John Fish (businessman)
John Fish is an American businessman. He is the longtime chairman and CEO of Suffolk Construction Company, the largest building company in New England,[1] and was vice-chair of the private effort to secure Boston’s bid for the 2024 Summer Olympics.[2] Fish is the chair of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce as well as the chairman of the board of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston,[3] and he sits on a variety of university, hospital, and nonprofit boards.[4] In 2012, Boston magazine named him the #1 most powerful person in Boston.[5]
Early life and education
Fish was raised in Hingham, Massachusetts, with four siblings. He graduated from Bowdoin College in 1982.[4]
Suffolk Construction Company
At age 23,[1] Fish and his father established Suffolk Construction Company, an offshoot of the family construction business.[4] The son built it into a top national construction company[6] responsible for high-profile projects such as Boston’s Millennium Tower and a new facility at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. As of 2014, Suffolk has 1,250 employees,[7] $2 billion in annual revenue, and almost $6 billion in projects under way in Boston.[4]
Boston's bid for the 2024 Summer Olympics
John Fish was a vocal advocate for hosting the 2024 Summer Olympics in Boston,[8] and he was vice-chair of the Boston 2024 Partnership, a private group that worked on the bid.[2] After the controversially expensive Olympics in Beijing and Sochi,[9] the Boston 2024 Partnership promoted a budget-conscious event, funded without taxpayer money and using existing venues and temporary facilities.[9] On January 8, 2015, the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) chose Boston from among four U.S. cities to compete for the final bid,[10] but the city ultimately withdrew its bid to host the Games on July 27, 2015.[11]
Other roles
In addition to his work at the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce and the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston,[4] Fish is a founding member of the Massachusetts Competitive Partnership (MACP),[12] chair of the Brigham and Women’s Hospital “Life.Giving.Breakthroughs” $1 billion capital campaign,[13] founder of Boston Scholar Athletes,[14] and chairman of Boston College’s Board of Trustees, the first non-alumnus in that role.[15]
References
- 1 2 Wayshak, Marc (2 October 2014). "Rolling With the Punches: Heavy Hitter John Fish on How Early Challenges Shaped His Career". Huffington Post.
- 1 2 Horowitz, Evan (18 November 2014). "What are the costs and benefits of a Boston Olympics?". Boston Globe.
- ↑ Geller, Jessica (4 December 2015). "John Fish named chairman of Boston Fed board". Boston Globe.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Thomas, Jack (29 June 2014). "John Fish went from struggling boy to Olympic bidder". Boston Globe.
- ↑ "The 50 Most Powerful People in Boston". Boston magazine. April 2012.
- ↑ Tulacz, Gary J. (15 May 2014). "The 2014 Top 400 Contractors". Engineering News Record.
- ↑ "Top Places to Work 2014". Boston Globe. 13 November 2014.
- ↑ Chesto, Jon (13 June 2014). "Suffolk Construction CEO John Fish makes his case for Boston's 2024 Olympics bid". Boston Business Journal.
- 1 2 Arsenault, Mark (23 November 2014). "Boston bidders hope time is right for frugal games". Boston Globe.
- ↑ Keating, Steve (8 January 2015). "Boston named U.S. bid city for 2024 Olympics". Reuters. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
- ↑ Arsenault, Mark (27 July 2015). "USOC, Boston organizers halt bid to host Olympics". Boston Globe.
- ↑ "Massachusetts Competitive Partnership Leadership". Massachusetts Competitive Partnership. Retrieved 5 December 2014.
- ↑ "BWN Launches $1 Billion Campaign". Brigham and Women's Hospital. Retrieved 5 December 2014.
- ↑ "Fish's Scholar Athletes". Bisnow. 2 October 2012.
- ↑ Dunn, Jack; Sullivan, Kathleen (2 October 2014). "Trustees Welcome New Chair, Members". Boston College Chronicle.