Rocky Wirtz
| Rocky Wirtz | |
|---|---|
| Born |
October 5, 1952 Chicago, Illinois, USA |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater |
North Shore Country Day School (1971) Northwestern University (1975) |
| Occupation | Principal Owner & Chairman of Chicago Blackhawks President of Wirtz Corporation. |
| Net worth | $4.2 billion |
North Shore Country Day School (1971)
William Rockwell "Rocky" Wirtz (born October 5, 1952) is the principal owner and chairman of the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks. He is also president of the Blackhawks' parent company, Wirtz Corporation, a diversified conglomerate headquartered in Chicago.
Wirtz oversees Wirtz Corporation’s commercial and residential real estate companies, wine distributor Wirtz Beverage Group, an insurance company and banks in Illinois and Florida. Wirtz is also half-owner of the Blackhawks' home arena, the United Center, along with Chicago Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf. He and Reinsdorf are co-chairmen of the arena's Executive Committee.
Wirtz managed the Judge & Dolph, Ltd. liquor distributorship until October 2007. Shortly after the death of his father, William W. Wirtz, Wirtz assumed control of the Blackhawks, as Wirtz's brother, Peter Wirtz, decided to maintain Bismarck Enterprises in lieu of running the team.
Wirtz graduated from North Shore Country Day School in 1971. In 1975, he graduated from Northwestern University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Communications.
Almost immediately after becoming the new owner, Wirtz began altering some longstanding policies implemented by his father, which many fans saw as anachronistic. According to a source within the Hawks organization, Wirtz "believes in spending money to make money," in marked contrast to his father's frugal management style.
Wirtz stated in a brief interview that he would keep Dale Tallon as Blackhawks general manager and Denis Savard as head coach. He also affirmed at the time that Bob Pulford would remain as the team's senior vice president, but later reassigned him to Blackhawks liaison on NHL affairs. (Savard would be fired as head coach just four games into the 2008-09 season and replaced by Joel Quenneville.)
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