Jay Penske is an American media and publishing entrepreneur and auto racing team owner. He is the Chairman and CEO of

Penske Media Corporation Penske Media Corporation (PMC) () is an American digital media, publishing, and information services company based in Los Angeles and New York City. It publishes more than 20 digital and print brands, including ''Variety'', ''Rolling Stone'', '' ...

, a digital media and publishing company he founded in 2004.

Early life and education

Born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, Penske is the youngest son of Kathy, an English teacher and

Roger Penske Roger Searle Penske (born February 20, 1937) is an American businessman and entrepreneur involved in professional auto racing and a retired professional auto racing driver. He is most famous for his ownership of Team Penske, DJR Team Penske, t ...

, founder of the automotive conglomerate

Penske Corporation Penske Corporation, Inc. () is an American diversified transportation services company based in Bloomfield Township, Oakland County, Michigan. Roger Penske is the chairman of the privately held company, and Rob Kurnick is the president. Holding ...

and a former race car driver. Penske graduated from high school at

St. Mary's Preparatory St. Mary's Preparatory is a co-educational, Catholic, college preparatory high school with a Polish-American heritage in the Detroit suburb of Orchard Lake Village, Michigan. Its mission and message is "1. God; 2. Family; 3. St. Mary's." Overvie ...

, in the Detroit suburb of Orchard Lake Village in Michigan, after having attended Cranbrook and Lawrenceville. At St. Mary's, Penske was named All-League, All-State, All-American, and Player of the Year by ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...

'' in

lacrosse Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensively ...

. Penske also played hockey and earned All-Region and All-State honors."St. Mary's Preparatory honors trio for athletic accomplishments"
April 15, 2004;

The Oakland Press ''The Oakland Press'' is a daily newspaper published in Oakland County, Michigan with headquarters in Troy. It is owned by 21st Century Media, with which its parent company merged in 2013 after filing for bankruptcy. The local historical society t ...

; Retrieved September 6, 2007 In 1997, he set the school records for the most

goals A goal is an objective that a person or a system plans or intends to achieve. Goal may also refer to: Sport * Goal (sports), a method of scoring in many sports, or the physical structure or area where scoring occurs ** Goals, the goal frame in ...

, assists, and total points in lacrosse in the school's history, after which they retired his number in the school gymnasium. During his final season of lacrosse Penske broke

Michael Powell Michael Latham Powell (30 September 1905 – 19 February 1990) was an English filmmaker, celebrated for his partnership with Emeric Pressburger. Through their production company The Archers, they together wrote, produced and directed a serie ...

's record of 194 points with 202 points in a single season. He remains the only player in lacrosse history to average more than 10 points per game, and break the 200-point barrier in a single season. Penske graduated from the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

Wharton School The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania ( ; also known as Wharton Business School, the Wharton School, Penn Wharton, and Wharton) is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private Ivy League research university in P ...

with a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

in Management of Information Systems and Finance."Jay Penske hopes to follow in footsteps of famous father"
Bruce Martin; May 21, 2007;

yahoo.com Yahoo! (, styled yahoo''!'' in its logo) is an American web services provider. It is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California and operated by the namesake company Yahoo Inc., which is 90% owned by investment funds managed by Apollo Global Manage ...

; Retrieved October 18, 2007 He is on the board of the Entrepreneurial School at the Wharton School as of 2007, and is also a member of the

Library's Board of Directors."Trustees' Winter Meeting Coverage"
February 27, 2007;

; Retrieved November 10, 2007

Career

Media and publishing

Penske co-founded Firefly Mobile, Inc., a wireless company that developed the

Firefly The Lampyridae are a family of elateroid beetles with more than 2,000 described species, many of which are light-emitting. They are soft-bodied beetles commonly called fireflies, lightning bugs, or glowworms for their conspicuous production ...

mobile phone for children, and other youth targeted mobile products. The Firefly phone won the 2006 CES Innovation Award, presented by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) and the 2006 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES). Penske also owns Dragon Books, Ltd., a Los Angeles-based used bookstore which sells rare and collectible books which opened for business in 1999."Another Penske Wants to Make Name at Indy"
May 25, 2007;

Detroit Free Press The ''Detroit Free Press'' is the largest daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, US. The Sunday edition is titled the ''Sunday Free Press''. It is sometimes referred to as the Freep (reflected in the paper's web address, www.freep.com). It primari ...

