Jeremy M. Jacobs is chairman and chief executive officer of Delaware North Companies, one of the world’s leading hospitality and food service companies. Its family of companies is comprised of Delaware North Companies Sportservice, Delaware North Companies Travel Hospitality Services, Delaware North Companies Parks & Resorts, Delaware North Companies International, TD Garden in Boston and Delaware North Companies Gaming & Entertainment. Delaware North is one of the largest and most admired privately held companies in the United States with more than $2 billion in annual revenue and 50,000 associates serving half a billion customers in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. The company’s operations include global sports stadia and arenas, worldwide airports, destination resorts, national and state parks and gaming and entertainment venues.
In addition to his leadership of Delaware North Companies, Jacobs has owned the Boston Bruins for more than 30 years and is one of the most respected sports business leaders in the world. Jacobs represents the club on the NHL's Board of Governors, serves on its executive committee and in June 2007, was elected by his peers to a two-year term as chairman of the board. Because of his involvement in sports, he is frequently cited as one of the most influential people in sports business. Jacobs is an avid sportsman and his ownership of the Bruins continues a family tradition at the helm of a sports franchise. He owned the Cincinnati Royals basketball team in the 1960s and his father owned both minor league baseball and hockey teams. He was inducted into the Western New York Sports Hall of Fame in 2006.
Jacobs serves on the 15-member U.S. Travel and Tourism Advisory Board, whose members are appointed by the Secretary of Commerce and approved by the White House. He is currently serving his third term on this board.
Over the years, one of the company's hallmarks is its dedication to the communities where it operates. Jacobs was instrumental in the creation of the Boston Bruins Foundation in 2003, which formalized the Bruins' multitude of community activities and brought his passion for children's charities and sports together to create opportunities for underprivileged youth. The foundation is in addition to the extensive community involvement that the company and Jacobs have through TD Garden's community outreach programs.
Jacobs is also extensively involved in charitable efforts internationally and in Western New York. His work with the United Way has not only benefited the communities where the company operates, it has also earned him a spot in the Million-Dollar Roundtable of donors. He is a member of the Jeremiah Milbank Society as a result of his strong support the Boys and Girls Clubs of America. Under his leadership, Delaware North has received countless awards for social responsibility, community service and environmental stewardship. Recently, the Jacobs family donated $1 million to Roswell Park Cancer Institute, one of the nation’s most respected cancer research and medical campuses. In fact, over the last several years, Delaware North and the Jacobs family have donated millions of dollars back to the communities where the company operates.
Jacobs is also a generous supporter of academic endeavors. He and his wife, Margaret, recently donated a record $10 million gift to the University at Buffalo to establish the Jacobs Institute, a collaborative partnership between UB and Kaleida Health that will support world-class excellence in heart and vascular care, research and teaching. This gift makes the Jacobs family the university’s most generous donor, with gifts totaling more than $18 million. Over the years, the Jacobs family has provided scholarships to female student athletes and undergraduate honors scholars, and enabled UB to fund special needs and opportunities as they arise. In the mid-1980s, Jacobs gave more than $1 million to help fund two academic chairs and support the School of Management's MBA program in China. The school's building bears the Jacobs family name, in honor of his longstanding generosity.
Jacobs is also a benefactor of the university and has served as chairman, trustee and director of the UB Foundation, chairman of the President's Board of Visitors, and advisor to the School of Management, in addition to serving as chairman of the University at Buffalo Council since 1998.
An alumnus of UB’s School of Management and the Harvard School of Business Advanced Management Program, he holds honorary doctorates from the University at Buffalo, Canisius College and Johnson & Wales University.
He and his wife, Margaret have six children, 18 grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
