Edward Samuel "Ted" Rogers, Jr., OC

Order of Canada

The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...

 (May 27, 1933 – December 2, 2008) was the President and CEO of Rogers Communications

Rogers Communications

Rogers Communications Inc. is one of Canada's largest communications companies, particularly in the field of wireless communications, cable television, home phone and internet with additional telecommunications and mass media assets...

 Inc., and the fifth richest person in Canada in terms of net worth. His father Edward S. Rogers, Sr.

Edward S. Rogers, Sr.

Edward Samuel "Ted" Rogers is regarded as the founder of Rogers Communications although it was established in 1967, almost three decades after his death.-Life and career:...

 is regarded as the founder of the company, although the radio station that he founded, CFRB, is now owned by another Canadian company competitor Astral Media

Astral Media

Astral Media Inc. is a Canadian media corporation. It is Canada's largest radio broadcaster with 83 radio stations in eight provinces, and is a major player in premium and specialty television in Canada, including The Movie Network, Super Écran, Family, Teletoon, Canal D, Canal Vie, VRAK.TV,...

.

Biography

Born in Toronto

Toronto

Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

, Ontario, Rogers was educated at Upper Canada College

Upper Canada College

Upper Canada College , located in midtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, is an independent elementary and secondary school for boys between Senior Kindergarten and Grade Twelve, operating under the International Baccalaureate program. The secondary school segment is divided into ten houses; eight are...

. Rogers graduated from Trinity College

University of Trinity College

The University of Trinity College, informally referred to as Trin, is a college of the University of Toronto, founded in 1851 by Bishop John Strachan. Trinity was intended by Strachan as a college of strong Anglican alignment, after the University of Toronto severed its ties with the Church of...

 in the University of Toronto

University of Toronto

The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...

, in 1956 with a Bachelor of Arts

Bachelor of Arts

A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...

 degree. While an undergrad, Rogers joined the Sigma Chi Fraternity. In 1979 he was named a Significant Sig—the 21st Canadian to be inducted. In 1960, while still a student at Osgoode Hall Law School

Osgoode Hall Law School

Osgoode Hall Law School is a Canadian law school, located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and affiliated with York University. Named after the first Chief Justice of Ontario, William Osgoode, the law school was established by The Law Society of Upper Canada in 1889 and was the only accredited law...

, he bought all the shares in local radio station

Radio station

Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...

 (CHFI

CHFI-FM

CHFI-FM is a Canadian radio station, which broadcasts an adult contemporary format at 98.1 on the FM dial in Toronto, Ontario. Like most Toronto radio and TV channels, it broadcasts atop the CN Tower with and ERP of 44 kW and has a sizeable amount of American listeners...

) that pioneered the use of FM

FM broadcasting

FM broadcasting is a broadcasting technology pioneered by Edwin Howard Armstrong which uses frequency modulation to provide high-fidelity sound over broadcast radio. The term "FM band" describes the "frequency band in which FM is used for broadcasting"...

 at a time when only 5% of the Toronto households had FM receivers. By 1965, he was in the cable TV business; Rogers Communications was established in 1967 and had grown into one of Canada's largest media conglomerates.

Rogers had been the owner of the Toronto Blue Jays

Toronto Blue Jays

The Toronto Blue Jays are a professional baseball team located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Blue Jays are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball 's American League ....

 Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...

 team since September 1, 2000, when Rogers Communications Inc. purchased 80% of the baseball club with the Labatt Brewing Company Ltd. maintaining 20% interest and the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce

The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce is one of Canada's chartered banks, fifth largest by deposits. The bank is headquartered at Commerce Court in Toronto, Ontario. CIBC's Institution Number is 010, and its SWIFT code is CIBCCATT....

 relinquishing its 10% share. Since the 2003 season, he owned 100% of the team. Moreover, the Blue Jays' home ballpark, SkyDome

Rogers Centre

Rogers Centre is a multi-purpose stadium, in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated next to the CN Tower, near the shores of Lake Ontario. Opened in 1989, it is home to the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball and the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League...

, was renamed Rogers Centre

Rogers Centre

Rogers Centre is a multi-purpose stadium, in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated next to the CN Tower, near the shores of Lake Ontario. Opened in 1989, it is home to the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball and the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League...

 after Rogers' firm purchased the stadium (including naming rights).

In 2006, Rogers was inducted into Canada's Telecommunications Hall of Fame, along with his father Edward S. Rogers Sr.

On May 29, 2007, Ted Rogers and Loretta Rogers made a gift of $15 million to Ryerson University

Ryerson University

Ryerson University is a public research university located in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Its urban campus is adjacent to Yonge-Dundas Square located at the busiest intersection in Downtown Toronto. The majority of its buildings are in the blocks northeast of the square in Toronto's Garden...

. The donation was directed towards the Faculty of Business, which was renamed the Ted Rogers School of Management at the donors' request. The majority of the gift will be used to establish 52 new undergraduate and graduate student awards and scholarships. The gift also aims to establish a new research chair to seed academic initiatives in management research.

Rogers suffered from congestive heart failure

Congestive heart failure

Heart failure often called congestive heart failure is generally defined as the inability of the heart to supply sufficient blood flow to meet the needs of the body. Heart failure can cause a number of symptoms including shortness of breath, leg swelling, and exercise intolerance. The condition...

 and died overnight on December 2, 2008, at his home in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He was 75 years old. An autobiography penned with communications consultant and former business journalist Robert Brehl titled Relentless: The True Story of the Man Behind Rogers Communications was released just 10 weeks before Rogers' death.

On December 2, 2009, the first anniversary of his death, a section of Jarvis St. in Toronto which runs next to the Rogers Communications headquarters was renamed Ted Rogers Way in his honour.

From March 4 to 6, 2010, the first annual Ted Rogers Memorial Conference (TRMC) hosted by Ryerson University

Ryerson University

Ryerson University is a public research university located in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Its urban campus is adjacent to Yonge-Dundas Square located at the busiest intersection in Downtown Toronto. The majority of its buildings are in the blocks northeast of the square in Toronto's Garden...

, the Ted Rogers School of Management, and the Ryerson Commerce Society took place to honour Ted Rogers, inviting Canadian university students to learn more about the values and skills Ted Rogers possessed. The theme of the conference revolved around the acronym TED: Take risks. Embrace innovation. Defy the status quo.

See also

• List of billionaires
• List of Upper Canada College alumni

External links

• Internet Archive of History of Rogers
• Ted Rogers at Museum of Broadcast Communications
  Museum of Broadcast Communications
  The Museum of Broadcast Communications is an American museum that currently exists exclusively on the Internet and not in any physical capacity. Its stated mission is "to collect, preserve, and present historic and contemporary radio and television content as well as educate, inform and entertain...
  
  
• Forbes.com: Forbes World's Richest People
• Ambition: The Life and Times of Ted Rogers CBC episode of Life and Times
• Order of Canada Citation
• AP Obituary in the National Post
  National Post
  The National Post is a Canadian English-language national newspaper based in Don Mills, a district of Toronto. The paper is owned by Postmedia Network Inc. and is published Mondays through Saturdays...
  
  
• Laureate award, Canada's Telecommunications Hall of Fame (video)
• Ted Rogers Memorial Conference