; Retrieved November 10, 2007 Penske is the Chairman and CEO of

(PMC),"Son Adopts Father's Passion"
May 15, 2007;

The Columbus Dispatch ''The Columbus Dispatch'' is a daily newspaper based in Columbus, Ohio. Its first issue was published on July 1, 1871, and it has been the only mainstream daily newspaper in the city since ''The Columbus Citizen-Journal'' ceased publication in 19 ...

; Retrieved November 10, 2007 a

digital media Digital media is any communication media that operate in conjunction with various encoded machine-readable data formats. Digital media can be created, viewed, distributed, modified, listened to, and preserved on a digital electronics device. ' ...

and publishing company that owns and operates a number of media brands, data services, and live events, including ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'', ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'', ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'', and South by Southwest festival (SXSW). Prior to being named Penske Media Corporation, it began as an

affinity marketing Affinity marketing is a concept that consists of a partnership between a company (supplier) and an organization that gathers persons sharing the same interests to bring a greater consumer base to their service, product or opinion. This partnershi ...

and

internet services An Internet service provider (ISP) is an organization that provides services for accessing, using, or participating in the Internet. ISPs can be organized in various forms, such as commercial, community-owned, non-profit, or otherwise private ...

company called Velocity Services, Inc. The company acquired the

Mail.com mail.com is a web portal and web-based email service provider owned by the internet company 1&1 Mail & Media Inc., headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. 1&1 Mail & Media Inc. is a subsidiary of United Internet Group, a pu ...

domain which was renamed to the Mail.com Media Corporation (MMC).

Motorsports

Penske was co-owner of

IndyCar Series The IndyCar Series, currently known as the NTT IndyCar Series under sponsorship, is the highest class of regional North American open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars in the United States, which has been conducted under the auspices of ...

racing team

Dragon Racing Dragon Racing (formerly Luczo-Dragon Racing) is an American auto racing team that is involved in many areas of motorsport. Dragon Racing was founded in 2007 by Jay Penske and Stephen J. Luczo. The team competed in the IndyCar Series from 2007 ...

, jointly with

Steve Luczo Stephen J. "Steve" Luczo (born February 28, 1957) is the chairman of the board at Seagate. In January 2009, Luczo, Seagate's chairman, was appointed president and chief executive officer, returning him to the role he held at Seagate from 1998 ...

, the Chairman of

Seagate Technologies Seagate Technology Holdings plc is an American data storage company. It was incorporated in 1978 as Shugart Technology and commenced business in 1979. Since 2010, the company has been incorporated in Dublin, Ireland, with operational headquarte ...

Raphael Matos Raphael Matos (born August 28, 1981) is a Brazilian professional racing driver. He was the 2008 Firestone Indy Lights Series champion and the 2007 Champ Car Atlantic Series champion. He lives in Miami. Career highlights Early career Born in Bel ...

won rookie of the year honors in 2009. The team name is derived from Penske's love of books and business interest Dragon Books, Ltd., and his partner's last name."Entry List Examination"
;

IndyCar INDYCAR, LLC, is an American-based auto racing sanctioning body for Indy car racing and other disciplines of open wheel car racing. The organization sanctions five racing series: the premier IndyCar Series with its centerpiece the Indianapolis ...

; Retrieved October 24, 2007 For 2010, Penske's racing team had former Indy Lights champion Raphael Matos behind the wheel of the HP #2 car for the full Indycar Series circuit of events. In 2011, the name of the team changed to Dragon Racing, with Penske as the sole owner, and Paul Tracy was announced as the driver. In 2012 the team planned to run Lotus engines with a two-car team composed of

Sébastien Bourdais Sébastien Olivier Bourdais (born 28 February 1979) is a French professional racing driver. He is one of the most successful drivers in the history of American open-wheel car racing, having won 37 races. He won four successive championships ...

and

Katherine Legge Katherine Anne Legge ( ; born 12 July 1980) is a British professional auto racing driver, competing in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. She is also featured in ''Richard Hammond's Crash Course''. Racing career Early racing and Atlantics ...

