Jonathan Kraft

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Jonathan A. Kraft is the president of the New England Patriots, owner/investor of the New England Revolution, and both president and chief operating officer of The Kraft Group. He is one of four children of New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft and his wife Myra Kraft.

Contents

[edit] Education

In 1986, Kraft graduated from Williams College with a bachelor's degree in history. He currently serves on Williams' board of trustees. After working as a consultant at Bain & Company for two years, Kraft also earned his MBA from Harvard Business School in 1990.[1]

[edit] Professional career

[edit] Role with New England Patriots

Since his family's purchase of the team in 1994, Kraft has held the titles of Vice President (1994-1999), Vice Chairman (2000-2005) and President (2005-present), and thus has overseen the management of each department in the organization. However, he estimates his duties with the Patriots and Revolution only use 40 percent of his time. Most of the other time, per Kraft, is spent fulfilling his duties with the Kraft Group and its subsidiaries, the Rand-Whitney Group and International Forest Products, as well as managing a portfolio of 30 private equity investments.[2]

[edit] Media ventures

In 1995, the Patriots became the first professional sports team to offer a weekly, full-color publication with the first publishing of Patriots Football Weekly. The same year, Kraft directed the launching of the first official website of a professional sports team, Patriots.com. Two years later, the Patriots launched a nightly streaming video program, Patriots Video News, on their website. By 2004, Patriots.com had been expanded to include a Chinese language version of their webpage, Patriots.com.cn, maintained by interns hired from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.[3] After each of the Patriots' victories in Super Bowl XXXVI, Super Bowl XXXVIII, and Super Bowl XXXIX, Kraft worked with NFL Films president Steve Sabol to produce DVDs for each respective win: 3 Games to Glory and its sequels 3 Games to Glory II and 3 Games to Glory III.

[edit] Foxboro Stadium

From the Kraft family's purchase of Foxboro Stadium in 1988 to its demolition in 2002, Kraft brought numerous soccer and concerts to the stadium. These included The Rolling Stones, Aerosmith, and Elton John, among others.

[edit] Gillette Stadium

Prior to the opening of Gillette Stadium in 2002, Kraft developed a private financing plan for the $325 million USD facility that featured year-round club memberships instead of private seat licenses. He was also directly involved in the planning, construction, and operation of the stadium.

[edit] Patriot Place

In May 2007, the Krafts announced a $350 million retail and entertainment complex named Patriot Place to be built in the 700 acres (2.8 km²) of land around Gilette Stadium. Featuring a Bass Pro Shops store and a Patriots Hall of Fame and museum, the Krafts expect 40,000 visitors daily to the complex.[4]

[edit] Role with the NFL

Within the National Football League, Kraft serves on two owners' committees. In March 2006, when the National Football League Players Association and the NFL were dead-locked in contract negotiations, Kraft designed the revenue sharing plan that was used for the latest collective bargaining agreement.

[edit] Role with New England Revolution

Since their inception in 1995 as one of the inaugural teams of Major League Soccer, Kraft has been the co-owner/investor of the Revolution, along with his father. Foxboro hosted its third MLS Cup in 2002, the first in Gillette Stadium and the first involving the Revolution as one of the teams vying for the MLS title. In front of an MLS-record crowd of 61,136, the Revolution would go on to lose the match, as well as their other three MLS Cup appearances in 2005, 2006, and 2007.

[edit] Other soccer involvements

The Krafts' interest in soccer has extended beyond the Revolution. Foxboro Stadium played host to six matches of the 1994 FIFA World Cup, five of the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup, as well as the 2000 Founder's Cup. In November 2005, the Krafts expressed interested in purchasing the Liverpool F.C.,[5] but the team was eventually acquired by a pair including Tom Hicks, the owner of the Dallas Stars and Texas Rangers, in February 2007.[6]

Kraft also served as the owner/investor of the San Jose Earthquakes from 1999-2000, the two years which the Kraft Group owned the team.

[edit] Involvement in China

Two years after the launch of their Chinese language website, Robert Kraft and the Patriots announced their plans to participate in the 2007 China Bowl to be held in Beijing against the Seattle Seahawks.[7] While this game was originally scheduled for August 2007, it has since been postponed to 2009.[8] The Kraft Group still remains actively involved in business in the country. International Forest Products, a subsidiary of the Kraft Group operated by Jonathan Kraft's brother Daniel has imported $100 million of their paper products to China every year since beginning business in the early 1990s.[3]

[edit] Other involvements

Kraft is a member of the board of directors for various organizations, including the United States Soccer Federation, Citizens Bank Massachusetts, and Children's Hospital Boston Trust.

[edit] Awards and honors

  • 2006 Pop Warner Warner Award[9]
  • 2002 Sports Business Daily Sports Industrialists Award (also received by Robert Kraft)
  • Greater Boston Convention and Visitors Bureau Spirit of Tourism Award

[edit] Personal

Kraft and his wife Patti have three children. He has coached Little League baseball, Pop Warner football, and youth soccer in the Boston area.

[edit] References

  1. ^ HighPoint Capital Team Members HighPoint Capital. Accessed 3 June 2007.
  2. ^ SportsBusinessJournal.com - Jonathan Kraft. Sports Business Journal. Accessed 4 June 2007.
  3. ^ a b China Sales Boston.com. Accessed 4 June 2007.
  4. ^ Krafts building a $350m Patriot Place complex, and a legacy. Boston.com. Accessed 4 June 2007.
  5. ^ Kraft admits Liverpool interest BBC News. Accessed 5 June 2007.
  6. ^ US pair agree Liverpool takeover BBC News. Accessed 5 June 2007.
  7. ^ NFL: China Bowl Press Conference - 9/24/2006 Patriots.com. Accessed 4 June 2007.
  8. ^ NFL cancels China Bowl to focus on London game. ESPN.com. Accessed 4 June 2007.
  9. ^ Jonathan Kraft Receives Top Honor At Pop Warner's 46th Annual All-American Scholar Banquet. Patriots.com. Accessed 4 June 2007.

[edit] External links

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