Canadian businessman
Edward Samuel
"
Ted
"
Rogers Jr.
,
OC
(May 27, 1933 – December 2, 2008) was a Canadian businessman and philanthropist who served as the president and CEO of
Rogers Communications
. He was the fifth-
richest person in Canada
in terms of net worth.
Life and career
[
edit
]
Rogers was born in
Toronto
, Ontario, the son of Velma Melissa (Taylor) and radio pioneer and inventor
Edward S. Rogers Sr.
He 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 grew into one of Canada's largest media conglomerates. His father, Edward S. Rogers Sr., is regarded as the founder of the company, although the radio station that he established,
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]
Marriage and family
[
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]
On September 25, 1963, Rogers married
Loretta Anne Robinson
.
[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
[
edit
]
On October 25, 1990, Rogers was appointed to the grade of Officer of the
Order of Canada
.
[7]
In 1990, Rogers received the Golden Plate Award of the
American Academy of Achievement
.
[8]
In 2006, he was inducted into Canada's
Telecommunications Hall of Fame
,
[9]
along with his father, Edward S. Rogers Sr. In 2010, Rogers was inducted into the Wireless Hall of Fame for his role in the cellular industry.
[10]
Philanthropy
[
edit
]
In 2000, Rogers and his wife Loretta gave
CA$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
CA$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.
On November 20, 2014, the Ted Rogers Centre for Heart Research was launched after a
CA$130 million
gift from Rogers' family in his memory. It was at the time the largest private gift in Canadian health-care history. This Centre united
The Hospital for Sick Children
,
University Health Network
and the University of Toronto in taking new approaches to how we diagnose, treat and prevent heart failure in adults and children. It is believed to be the world's first institute to bring together research, education and innovation in personalized medicine, stem cell research, bioengineering, regenerative medicine, digital health and advanced clinical care under one umbrella with a single focus.
Death and commemoration
[
edit
]
Rogers suffered from
congestive heart failure
and died early on the morning of December 2, 2008, aged 75, at his home in Toronto.
[11]
[12]
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
[
citation needed
]
and skills
[
citation needed
]
that Rogers possessed. The theme of the conference revolved around the acronym TED: Take risks. Embrace innovation. Defy the status quo.
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Holmes, Gillian, ed. (2000).
Who's Who in Canadian Business 2001
. Toronto: Who's Who Publications. p. 709.
ISBN
978-0-920966-60-0
.
- ^
"Ted Rogers"
.
Canadian Encyclopedia
. Retrieved
April 5,
2015
.
- ^
"Significant Sig"
.
Official website of Sigma Chi
. Archived from
the original
on April 24, 2015
. Retrieved
April 20,
2015
.
- ^
Van Hasselt, Caroline.
High Wire Act: Ted Rogers and the Empire that Debt Built.
"Wiley: High Wire Act: Ted Rogers and the Empire that Debt Built"
. Archived from
the original
on July 9, 2012
. Retrieved
March 22,
2009
.
John Wiley & Sons Canada (Oct 2 2008).
- ^
a
b
"Edward Samuel 'Ted' Rogers"
.
Maclean's
. December 2, 2008
. Retrieved
April 6,
2015
.
- ^
"Lord Martonmere"
.
New York Times
. May 5, 1989
. Retrieved
April 6,
2015
.
- ^
Order of Canada citation
- ^
"Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement"
.
www.achievement.org
.
American Academy of Achievement
.
- ^
Yarhi, Eli.
"Ted Rogers"
.
The Canadian Encyclopedia
. Retrieved
April 26,
2018
.
- ^
Wireless History Foundation (2010).
"Edward S. Rogers Jr"
.
Wireless Hall of Fame
. Retrieved
March 19,
2024
.
- ^
Pitts, Gordon (December 2, 2008).
"Ted Rogers dies at 75"
. Globe and Mail
. Retrieved
December 2,
2019
.
- ^
"Rogers Communications mourns passing of Founder and CEO Ted Rogers"
.
News Release
. PR Newswire. December 2, 2008. Archived from
the original
on December 5, 2008
. Retrieved
December 2,
2008
.
External links
[
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]
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People
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Fixed-line
telecommunications
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Mobile
telecommunications
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Television
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Radio stations
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Other assets
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Facilities
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Acquisitions and
historic brands
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Systems resold by
Shaw
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Defunct channels and brands
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Some assets listed above are or were only partially owned by Rogers Communications. Refer to each individual article for detailed information.
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