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Jay Penske

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Jay Penske
Born (1979-05-05) May 5, 1979 (age 45)
New York City, New York, United States
Alma materWharton School of the University of Pennsylvania (B.S.)
Occupation(s)Businessman, investor
Spouse
​
(m. 2012)​
Children1
Parent(s)Kathy Penske (mother)
Roger Penske (father)

Jay Penske is an American businessman who is the Chairman and CEO of Penske Media Corporation, a digital media and publishing company he founded in 2004.

Early life and education

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Born on May 5, 1979, in New York City, New York, Penske is the youngest son of Kathy, an English teacher and Roger Penske, a businessman who was the founder of the transportation services company Penske Corporation and a former race car driver. Penske is an alumnus of St. Mary's Preparatory, in the Detroit suburb of Orchard Lake Village in Michigan, after having attended Cranbrook and Lawrenceville.[1]

At St. Mary's, he was named All-League, All-State, All-American,[2] and Player of the Year by USA Today in lacrosse. Penske also played hockey and earned All-Region and All-State honors.[3]

Penske graduated from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School[3] with a Bachelor of Science in Management of Information Systems and Finance.[4] He is on the board of the Entrepreneurial School at the Wharton School as of 2007,[4] and is also a member of the University of Pennsylvania Library's Board of Directors.[5]

Career

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Media and publishing

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Penske co-founded Firefly Mobile, Inc., a wireless company that developed the Firefly mobile phone for children, and other youth targeted mobile products.[4] The Firefly phone won the 2006 CES Innovation Award, presented by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) and the 2006 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES).[6] Penske also owns Dragon Books, Ltd., a Los Angeles-based used bookstore which sells rare and collectible books which opened for business in 1999.[7] Penske is the Chairman and CEO of Penske Media Corporation (PMC),[8] a digital media and publishing company that owns and operates a number of media brands, data services, and live events, including Rolling Stone, Variety, Billboard, The Hollywood Reporter, Deadline, and South by Southwest festival (SXSW).[9] Prior to being named Penske Media Corporation, it began as an affinity marketing and internet services company called Velocity Services, Inc.[10] The company acquired the Mail.com domain which was renamed to the Mail.com Media Corporation (MMC).[11]

Penske joined the board of Vox Media in 2023 after PMC became the largest shareholder of the company.[12]

Motorsports

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Main article: DS Penske

Penske founded an IndyCar Series racing team in 2007, jointly with Steve Luczo, the Chairman of Seagate Technology.[4] In October 2013, Penske Autosport signed an agreement with Formula E Holdings to be the fourth franchise team to enter the new FIA Formula E Championship.[13] The team was runner-up in the 2014-15 season with drivers Jérôme d'Ambrosio (who ranked fourth) and Loïc Duval. Penske Autosport has won the first ever Formula E races in the following countries: Germany, at the Berlin E-Prix (2015); Mexico, at the Mexico City E-Prix (2016); and India, at the Hyderabad E-Prix (2023).[14][15][16]

Recognition and awards

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Under Penske's leadership, PMC was awarded as one of North America's top 100 private companies by Herring Research.[17] He was additionally recognized repeatedly as both a 30 Under 30 and Under 40 Success Story from his alma mater.[18] Penske was also added to Vanity Fair's New Establishment list,[19] and in 2010 the magazine named Penske one of the 10 best dressed men in the world in their "International Best-Dressed List" of that year.[20] Additionally he has been named a Vice Chair of the American Film Institute (AFI) in 2014 and in 2015 was named by the NY Observer newspaper as one of the 25 most powerful people in Los Angeles.[21]

Penske has been compared to William Randolph Hearst, S.I. Newhouse, and Rupert Murdoch for his acquisition of media brands.[22][23][24]

Personal life

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Penske became engaged to Elaine Irwin, the model and former wife of musician John Mellencamp, in October 2012.[25] Their daughter was born in 2013.[26]

