Some huge companies are faceless corporations, not associated with any particular person. And then there are the huge conglomerates that seem to have a larger-than-life giant in the front office.
Microsoft and Bill Gates come to mind in the U.S.
So does Apple and Steve Jobs.
And then there's Ted Rogers in Canada. If you passed him on the street, you almost certainly couldn't tell he's worth about $7 billion, #173 on the Forbes list of the richest men in the world. But then the man in charge of one of Canada's biggest media empires has made his fame and fortune by never quite doing what you'd expect.
Rogers, who now owns
Citytv and a score of other properties ranging from magazines to a baseball team, is celebrating his 75th birthday on Tuesday. And despite nearly going bankrupt more times than he can recall, the Toronto-born entrepreneur shows no signs of getting ready to retire. In fact, he's postponed the big event four times and has no desire to give up the helm of his empire anytime soon.
Rogers started his career picking up in the footsteps of his famous father, Ted Rogers Sr., who invented the world's first batteryless radio. ("Rogers Batteryless" is what the "RB" stands for in radio station CFRB.)
After graduating from what he admits was a less than impressive showing at law school, Rogers ventured out on his own, starting CHFI in 1960, an obscure radio station back in the days when few had an FM radio in their cars or their homes. He eventually added an equally obscure AM station that operated in the nether regions of the dial at 1540.
But Rogers was always thinking ahead and in 1967, foresaw the coming of a nascent industry that would forever cement his fortunes. He started Rogers Cable TV as a means to bring fuzzy and distant television signals to Canadians with a clear picture. It would be a metaphor for what was to come.
The company grew and expanded, and when that 1540 AM signal moved to 680, became CFTR (after his and his father's initials), and changed to a rock format in 1972, sales took off. The station managed to do something no challenger had ever done before, eventually beating arch rival and long time dominant rocker CHUM-AM to the top of the ratings.
And each time, Rogers would be ahead of the curve. He saw the coming of cell phones in the early models and dove head first into the then uncharted waters of wireless in 1985.
He acquired a TV station, CFMT in Toronto, broadcasting ethnic programming and getting a foothold in yet another new medium. He bought more radios stations and eventually acquired Maclean Hunter in 1994, then the largest takeover in Canadian history.
In 2000, he built the brand further by acquiring the Toronto Blue Jays and the SkyDome, now called the Rogers Centre. (It's at that location where thousands of employees gathered on Tuesday to pay tribute to the man who makes their paycheques possible.) Ironically, he's not that much of a sports fan, but says it's all about building brands.
And it didn't end there. Despite facing creditors time and again, Rogers managed to spend millions of dollars he may not have really had to acquire or expand his eponymous business. He added the Internet and home phone service to his repertoire, started or purchased an interest in more than 74 magazines and publications, saw the coming of the video industry and opened retail outlets to rent VHS tapes and later DVDs and games.
Some of his execs have compared their boss to a human time machine, noting he has the uncanny ability to see what the next big trend is and get there before anyone else. Rogers himself is more modest, crediting good advice he receives from those around them and the ability to recognize a viable business opportunity when it comes his way.
But with so many more right guesses than wrong, it doesn't quite explain how it's possible that when everyone arrives on the next technology train, he always seems to be at the station ahead of you, awaiting your arrival.
In 2007, in a multi-million dollar deal that was arranged virtually over a weekend, he bought the 5
Citytv stations across the country, after a CRTC ruling forced CTV to divest them in a takeover of CHUM Ltd. The price - a stunning $375 million - was almost beside the point. They were properties he believed were rare commodities and sure money makers and he didn't hesitate, writing the virtual cheque on the spot.
"We felt this was an opportunity we couldn't miss," Rogers Media CEO Tony Viner told writer Steve Maich of Maclean's Magazine, another of Rogers's properties. "We thought they had a fantastic brand - local, urban and diverse - and we felt it fit just perfectly with what the rest of our media properties were doing."
Rogers may be 75 but he still approaches each day with the energy of a kid, playing with his new toys, always seeking to make them better.
"No one's told him he's 75," his son Edward agrees. "He thinks he's 25 still, and he's still having a lot of fun."
His kids are his biggest fans. "As a father, he is phenomenal," confirms daughter Martha Rogers. "He would always do whatever he could to spend time with us, even canceled meetings to come and watch our silly swim races and stuff."
"He genuinely wants to be here and meeting employees, because he really truly is a family man and it's a family company," adds Jamie Haggerty, the Executive VP of Rogers's Television Operations.
"Looking around today and seeing all of you is really humbling," Ted assures at his stadium-sized party.
Still, not everything's perfect. He's been beset by countless health problems, although they haven't slowed him down and he can't conceive of the day when he'll give up his office.
His next goal - bringing an NFL franchise to Toronto. And don't put it past him to succeed. The Buffalo Bills are already going to play eight games here, while protecting the existing Toronto Argonauts, long a stumbling block in getting an outlet in T.O.
Because when it comes to scoring a touchdown in business, there are few companies with a better quarterback - or who can always make their point after.
The Bucks Start Here
You may think of Rogers as just a cable provider or the people who provide your cell phone service. It's a common perception. But it's also just the tip of the iceberg. The truth is, Rogers Communications Inc. is one of the largest companies of its kind in Canada, boasting more than 30,000 employees across the country. It has its fingers in so many pies, it's almost ironic a bakery isn't part of its corporate menu.
Here's a look at just some of the well known entities the company controls:
Sports
The Toronto Blue Jays
The Rogers Centre
TV
5 Citytv stations in Toronto, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg and Vancouver
5 Omni stations including 2 in Toronto, two more in Alberta and an outlet in B.C.
Cable
Rogers Cable TV, including 36 community stations across the country
Rogers Sportsnet
Biography
The Shopping Channel
G4 Tech TV
Outdoor Life Network
Radio
52 stations, including 680 News (CFTR), CHFI-FM, Jack FM and the Fan 590 in Toronto, 19 more in Ontario, 13 others in Alberta, 11 in B.C., 2 in Manitoba and New Brunswick and an-all news FM station in Halifax.
Magazines
There are more than 74 of them, including some trade-only publications you've likely never heard of like "Canadian Grocer," "The Medical Post" and "Canadian Metalworking."
But you're certainly aware of the others, including:
Maclean's (which recently celebrated its 100th anniversary)
Chatelaine
Flare
Hello!
LouLou
Today's Parent
Money Sense and
Canadian Business