Friday, February 27, 2015 10am - The Garden Stage Vision and Passion: A Conversation with Rocky Wirtz Special Guest Interviewer: Mary Ann Childers Rocky Wirtz, President of Wirtz Corporation, will discuss reinvention, competition and the value of teamwork. These are subjects he knows well through his experience with the company’s diverse business portfolio, which includes beverage distribution, real estate and the Chicago Blackhawks. Rocky’s story will also touch on the transformation of the Hawks – called “the greatest sports-business turnaround in history,” by Forbes Magazine – as well as the opportunities and challenges of running a successful family business. Founded in 1926, Wirtz Corporation is based in Chicago, has nearly $2 billion in annual revenue and more than 3,000 employees. W. Rockwell (Rocky) Wirtz
IL and First National Bank of South Miami in Florida. Those
was named President of
companies have long been recognized for their solid financial
Wirtz Corporation and Chair-
footing and the strong roles they play in supporting local com-
man of the Chicago Black-
munities and charities.
hawks in October 2007, following his late father, William W. Wirtz. As President of Wirtz Corporation, Rocky’s role extends to a vast array of businesses, from beverage distribution to financial services, entertainment, insurance and real estate. While Wirtz Realty is the oldest business within the Wirtz family of companies, the family founded what is now known as Ivanhoe Farm decades earlier in the 1850s, where the family first planted their roots in the United States. Today, Ivanhoe Farm is managed by the family’s sixth generation and has developed into a successful local grower and distributor of quality ornamental trees and shrubs.
In his role as Chairman of the Chicago Blackhawks, he oversees all aspects of the club’s operations including the team’s historic Stanley Cup Championship victories in 2010 and 2013. Through it all, Rocky continues to lead his family’s commitment to numerous civic and charitable organizations. His dedication to Chicago Blackhawks Charities is unwavering. Founded by his father, Blackhawks Charities has donated millions of dollars to dozens of organizations focusing on youth programs, health and wellness, education and housing. Those philanthropic efforts have earned the group numerous civic awards, with Blackhawks Charities having been named a “Superstar of Service” by the Jef-
Beyond the Farm, a key piece of the Wirtz Corporation family of
ferson Awards for Public Service and a “Champion for Children” by
companies is Wirtz Beverage Group, a leading national distribu-
Children’s Memorial Hospital.
tor of the world’s top luxury and premium wine, spirits and beer brands. The company, headquartered in Chicago, has operations in Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada and Wisconsin as well as Canada.
At his alma mater, Northwestern, he established the Virginia Wadsworth Wirtz Endowment for Visiting Artists. That endowment program, named in honor of his grandmother, allows Northwestern’s School of Communication to invite nationally acclaimed
Rocky has found business synergies among Wirtz Corporation’s
performers to work directly with students and staff at the Theatre
many holdings. In 2011, Wirtz Beverage Illinois opened a 605,000
and Interpretation Center. In April 2014, the center was renamed
square foot, multi-use training and distribution center just outside
the Virginia Wadsworth Wirtz Center for the Performing Arts in
of Chicago which includes corporate offices and the largest
recognition of the family’s financial gifts.
temperature-controlled wine storage facility in the country. In 2013, the company broke ground on a complementary facility in Lexington, IL, which opened in April 2014. The developer behind both projects: Wirtz Realty.
Rocky and his wife Marilyn reside in the northern suburbs of Chicago. Rocky has three children, Daniel, Hillary and Kendall while Marilyn has one daughter, Elizabeth. Rocky is also the proud grandfather of two granddaughters.
Rocky also oversees Wirtz Insurance as well as banking interests at First Security Trust and Savings, based in Elmwood Park,
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The Landscape Contractor February 2015