. Due to issues with the Lotus engines Dragon Racing switched to Chevrolet for the

Indy 500 The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indianap ...

. Dragon Racing's drivers for the 2013 season were

Sebastián Saavedra Sebastián Saavedra (born 2 June 1990) is a Colombian racing driver from Bogotá. In 2014, he drove for KVSH Racing in the Verizon IndyCar Series before being replaced by former GP2 Series driver Stefano Coletti. Racing career Early career Afte ...

and Sébastien Bourdais. In October 2013, Dragon Racing signed an agreement with Formula E Holdings to be the fourth franchise team to enter the new

FIA Formula E Championship Formula E, officially the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, is a single-seater motorsport championship for electric cars. The series was conceived in 2011 in Paris by FIA president Jean Todt and Spanish businessman Alejandro Agag, who is ...

. The team was runner-up in the 2014-15 season with drivers

Jérôme d'Ambrosio Jérôme D’Ambrosio (born 27 December 1985) is a Belgian former professional racing driver, motorsport executive and former Team Principal of Venturi Racing in Formula E. He has previously driven for Marussia Virgin Racing and Lotus F1 in the ...

(who ranked fourth),

Oriol Servià Oriol Servià i Imbers (born 13 July 1974) is a Spanish racing driver who competes part-time in the IndyCar Series. He raced for Dragon Racing in the 2014–15 Formula E season, and left the series prior to the 2015 Miami ePrix to become man ...

, and

Loïc Duval Loïc Duval (; born 12 June 1982) is a French professional racing driver racing for Audi Sport as a factory driver in DTM and driving for Dragon Racing in Formula E. He won the 2013 24 Hours of Le Mans with Allan McNish and Tom Kristensen driv ...

. In the 2015-16 season, d'Ambrosio was fifth and Duval eight.

Philanthropy

Penske assists the charitable trust organization the

Paley Center for Media The Paley Center for Media, formerly the Museum of Television & Radio (MT&R) and the Museum of Broadcasting, founded in 1975 by William S. Paley, is an American cultural institution in New York City, New York with a branch office in Los Angeles, ...

, where he sits on the Board of Directors. Penske was added to the Paley Board in 2015 along with Yannick Bollore, Chairman and CEO,

Havas Havas SA is a French multinational advertising and public relations company, headquartered in Paris, France. It operates in more than 100 countries and is one of the largest advertising and communications groups in the world. Havas consists of ...

and

Devin Wenig Devin Norse Wenig (born 1966) is an American business executive. From July 2015 to September 2019, Wenig was president and CEO of eBay. From April 2008 to August 2011, Wenig was CEO of Thomson Reuters Markets, the financial and media businesses o ...

, the CEO of

eBay eBay Inc. ( ) is an American multinational e-commerce company based in San Jose, California, that facilitates consumer-to-consumer and business-to-consumer sales through its website. eBay was founded by Pierre Omidyar in 1995 and became a ...

. Furthermore, Penske's racing team, Dragon Racing has donated over $250,000 of its race proceeds"Pit Notes"
May 17, 2007;

; Retrieved November 10, 2007—to benefit the charities and non-profit organizations founded by

Baron Davis Baron Walter Louis Davis (born April 13, 1979) is an American former professional basketball player who is a studio analyst for the ''NBA on TNT''. He was a two-time NBA All-Star, made the All-NBA Third Team in 2004, and twice led the NBA in s ...

Tony Dungy Anthony Kevin Dungy ( ; born October 6, 1955) is an American former football safety and coach who served as a head coach in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Indianapolis Colts. Dungy's teams be ...

John Elway John Albert Elway Jr. (born June 28, 1960) is an American professional football executive and former quarterback who is the president of football operations for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). Elway played college f ...

