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H. Wayne Huizenga began his active involvement in South Florida sports on March 7, 1990, when he purchased 15 percent of the Miami Dolphins and a 50 percent interest in Joe Robbie Stadium, now called Dolphin Stadium. That involvement was finalized on January 24, 1994, when he acquired the remaining 85 percent of the Dolphins and the additional 50 percent of the stadium, leaving him with 100 percent ownership of both entities.
Mr. Huizenga has had an unprecedented business career as an entrepreneur. He is the only person in America to be responsible for six companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange and to have three make the Fortune 500 list. He co-founded Waste Management, Inc., the global leader in the waste industry, as well as the third-largest U.S. waste disposal company, Republic Services. Additionally, he was the CEO of Blockbuster Entertainment, the global leader in video entertainment, and founder of AutoNation, Inc., the country’s first and world’s largest public automotive dealership. He was also founder of Boca Resorts, Inc., an owner and operator of luxury resorts in South Florida, and co-founder of Extended Stay America, which operated in the lodging industry in many areas around the United States.
He is chairman of Huizenga Holdings, Inc., and is the sole or majority owner of several businesses. He has numerous real estate interests throughout Florida that include office buildings, warehouses, shopping centers, marinas and underdeveloped real estate acreage.
Mr. Huizenga was responsible for bringing Major League Baseball to South Florida in 1993, serving as chairman of the Florida Marlins through 1998, and under his direction the Marlins won the World Series in 1997. He also brought the National Hockey League to South Florida, serving as Owner, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Florida Panthers for the first eight years (1993-2001) of that team’s existence, including the 1995-96 season when they reached the Stanley Cup Finals.
Mr. Huizenga’s numerous entrepreneurial achievements were recognized by the Horatio Alger Association, which presented him with its top honor, along with Henry Kissinger and Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, in 1992. Business and academic groups have honored Mr. Huizenga seven times as Entrepreneur of the Year. In 2004 he was awarded the Ernst & Young United States Entrepreneur of the Year Award, and followed that by being named the 2005 Ernst & Young World Entrepreneur of the Year from a group of candidates covering 36 different countries. He is a five-time recipient of Financial World magazine’s CEO of the Year and was named Business Leader of the Year by Georgetown University’s Business School.
Among Mr. Huizenga’s other awards are the Yale University’s Gordon Grand Fellow Award, the highest non-academic award bestowed by the school, and the University of Missouri-Kansas City’s International Entrepreneur of the Year. He is a member of Nova Southeastern University’s Board of Trustees and recently provided the resources to establish the Huizenga School of Business and Entrepreneurship at the University.
Mr. Huizenga has been inducted into a number of business and sports halls of fame during his career. Most recently, in 2006 he was voted into the Automotive Hall of Fame for his role in transforming AutoNation, which he founded in 1996, into the world’s largest automotive retailer a decade later. Earlier in 2006 he was named to the Junior Achievement U.S. Business Hall of Fame. He also has been elected to the Waste Industries Hall of Fame in 2003, the Nova Southeastern University Entrepreneur Hall of Fame in 2002, and the Video Hall of Fame in 1991.
On the sports front, he has been named to the Florida Sports Hall of Fame, the Greater Miami Sports Hall of Champions and the Broward County Hall of Fame.
Mr. Huizenga’s community involvement has included membership in many civic organizations, including the Florida Council of 100, the Florida Council on Economic Education, the Salvation Army of Broward County and the Boys and Girls Club of Broward County.
The Huizenga family also is involved in many charitable organizations, including the American Heart Association, the Humane Society, the American Cancer Society, the Performing Arts Center Authority, and the Make-A-Wish Foundation. They are especially active in children’s causes, such as Jack & Jill Nursery, Take Stock in Children, the Child Services Council and Kids in Distress, and have awarded scholarships to children in the community through the Horatio Alger Association.
Mr. Huizenga and wife, Marti, live in Fort Lauderdale. They have four children: Wayne, Jr., Ray, Scott, and Pam, and eight grandchildren. |
