Hedge fund CEO says staff installed mirrors around the office to stop him from crashing into them while he rode a unicycle

• The CEO of hedge fund Renaissance Technologies used to ride a unicycle around the office.
• Peter Brown said staff once had to install mirrors in the office to stop him crashing into them.

The CEO of hedge fund Renaissance Technologies said staff once installed mirrors around the office to stop him crashing into them while he rode a unicycle.

Peter Brown confirmed the unusual anecdote in a rare interview on the podcast "Exchanges at Goldman Sachs."

The host, Raj Mahajan, asked Brown: "Is it also true that your staff had to install mirrors in the corners of the office to prevent you from flying into people as you rode a unicycle around the office?"

The hedge fund boss confirmed the story was true, before adding he no longer rode a unicycle anymore because he crashed and broke it.

Founded in 1982, New York-based Renaissance Technologies is widely regarded as one of the world's most successful hedge funds.

Brown joined the company in 1993 after a stint at IBM and was one of the first hires made by the hedge fund's founder, Jim Simons. In 2010 Brown became co-CEO with Bob Mercer, who stepped down in 2017.

Simons has a net worth of about $28 billion and is the 51st richest person in the world, per Bloomberg.

Brown has a reputation for being competitive and is known for challenging employees to feats of strength in the office gym, Insider previously reported.

Renaissance is considered one of the more mysterious hedge funds, and Brown and other executives have been media-shy.

In the 45-minute podcast interview, Brown discussed some of his other working habits, including the amount of time he spent sleeping in the office and what he looks for in potential employees.

Representatives for Renaissance did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider, made outside normal working hours.