Wayne Gretzky Wayne Douglas Gretzky ( ; born January 26, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former head coach. He played 20 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for four teams from 1979 to 1999. Nicknamed "the Great One ...

Marcus Allen Marcus LeMarr Allen (born March 26, 1960) is an American former football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons, primarily with the Los Angeles Raiders. Considered one of the greatest goal line and short-y ...

Jackson Browne Clyde Jackson Browne (born October 9, 1948) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and political activist who has sold over 18 million albums in the United States. Emerging as a precocious teenage songwriter in mid-1960s Los Angeles, he h ...

Brandi Chastain Brandi Denise Chastain (born July 21, 1968) is an American retired soccer player, two-time FIFA Women's World Cup champion, two-time Olympic gold-medalist, coach, and sports broadcaster. She played for the United States national team from 1988 ...

Ronnie Lott Ronald Mandel Lott (born May 8, 1959) is an American former professional football player who was a cornerback and safety in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons during the 1980s and 1990s. Lott played college football for the Univ ...

, Jonny Moseley,

Chris Mullin Christopher Paul Mullin (born July 30, 1963) is an American former professional basketball player, executive and coach. He is a two-time Olympic Gold medalist and a two-time Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductee (in 2010 as a memb ...

Kerri Walsh Kerri Lee Walsh Jennings (born August 15, 1978) is an American professional beach volleyball player, three-time Olympic gold medalist, and a one-time Olympic bronze medalist. She is the beach volleyball leader in career victories as of 2016 hav ...

and

Kristi Yamaguchi Kristine Tsuya Yamaguchi (born July 12, 1971) is an American former figure skater. In ladies' singles, Yamaguchi is the 1992 Olympic champion, a two-time World champion (1991 and 1992), and the 1992 U.S. champion. In 1992, she became the first ...

."The Associated Press--NBC
; May 24, 2007;

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

; Retrieved October 23, 2007

Recognition and awards

Under Penske's leadership, PMC was awarded as one of North America's top 100 private companies by Herring Research. He was additionally recognized repeatedly as both a 30 Under 30 and Under 40 Success Story from his alma mater."Young Entrepreneur
November 6, 2005;

Wharton School of Business The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania ( ; also known as Wharton Business School, the Wharton School, Penn Wharton, and Wharton) is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private Ivy League research university in ...

; Retrieved August 18, 2014 Penske was also added to ''Vanity Fairs New Establishment list, 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. Additionally he has been named a Vice Chair of the

American Film Institute The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private funding and public membership fees. Leade ...

(AFI) in 2014 and in 2015 was named by the ''

NY Observer ''The New York Observer'' was a weekly newspaper printed from 1987 to 2016, when it ceased print publication and became the online-only newspaper ''Observer''. The media site focuses on culture, real estate, media, politics and the entertainmen ...

'' newspaper as one of the 25 most powerful people in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

Personal life

He became engaged to

Elaine Irwin Elaine Irwin (born August 26, 1969) is an American model. She was the face of Almay Cosmetics and Ralph Lauren. Early life and career Elaine Irwin was born in Gilbertsville, Pennsylvania. She left home when she was 16 to pursue a modeling care ...

, the model and former wife of musician

John Mellencamp John J. Mellencamp (born October 7, 1951), previously known as Johnny Cougar, John Cougar, and John Cougar Mellencamp, is an American singer-songwriter. He is known for his catchy brand of heartland rock, which emphasizes traditional instrument ...

, in October 2012. Their daughter was born in 2013.

References

External links

PMC official website

Dragon Racing official website

Dragon Books official website

Firefly Mobile official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Penske, Jay 1970s births Living people Businesspeople from New York City Businesspeople from Los Angeles American mass media owners IndyCar Series team owners Philanthropists from New York (state) Formula E team owners Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania alumni Cranbrook Educational Community alumni Lawrenceville School alumni Variety (magazine) people Year of birth missing (living people) Penske Media Corporation St. Mary's Preparatory alumni American people of German descent