Jim Davis (business)

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Jim Davis
Born 1943 (age 80–81)
Nationality American
Ethnicity Greek
Alma mater Middlebury College
Occupation Businessman
Known for Owner & chairman of New Balance
Co-founder of Major League Lacrosse
Net worth US$5.2 billion (March 2016)[1]
Spouse(s) married
Children two

Jim Davis (born 1943) is an American billionaire businessman, the chairman of New Balance and a co-founder of Major League Lacrosse.[2][3][4][5]

Early life

James S. Davis was born in 1943,[2] the son of Greek immigrants.[6] He attended the Worcester Academy, and he received a Bachelor of Science in biology and chemistry from Middlebury College in 1966.[2][3][5][7] While in college, he played college football.[4][7]

Career

He started his career as a sales engineer at the LFE Corporation in Waltham, Massachusetts, and as marketing manager for the Applied Geodata Systems Division of Techven Associates of Cambridge, Massachusetts.[3][5] In 1972, he bought New Balance, then only a 6-employee firm in Boston, and turned it into a 4,000-employee global corporation with revenues averaging around $2.5 billion every year.[2][3][5] He has been a Board member of the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association, the International Athletic Footwear & Apparel Manufacturers Association, and the Two/Ten Foundation.[5] He is a member of the Athletic Footwear Council and is on the Executive Committee of the Rubber and Plastic Footwear Manufacturers Association.[5] He also sits on the Board of Directors of the Citizen’s Bank in Providence, Rhode Island.[5]

He has donated $500,000 to Mitt Romney's Super PAC, Restore Our Future.[8][9] He has donated $5 million to the University of Maine.[2] He is the recipient of an Honorary Doctorate from his alma mater, Middlebury College.[2] A library on its campus has also been named for him.[7] He formerly sat on its Board of Trustees, on the Worcester Academy's, and on Newbury College's.[5][10] He sits on the Board of Trustees of the Sports Museum of New England and formerly Boston Children's Museum.[5][11]

As of 2015, he is the 411th richest person in the world, and the 124th richest in the United States, with an estimated wealth of US$4.1 billion.[2]

Personal life

He is married, and has two children.[2] He lives in Newton, Massachusetts.[2]

References

  1. Forbes: "The World's Billionaires - Jim Davis" November 2015
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 Forbes profile
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 New Balance leadership
  4. 4.0 4.1 Daren Fonda, 'Sole Survivor', in Time Magazine, Nov. 01, 2004 [1]
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 5.8 Major League Lacross Founders
  6. The Pappas Post: "Son of Greek immigrant leads New Balance to major expansion" April 3, 2012
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 Sarah C. Ray, 'Library named for Jim Davis '66 and his family', May 7, 2010 [2]
  8. Dan Eggen, 'New Balance distances itself from donation to Romney supporting ‘super PAC’', in The Washington Post, [3]
  9. Glen Johnson, 'New Balance disavows chairman’s Romney donation', on Boston.com, 08/10/2011 [4]
  10. Middlebury College Board of Trustees
  11. Boston's Children Museum Board of Trustees