Adam Aron

Adam Aron (born 1954) is an American businessman from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is married and has twin sons. He is best known for his more than thirty-five year career in travel and tourism. More recently he became a Co-owner of the Philadelphia 76ers, and also served as its CEO from 2011 to 2013. Prior to his time with the 76ers, he served as President and CEO of Norwegian Cruise Line from 1993 to 1996, and Chairman and CEO of Vail Resorts from 1996 to 2006. In 2006 Aron formed a personal consultancy, World Leisure Partners, Inc.^[1] His contributions were hailed by Newsweek during his time at Vail with the headline: "Vail Resorts is a peak performer. CEO Adam Aron has transformed the U.S. ski industry."on ^[2]

Biography

Born to a Jewish family,^[3] Aron received both his undergraduate and MBA degrees from Harvard University. In addition to his tenure as CEO of Vail Resorts, the second-largest ski resort operator worldwide, and CEO of Norwegian Cruise Line, then the fourth-largest cruise company in the world, he also was Senior Vice President Marketing for United Airlines and for Hyatt Hotels Corp. After Abington High School in suburban Philadelphia, PA, Aron attended Harvard, where he graduated cum laude with a bachelor's degree, majoring in government, and earned an MBA with distinction from the Business School.^[4]

Aron was selected by the U.S. Secretary of Defense to participate in the Joint Civilian Orientation Conference in 2004, he was appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture to serve on the board of directors of the National Forest Foundation from 2000 to 2006, and was a delegate to President Clinton’s 1995 White House Conference on Travel and Tourism. He has more than 35 years of experience managing companies operating in the travel and leisure industries.^[5]

Throughout his career Aron launched numerous award winning marketing programs. Ad Age magazine named him twice to its Ad Age 100 – the 100 best marketing executives in the US.^[6] In 2007, Travel Weekly magazine named him to its Club 33 – the 33 most influential executives in travel and tourism worldwide.^[7]

76ers era

Aron was welcomed with open arms when initially appointed to the 76ers CEO position; coach Doug Collins was quoted as saying, "Meeting with Adam, it wasn't hard to realize that he is a really sharp guy with a lot of great ideas. I walked through with him what I'd like to see done, and he was very receptive to what I had to say, as was Josh when I've talked to him."^[4] Philadelphia Magazine, in an article titled: "For the Sixers, Adam Aron is the New Pat Croce" wrote,"When Aron took over in the summer of 2011, the local response was something the Sixers hadn’t experienced in nearly a decade. Now, in little more than a year, the group has already succeeded in one of its two goals for the team—making the Sixers relevant again. In a fan survey published in ESPN The Magazine two months ago, the Sixers were named the best franchise in Philadelphia, topping the other Big Four squads in six out of eight categories, including fan relations, ownership and affordability. In the same poll two years ago, the Sixers finished last." The article went on to note that "Of course, success in sports is ultimately measured by championships, not polls, press or ticket sales."^[8]

The Philadelphia Magazine article includes this anecdote: "Some of the loudest cheers [in the Wells Fargo arena] erupted for a middle-aged guy who’ll never score a point or grab a rebound, as the crowd chanted “A-dam A-ron!” Not since Pat Croce was rappelling from the ceiling has anybody in the Sixers front office made such a connection with the fans. “He’s good,” Croce says of Aron. “I love the energy injected into the team, the enthusiasm. What Dougie Collins brought to the basketball side, now they’re bringing to the marketing and the fans.”^[8]

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