Edward S. Rogers Jr.

Edward Samuel "Ted" Rogers Jr., OC (May 27, 1933 – December 2, 2008) was a Canadian businessman and philanthropist. He was the president and CEO of Rogers Communications Inc., and the fifth-richest person in Canada in terms of net worth.

Ted Rogers
Statue of Rogers in front of Rogers Centre
Born
Edward Samuel Rogers Jr.

(1933-05-27)May 27, 1933
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
DiedDecember 2, 2008(2008-12-02) (aged 75)
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Resting placeMount Pleasant Cemetery, Toronto
NationalityCanadian
EducationB.A. (Toronto, 1956)
LL.B. (Osgoode Hall, 1961)
TitlePresident and CEO of Rogers Communications
Term1967–2008 (as head of Rogers Communications)
Spouse(s)Loretta Robinson (m. 1963)
ChildrenLisa Anne Rogers
Edward S. Rogers III
Melinda Mary Rogers
Martha Loretta Rogers
Parent(s)Edward S. Rogers Sr.
Velma Melissa Taylor
RelativesTimothy Rogers (Quaker leader)
Guard of honour outside St. James Cathedral (funeral on December 9, 2008)

Early life and career

Born in Toronto, Ontario, Rogers was educated at Upper Canada College.[1] He subsequently attended Trinity College in the University of Toronto, graduating in 1956 with a Bachelor of Arts degree.[2] When he was an undergraduate student, Rogers joined the Sigma Chi fraternity. In 1979, he was named a Significant Sig by the fraternity – the 21st Canadian to be inducted.[3]

In 1960, while still a student at Osgoode Hall Law School, he bought all the shares in local radio station CHFI, which pioneered the use of FM at a time when only 5% of the Toronto households had FM receivers. By 1965, he was in the cable TV business. Rogers Communications was established in 1967 and has grown into one of Canada's largest media conglomerates. His father, Edward S. Rogers Sr. (1900–1939), is regarded as the founder of the company, although the radio station that he founded, CFRB, is now owned by another Canadian company and competitor, Bell Media.

Rogers had been the owner of the Toronto Blue Jays Major League Baseball team since September 1, 2000, when Rogers Communications Inc. purchased 80% of the baseball club, with the Labatt Brewing Company maintaining a 20% interest and the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce relinquishing its 10% share. He purchased the remaining 20% share from Labatt in 2003, and owned the team in full until his death. Moreover, the Blue Jays' home ballpark, SkyDome, was renamed Rogers Centre in 2005 after Rogers' firm purchased the stadium (including naming rights).[4]

Family

Rogers was married to Loretta Anne Rogers (née Robinson), and their wedding took place on September 25, 1963.[5] Her father was Roland Robinson, 1st Baron Martonmere, who was a British politician and later served as Governor of Bermuda.[6] Rogers and his wife had four children together: Lisa, Edward, Melinda and Martha.[5] He was a direct descendant of Timothy Rogers (1756–1834), a Quaker leader who founded Newmarket and Pickering in what is now Ontario.

Honours and awards

On October 25, 1990, Rogers was appointed to the grade of Officer of the Order of Canada.[7] In 2006, he was inducted into Canada's Telecommunications Hall of Fame,[8] along with his father, Edward S. Rogers Sr.

Philanthropy

In 2000, Rogers and his wife Loretta gave $26.8 million to the University of Toronto. The landmark contribution was directed to the University of Toronto Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering, which named the Edward S. Rogers Sr. Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering in honour of his father. The Rogers' gift allowed the faculty to establish the Edward S. Rogers Sr. Graduate Scholarships, the Edward S. Rogers Sr. Undergraduate Scholarships, the Edward S. Rogers Sr. Chair in Engineering, the Velma M. Rogers Graham Chair in Engineering, the Rogers AT&T Wireless Communications Laboratories and the Rogers Scholarship Program.

On May 29, 2007, Rogers and his wife made a gift of $15 million to Ryerson University. The donation was directed towards the Faculty of Business, which was renamed the Ted Rogers School of Management at the donors' request. The majority of the gift will be used to establish 52 new undergraduate and graduate student awards and scholarships. The gift also aims to establish a new research chair to seed academic initiatives in management research.

Death and commemoration

Rogers suffered from congestive heart failure and died early on the morning of December 2, 2008, aged 75, at his home in Toronto.[9][10] He was buried in the family plot at Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Toronto.

His autobiography, penned with communications consultant and former business journalist Robert Brehl, was titled Relentless: The True Story of the Man Behind Rogers Communications and was released just 10 weeks before Rogers' death. On December 2, 2009, the first anniversary of his death, a northern section of Jarvis Street in Toronto which runs beside the Rogers Building was renamed Ted Rogers Way in his honour.

From March 4 to 6, 2010, the first annual Ted Rogers Memorial Conference (TRMC) hosted by Ryerson University, the Ted Rogers School of Management, and the Ryerson Commerce Society took place to honour Rogers, inviting Canadian university students to learn more about the values and skills that Rogers possessed. The theme of the conference revolved around the acronym TED: Take risks. Embrace innovation. Defy the status quo.

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See also

References
  1. Holmes, Gillian, ed. (2000). Who's Who in Canadian Business 2001. Toronto: Who's Who Publications. p. 709. ISBN 978-0-920966-60-0.
  2. "Ted Rogers". Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
  3. "Significant Sig". Official website of Sigma Chi. Archived from the original on 24 April 2015. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
  4. Van Hasselt, Caroline. High Wire Act: Ted Rogers and the Empire that Debt Built. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-07-09. Retrieved 2009-03-22.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) John Wiley & Sons Canada (Oct 2 2008).
  5. "Edward Samuel 'Ted' Rogers". Maclean's. 2 December 2008. Retrieved 6 April 2015.
  6. "Lord Martonmere". New York Times. 5 May 1989. Retrieved 6 April 2015.
  7. Order of Canada citation
  8. Yarhi, Eli. "Ted Rogers". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2018-04-26.
  9. Pitts, Gordon (2008-12-02). "Ted Rogers dies at 75". Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2019-12-02.
  10. "Rogers Communications mourns passing of Founder and CEO Ted Rogers". News Release. PR Newswire. 2008-12-02. Archived from the original on 2008-12-05. Retrieved 2008-12-02.
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