Bob Pisani on Purpose and Resilience in a Life of Markets and Moments
For more than 30 years, Bob Pisani was a steady presence on CNBC, broadcasting live from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. To viewers, he was the voice translating the pulse of Wall Street into clear, human language. To Pisani, it was something deeper. “I’ve always seen myself as a teacher,” he says. “My job was to help people understand how the markets work, how to invest responsibly, and how to build wealth slowly. That’s a kind of public service.”
That sense of purpose has guided Pisani throughout a career marked by both historic highs and devastating lows. On Sept. 11, 2001, he was on site in Lower Manhattan when the first plane struck the North Tower and standing beneath the South Tower when the second hit. “You don’t forget the sound of thousands of people gasping at once,” he recalls. “It was mass panic. We all ran. And then you go right back to report because that’s what journalists do—you keep going.”
Pisani’s coverage in the days and weeks that followed became a defining moment not just for CNBC but for financial journalism itself. When Tuesday’s Children honored him this fall for his reporting and his ongoing commitment to public understanding, the recognition carried special meaning. “That day changed all of us,” he says. “It was dark, it was painful, and it also showed me what resilience really means.”
After 9/11, Pisani found his way back to stability through meditation. “I joined a Buddhist meditation group,” he explains. “It didn’t erase the fear or grief, but it helped me look at them differently. You learn to change your relationship with fear—to accept that everything changes. If you fight that truth, you suffer. If you accept it, you can move forward.”
That lesson about focus and presence translates directly into communication. “Whether you’re a journalist or a corporate communicator, clarity matters. You have to remember who you’re serving. If you can’t explain something in plain English, you don’t understand it yourself. Your job is to help people make sense of complexity.”
Pisani’s advice to communicators is grounded in humility. “Markets can turn in seconds. Crises happen fast. You stay ready by preparing, by doing the work every day. That’s what professionalism is—showing up when it matters most.”
After 35 years at CNBC and a lifetime on the floor of the Exchange, Pisani has met everyone from CEOs to artists to world leaders. Yet his most memorable moments are often the simplest. “I once had a conversation with Barry Manilow,” he says, laughing. “He told me that if you love what you do and stay with it long enough, people start calling you a legend. That stuck with me.”
Today, Pisani looks across the Hudson from his home in Jersey City, watching the new skyline of Lower Manhattan rise. “Downtown is thriving again—families, parks, life. That’s resilience,” he says. “New York rebuilt. I rebuilt too. And I’m grateful to still be telling its story.”
