to join the creative empire of YouTube megastar MrBeast.

Dziedzic told Business Insider that while his job on Wall Street was financially rewarding, it left him exhausted, uninspired, and longing for a more meaningful career path.

From Wall Street Prestige to Creator Economy

Raised in Darien, Connecticut, Dziedzic grew up admiring entrepreneurs like Steve Jobs and Elon Musk. After graduating from Fordham University, he secured a job at JPMorgan — a dream for many young finance professionals.

“It was prestigious, and the money was good,” he said.
But behind the prestige was a demanding schedule: 80-to-100-hour workweeks, long nights, and a relentless Manhattan pace.

“If you break it down to the hourly rate, it’s not a ton of money. And the noise of the city was starting to wear on me,” he added.

Despite climbing the ranks, he felt the corporate structure left little room for innovation or personal growth.

Enter MrBeast: A Different Kind of Opportunity

Dziedzic learned through a VC partner that MrBeast was looking for “smart, obsessive, athletic people” to join his rapidly expanding team. The YouTuber, known for massive-scale productions and philanthropic stunts, runs one of the biggest creator businesses in the world.

The opportunity came with major lifestyle changes:

• A 50% salary cut
• Relocating from New York to Greenville, North Carolina
• Leaving friends and family
• Taking a leap into an industry he had never worked in

Yet, he believed the risk was worth taking at his age.

“I don’t have a family or mortgage. Everyone knows the MrBeast name. I saw the chance to learn, add value, and be part of a brand growing very rapidly,” Dziedzic said.

He joined the team in February 2024.

First Taste of the Creator World

His introduction to the creator economy came through an enormous MrBeast shoot involving contestants aged 1 to 100 — a production worth millions.

The scale shocked him.
The pace thrilled him.

Soon after, Dziedzic was handed one of his biggest challenges:
planning and executing a MrBeast theme park in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

He negotiated deals, designed attractions, managed operations, and compared the experience to helping his father with construction projects in his childhood.

The theme park opened ahead of schedule, drawing 7,000 visitors on the first day.

Back to New York — But With a New Mindset

Now working as Manager of Strategy and Operations for MrBeast’s holding company, Dziedzic has moved back to New York — this time on his own terms.

The transition reinforced a belief he now shares with other young professionals:

“Do something exciting, risky, with a good leadership team. Learn as much as you can early on. The further you get into your career, the harder it is to pivot.”

His journey mirrors a broader trend:
talented young workers increasingly leaving rigid corporate cultures for the flexibility and creativity of the creator economy.

And for Dziedzic, trading a prestigious bank for YouTube’s biggest creator may have been the best investment of his career.

In a landmark leadership shift within European media, Thomas Rabe — one of the longest-serving executives in Germany’s entertainment industry — will step down as CEO of Bertelsmann and RTL Group at the end of 2026, bringing a 15-year tenure to a close.
The announcement marks the beginning of a carefully orchestrated succession plan that places two rising leaders at the helm of the media giant.

Beginning January 1, 2027, Thomas Coesfeld will become Chairman and CEO of Bertelsmann, while Clément Schwebig will take over as CEO of RTL Group — a pivotal realignment for the company behind RTL+, Fremantle, and multiple European broadcasting networks.

“Leadership will be in excellent hands”—Rabe praises successors

Rabe, who guided Bertelsmann through a massive digital transformation and global expansion, expressed confidence in the new leadership team.

“We have worked closely and with great trust for many years,” Rabe said, praising Coesfeld’s readiness to take over the top job.
He added that Schwebig “knows RTL Group well… and brings valuable insights into the growth markets of Asia.”

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This transition is not abrupt — it’s the result of deliberate grooming of internal talent.

Who is Thomas Coesfeld? The fast-rising insider taking Bertelsmann’s top seat

Coesfeld joined Bertelsmann in 2018, first stepping into the Bertelsmann Printing Group, before moving into its music division BMG in 2020. In 2023, he became BMG’s CEO.

The surprising twist?

Coesfeld will continue leading BMG while also serving as CEO of Bertelsmann, holding an unusually powerful dual role — a signal of how deeply the company prizes continuity.

His ascension also underscores a generational shift: Coesfeld represents a younger leadership profile, with experience rooted in digital music, rights management, and new-age content monetization.

Who is Clément Schwebig? The global strategist returning home

Schwebig’s appointment as CEO of RTL Group represents a homecoming.
The French executive spent more than a decade at RTL in senior positions across Asia and Europe before joining Warner Bros. Discovery, where he rose to President and Managing Director for Western Europe and Africa.

