Jeremy M. Jacobs, ’60, Chairman

Jeremy M. Jacobs is chairman of Delaware North, owner, chairman, and governor of the Boston Bruins of the NHL, chairman of the NHL’s Board of Governors, and chairman of the State University at Buffalo’s presidential advisory council. A member of the University Council since 1997 and appointed chair by Governor George Pataki in November 1998, Mr. Jacobs was most recently reappointed as chair by Governor Andrew Cuomo in 2017.

Mr. Jacobs has led Delaware North, a hospitality and food service company, for 50 years. Under his leadership, the company has grown to annual revenues of $3 billion and more than 55,000 employees serving half a billion customers annually on four continents.

Delaware North’s operating subsidiaries include industry leaders in food and retail operations at airports and sports venues, sports facility ownership and management, operations of parks and major tourist attractions, hotel ownership and management, and gaming operations. The company recently acquired Patina Restaurant Group, a leader in the premium segment of the restaurant and catering industry that operates restaurants and manages catering and food service at high-profile venues such as Rockefeller Center in New York City, the GRAMMY and Emmy Awards in Los Angeles, and Walt Disney World and Disneyland.

In 2015, Delaware North celebrated its 100th anniversary, and Mr. Jacobs named his sons -- Jerry Jr., Lou, and Charlie -- as the company’s CEOs. The company also moved into a new global headquarters in downtown Buffalo and has been credited with helping to revitalize the city.

Buffalo is Mr. Jacobs’ lifelong home. His family owned the Calder Cup champion Buffalo Bisons of the American Hockey League, and Mr. Jacobs used his knowledge of team ownership, as well as his expertise in sports concessions, to help Seymour H. Knox III and Northrup Knox establish the Buffalo Sabres NHL franchise in Buffalo.

In 1975, Mr. Jacobs acquired the storied Boston Bruins and the Boston Garden. He commissioned a new, multi-purpose arena that opened in 1995 and is currently home of the Boston Bruins and the Boston Celtics of the NBA and hosts 200 events annually for 3.5 million guests. 

In 2003, the Jacobs family founded the Boston Bruins Foundation, a non-profit organization that assists charitable organizations that demonstrate a commitment to enhancing the quality of life for children throughout New England. The foundation provides grants to organizations that meet its mission, concentrating on academics, athletics, community outreach, and health. To date, the foundation has made awards totaling more than $20 million. For their many charitable contributions, the Jacobs family was honored with the St. Jude Award for Inspiration in Sports at the 2013 Global Sports Summit.

For his contributions to hockey and the wider world of sports, Mr. Jacobs was inducted into the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame in 2006, awarded the Hockey Legacy Award from the Sports Museum in Boston in 2012, inducted into the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame in 2013, awarded the prestigious Lester Patrick Trophy From USA Hockey in 2015, named to the Sports Business Journal Champions: Pioneers in Sports Innovation & Business class of 2016, and was inducted into the 2016 class of the Massachusetts Hockey Hall of Fame. In 2017, Mr. Jacobs was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, the sport’s highest honor.

Mr. Jacobs is a passionate philanthropist of public higher education. He has served in numerous volunteer positions with the State University of New York at Buffalo (UB) and his family has made $50 million in donations to the institution, which is the largest public university in the New York State. In 1998, he was appointed Chairman of the UB Council.

Most recently, the Jacobs family donated $30 million to advance UB’s medical school, which will soon complete construction on a new, state-of-the-art building in downtown Buffalo. In recognition of their historic gift, the university renamed the school the Jacobs School of Medicine & Biomedical Sciences. His family also donated $10 million to open the Jacobs Institute, in honor of his late brother Dr. Lawrence Jacobs, which helps to translate research discoveries to practical applications in medicine. The Jacobses have also funded scholarships for undergraduate students and female student-athletes, supported academic chairs and the UB School of Management’s Masters of Business Administration program in China, and donated the architectural landmark that was the original headquarters of Delaware North to the university.

Mr. Jacobs has provided distinguished service and leadership to the United Way of Buffalo and Erie County, which has designated him a member of its Million Dollar Roundtable of donors. Under his leadership, Delaware North has received multiple awards for social responsibility, community service, and environmental stewardship. The company recently donated $1 million to the Say Yes Buffalo initiative and $1 million to the Explore & More Museum, both of which are committed to advancing elementary and secondary education in the City of Buffalo. 

Mr. Jacobs is 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, Niagara University, and Johnson & Wales University.

He and his wife, Margaret, reside in East Aurora, New York. They have six children, 18 grandchildren and two great grandchildren.