Jerry Colangelo

Chairman & CEO of the Phoenix Suns, Chairman Emeritus of the Arizona Diamondbacks

Jerry Colangelo has been regarded as one of the top owners in professional sports. The Arizona Republic named him the Most Influential Sports Figure in the state of Arizona for the 20th century. The Phoenix Business Journal voted him the top businessperson in the Valley for the last five years. Nationally, he has been ranked among The Sporting News most powerful people in sports for the last 10 years. He is one of the latest members of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

Jerry moved to the Valley of the Sun in 1968 to take over the expansion Phoenix NBA franchise as the youngest general manager in professional sports. Since then he has molded the Phoenix Suns into one of the most successful organizations in the NBA -- on and off the court. (He recently sold his interest in the team but remains as Chairman and CEO of the Suns). In addition, he brought Major League Baseball to the Valley in 1998 and serves as Managing General Partner of the Arizona Diamondbacks who won the World Series over the New York Yankees in thrilling fashion in 2001. His is currently Chairman Emeritus, for life, of the Diamondbacks. Jerry also was the key element in facilitating the move of the NHL’s Winnipeg Jets to the Valley of the Sun to become the Phoenix Coyotes. Jerry was on the founding committee for the WNBA, helping advance professional women's basketball in the United States. The Phoenix Mercury was one of the WNBA's inaugural teams in 1997.

He was an outstanding athlete in his own right. He enrolled at the University of Kansas but transferred after his prospective teammate, Wilt Chamberlain, left the Jayhawks for a pro contract. He transferred to the University of Illinois where he earned All-Big Ten honors, captained the Fighting Illini as a senior and was later inducted into the Illinois Basketball Hall of Fame. He also played two years of baseball at Illinois.

The author of a book titled "How You Play the Game," Jerry gives insight into the business world of sports and his own life. Proceeds from the book sales go to YoungLife of Arizona, Phoenix Suns Charities, and Arizona Diamondbacks Charities.

He and wife, Joan, have four children, six granddaughters, and four grandsons.