His experience leading complex media territories and strengthening regional markets gives him a vantage point the company sees as vital for RTL’s future.

Rabe described him as“A leader with deep RTL roots and crucial insights into Asia, where Bertelsmann seeks further expansion.”

The legacy Rabe leaves behind

Rabe’s imprint on Bertelsmann is impossible to ignore. Under his leadership, the company shifted from traditional media into a diversified powerhouse, investing heavily in:

• Fremantle, producer of Idol, Got Talent, and the Oscar-winning Poor Things
• RTL+, the streaming service that recently surpassed 7 million paying subscribers
• Global content production pipelines across Europe, the U.S., and Asia

He pushed Bertelsmann to embrace digital content, international expansion, and a multi-format entertainment ecosystem — making the company more global than ever.

A turning point for European media

The 2027 transition doesn’t just mark a leadership change — it signals a shift in direction during a time of intense industry disruption.

Streaming wars are tightening.
Traditional broadcasters are fighting for relevance.
Content production is reshaping itself around data, rights, and artificial intelligence.

Coesfeld and Schwebig will inherit a company sitting at the crossroads of all three.

For Bertelsmann, the question now is simple:
Will the successors protect Rabe’s legacy — or redefine it?

If early reactions from inside the company are any indication, both executives appear ready for the challenge.

In a development that could reshape America’s autonomous transport landscape, Tesla has quietly obtained a “transportation network company” permit from the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT). The approval, confirmed this week, allows the electric carmaker to take its next step toward launching a full-fledged ride-hailing service—possibly even its long-teased robotaxi fleet.

But as insiders point out, the real question now is whether Elon Musk can finally deliver on a promise he has repeated for nearly a decade: cars that drive themselves safely and commercially at scale.

A Big Step… But Not the Final One

According to ADOT, Tesla applied for the permit on November 13 and received approval just days later. While this allows the company to legally operate a ride-hailing service in Arizona, Tesla still needs additional approvals before launching fully driverless robotaxis on the state’s roads.

The timing is crucial. In Austin, Texas, Tesla has already begun a robotaxi pilot program—though the vehicles currently run with human safety drivers and remote operators. The company hopes to remove human monitors in Austin before the end of 2025, a move that would signal Tesla’s first “true” autonomous deployment.

A Race Tesla Isn’t Leading

Despite the hype, Tesla is trailing substantially behind rivals in the autonomous ride-hail sector.

Alphabet’s Waymo already operates 400+ driverless vehicles commercially in Phoenix and surpassed 10 million autonomous trips earlier this year—a milestone Tesla is nowhere near.

Meanwhile, in China, Baidu’s Apollo Go is recording explosive growth, reporting 3.1 million fully driverless rides in Q3 2025 alone, a 212% year-over-year surge.

Compared to them, Tesla’s pilot—still dependent on safety drivers—looks like an early prototype rather than a mature service.

Safety Concerns Still Loom Large

Data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration shows that Tesla vehicles equipped with automated driving systems were involved in seven reported collisions since the pilot began in Texas. While no major injuries were reported, the incidents have heightened scrutiny as Tesla attempts to expand autonomy testing to cities like Phoenix.

Experts agree that the company must demonstrate consistently safe performance before regulators approve true driverless operations.

Musk’s Big Vision: ‘Text, Sleep and Drive’

At Tesla’s 2025 shareholder meeting, Elon Musk reiterated his long-standing dream of cars that can drive while passengers “text and drive” or even “sleep and drive.”

Yet even Musk acknowledged the technological gap that remains:

“Before we allow the car to be driven without paying attention, we need to make sure it’s very safe… We’re on the cusp of that.”

It wasn’t the first time he made such a claim—and critics note that Tesla has missed similar autonomy deadlines since 2016.

What Happens Next?

If Tesla successfully clears Arizona’s remaining regulatory barriers, Phoenix could become one of the first cities to host both Waymo’s and Tesla’s driverless fleets—setting up a real-world comparison of two very different approaches to autonomy:

• Waymo: sensor-heavy, super-mapped, fully driverless
• Tesla: camera-based, AI-first, still transitioning away from human oversight

For now, Tesla has the permit, the ambition, and the backing of the world’s richest and most outspoken tech CEO. What it doesn’t have—yet—is the proven track record of true autonomy that competitors already showcase.

But with the new Arizona approval, the clock is ticking.

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