References

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  1. ^ Black, Julia (October 26, 2020). "He has movie-star good looks, a former Victoria's Secret model wife, and a billionaire father. Here's how Jay Penske transformed from playboy to pragmatic media mogul". Business Insider. Retrieved October 27, 2020.
  2. ^ "1997 Boys' High School All-American Lacrosse Team" Archived October 17, 2006, at the Wayback Machine; ESPN; Retrieved October 25, 2007
  3. ^ a b "St. Mary's Preparatory honors trio for athletic accomplishments" Archived September 30, 2007, at the Wayback Machine; April 15, 2004; The Oakland Press; Retrieved September 6, 2007
  4. ^ a b c d "Jay Penske hopes to follow in footsteps of famous father"[permanent dead link‍]; Bruce Martin; May 21, 2007; yahoo.com; Retrieved October 18, 2007
  5. ^ "Trustees' Winter Meeting Coverage"; February 27, 2007; University of Pennsylvania; Retrieved November 10, 2007
  6. ^ Firefly Mobile (November 15, 2005). "Firefly™ Phone Wins 2006 'Best of Innovations' Award From Consumer Electronics Association". MarketWired.
  7. ^ "Another Penske Wants to Make Name at Indy"; May 25, 2007; Detroit Free Press; Retrieved November 10, 2007
  8. ^ "Son Adopts Father's Passion"[permanent dead link‍]; May 15, 2007; The Columbus Dispatch; Retrieved November 10, 2007
  9. ^ Rosman, Katherine (March 26, 2022). "You Don't Know Much About Jay Penske. And He's Fine With That". The New York Times.
  10. ^ Novellino, Teresa. "Jay Penske founded Penske Media Group to acquire Conde Nast's Fairchild Fashion Media - The Business Journals". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
  11. ^ Novellino, Teresa (August 20, 2014). "Jay Penske picks up fashion bible WWD". Business Journals. Retrieved November 14, 2018.
  12. ^ Sakoui, Anousha (February 6, 2023). "Penske's media roll-up continues with purchase of Vox stake". LA Times.
  13. ^ Mike Szostech. "Dragon Racing joins FIA Formula E Championship". My Electric Car Forums. Archived from the original on October 4, 2013. Retrieved October 3, 2013.
  14. ^ "DS Penske's Jean-Eric Vergne wins inaugural Hyderabad E-Prix". ESPN. February 11, 2023.
  15. ^ "Not So Fast: Lucas Di Grassi's Car Disqualified After Winning Formula E Race In Germany". Autoweek. May 24, 2015.
  16. ^ "Lucas Di Grassi Stripped Of Formula E Victory In Mexico City, Jerome D'Ambrosio Inherits Win". Autoweek. March 13, 2016.
  17. ^ "Top 100 List" Archived 2013-09-02 at the Wayback Machine; Retrieved May 24, 2008
  18. ^ "Young Entrepreneur; November 6, 2005; Wharton School of Business; Retrieved August 18, 2014
  19. ^ Matt Pressman (October 8, 2009). "The Next Establishment". Condenast.
  20. ^ VF Style Section. "The 2010 International Best-Dressed List". Condenast.
  21. ^ Oliver Jones (July 7, 2015). "LA's Most Powerful 25 People". Observer.
  22. ^ Appleford, Steve (April 17, 2023). "Citizen Jay: How An Eccentric Racing Heir Became King of Hollywood Media". Los Angeles Magazine.
  23. ^ "You Dont Know Much About Jay Penske and He's Fine With That". New York Times. March 26, 2022.
  24. ^ Fedorov, Andrew (January 25, 2023). "Let's Play Penskopoly". The Fine Print.
  25. ^ "Elaine Irwin, John Mellencamp's Ex, Engaged to Jay Penske, Media Mogul". January 21, 2013.
  26. ^ "In Elaine's Lane".
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