Jeffrey Vinik

Jeffrey N. Vinik (born March 22, 1959) is an American investor and sports team owner. He worked at Fidelity Investments and managed a private hedge fund, and is the current owner of the Tampa Bay Lightning and a minority owner of the Boston Red Sox.[1] He served on the board of directors for Liverpool Football Club of the Premier League from 2010–2013.[2]

Jeffrey N. Vinik
Vinik in 2017
Born
Deal, New Jersey, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Alma materDuke University (BS)
Harvard Business School (MBA)
Occupation(s)Businessman, philanthropist
Known forOwner of professional sports teams
SpousePenny Vinik
AwardsTwo-time Stanley Cup champion

Early life

Vinik was born to a Jewish family[3] in Deal, New Jersey.[4] He graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Duke University in 1981 with a bachelor of science in civil engineering.[5] He also obtained an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1985.

Career

Vinik managed the Fidelity Magellan Fund from 1992 to 1996, where he averaged 17% annual returns.[6] After leaving Fidelity, he started hedge fund Vinik Asset Management, with partners including Michael Gordon (now President of Fenway Sports Group). He made investors 93.8% in his first 11 months and approximately 50% a year for the next three years. At the end of 2000, Vinik returned investors $4.2 billion and focused on managing his own portfolio.[4] Vinik and his partners closed down the fund in December 2013, and distributed $9 billion in assets.

In 2010, he purchased the Tampa Bay Lightning from Oren Koules and Len Barrie for $170 million.[7] In January 2011, he purchased the Tampa Bay Storm.[8] The Storm folded in December 2017.[9]

In 2020, The Lightning won the Stanley Cup Championship, defeating the Dallas Stars 4 games to 2. Vinik could not be in the NHL's bubbles in Edmonton or Toronto, so he called into his players' locker room celebration, "congratulating them for their second Stanley Cup championship in team history" after their win over the Stars, according to Pat Pickens of NHL.com. Vinik, who purchased the franchise in 2010, was in Florida watching the Lightning complete their 18-7 run through the Stanley Cup Playoffs and "had to tell his players how happy he was." He said on a video call, "Hey guys, awesome job. So many years in the making, with new guys and the guys who have been here for a while, unbelievable effort. Dominant through the playoffs. You deserve it". In Tampa, Alexis Muellner writes winning hockey has "been the goal since" Vinik bought the team in 2010. The Stanley Cup is "one of the hardest trophies to win in sports." The achievement has been "as much a goal for the organization as has its widespread efforts to transform the community". Sports Business Journal profiled Vinik in 2015 following the Lightning's second appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals.

Philanthropy

In 1998, Vinik and his wife, Penny, donated $1.25 million to endow a professorship at Duke's engineering school. The next year, they donated $5 million towards facilities at the engineering school.[10] In 2012, they donated $10 million to create a challenge fund to endow associate and full professorships dedicated to addressing complex societal challenges.[11] He donated $1.5 million to build a new Jewish Community Center in South Tampa.[3][12][13] With his wife, he also donated to Vanderbilt University in 2016-2017.[14]

Awards and honors

References
  1. "Jeff Vinik Agrees to Purchase Tampa Bay Lightning". Tampa Bay Lightning. February 5, 2010.
  2. "Liverpool confirm 5 new directors". Anfield Online. November 13, 2010.
  3. St. Louis Jewish Light: "As Lightning vies for Stanley Cup, the team's Jewish owner chats with JTA" Jun 8, 2015.
  4. Times Staff (February 5, 2010). "Who is Jeff Vinik?". Tampa Bay Times. Archived from the original on May 20, 2015. Retrieved July 24, 2010.
  5. "Stock Picker Vinik Turns to ETFs After Beating Market". Bloomberg Business. December 17, 2010.
  6. "Corporate Leadership in a Globalising Equity Market" Useem, Michael (1998) in Academy of Management Executive
  7. ESPN: "Vinik agrees to buy Lightning" by Pierre LeBrun February 5, 2010
  8. "Lightning (NHL) Owner, Vinik, Purchases Storm". Arena Football League. January 13, 2011. Archived from the original on March 31, 2012. Retrieved January 13, 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  9. Smith, Joe (December 21, 2017). "Tampa Bay Storm suspending operations". Tampa Bay Times.
  10. Greg Pessin (January 11, 2000). "Investor donates to Pratt facilities". The Chronicle (Duke University).
  11. Times Staff (May 8, 2012). "Tampa Bay Lightning owner Jeff Vinik gives $10 million to Duke University". Tampa Bay Times.
  12. Jewish Tampa: "New JCC Project Garnering Significant Support" Archived 2014-07-14 at the Wayback Machine retrieved July 12, 2014 | "Jeff Vinik added, "We're excited to be a part of the creation of an additional JCC presence in Tampa, and we know this will be transformative for so many members of our community."
  13. Jewish Press of Pinellas County: "Bucs, Lightning owners lead donors for south Tampa Jewish Community Campus" January 17, 2014
  14. "2016-2017 Donors: Vanderbilt University, General". Vanderbilt University. Retrieved March 4, 2018.
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