Advisory Board

THOMAS C. WERNER, Chairman

In the six seasons that Tom Werner has been Chairman of the Boston Red Sox, the club has enjoyed unprecedented success.  The club has advanced to post-season play three straight seasons and four times in five years for the first time in its history.  The pinnacle, of course, was the 2004 World Championship that ended an 86-year drought.  Another World Series victory would follow in 2007.   Red Sox fans have sold out 388 consecutive games at Fenway Park, the second longest streak in baseball history.  And together with Principal Owner John W. Henry and President/CEO Larry Lucchino, Werner on March 23, 2005, announced that the Red Sox had committed to remain long term at America’s Most Beloved Ballpark.

The saving of Fenway Park fulfilled a vision that made Werner and Les Otten unique among those who tried to purchase the club in late 2001.  Later joined by John Henry, this group was the only potential purchaser who was committed to saving the shrine from the wrecking ball.

Through the successful improvements resulting from major investments, brilliant ingenuity, and dogged persistence, the club’s ownership group concluded that the park could, indeed, be preserved.  As a result, the ballpark is on track to see its 100th anniversary in 2012.  The oldest and smallest park in the majors would be the first ever to last 100 years.

A respected and veteran baseball owner for the past 18 years, Werner and the partners have helped lead the effort for a kinder, more fan-friendly atmosphere at the ballpark that has resonated with parents, grandparents, and children.  

The Red Sox Foundation, established immediately after the purchase of the team, is another example of their leadership.  Its charitable donations, after only six seasons, are the biggest in professional baseball, as the foundation gives away millions of dollars each year.  Werner is particularly proud of his involvement in the Teddy Ebersol-Red Sox Fields, which commencing last spring is now used by thousands of children.

Werner, a member of the Television Academy Hall of Fame for his extraordinary achievements as a creator and producer of many groundbreaking series, has had baseball in his soul his entire life.  He played the game during his childhood, coached his children in youth baseball and has attended countless major league games.  

As a 17-year-old freshman at Harvard, Werner gave his heart to the ultimate underdogs, the Impossible Dream Red Sox of 1967.  He has been a devoted follower of the Red Sox ever since.  

For his visual studies class at Harvard, Werner created a documentary about Opening Day at Fenway Park, starting with the quiet, quaint park at rest, then exploding with the excitement of fans pouring into the ballpark.  The education in film would lead to a rewarding career in television; the passion for the Red Sox and Fenway Park would later lead Werner to begin a quest to buy the team when it was offered for sale in 2001.

Werner is also an active contributor to Major League Baseball.  He has been appointed to the Board of Major League Baseball Enterprises, which has oversight over national media arrangements as well as Major League Baseball Properties.  He is also assisting in the creation of the new baseball network which will debut in January 2009.  Previously, he was appointed by Commissioner Selig in January 2003 to serve on a special task force that examines and makes recommendations about Major League Baseball in the 21st Century.  Werner was one of only three owners in this select group, which also includes players as well as experts in academia, marketing and business.

In addition to these responsibilities, Werner takes great pride in his contributions to the success of the New England Sports Network.  Most people in the television industry now regard NESN to be one of the strongest sports channels in the country, as it televises almost 300 live events each year, including Red Sox and Bruins games.  Since 2001, NESN has more than doubled the amount of original programming it airs.  

Werner’s entry into Major League Baseball came in 1990 when he led a group that purchased the San Diego Padres.  He served baseball on the national level as a member of the Executive Council and Chairman of the Television Committee.  As such, he was a key force in establishing one of the most crucial innovations in baseball history — the Wild Card, the very element that enabled the Boston Red Sox, years later, to win their first World Championship since 1918.  

Werner feels that the relationship between the ballclub and Red Sox fans is the most special in all of baseball.  After the sweep of the Colorado Rockies in 2007, Werner said the following which has resonated among fans of Red Sox Nation.
 
“2004 was for our parents and grandparents and those people who suffered through eight decades before a World Championship.  This is for us and for our children and for everybody in Red Sox Nation.”  

Embodying the values of integrity and quality, Werner (born April 12, 1950) has already achieved a lifetime of accolades in the television business.  He and his partner Marcy Carsey have helped create such hits as “The Cosby Show,” “A Different World,” “Roseanne,” “Third Rock from the Sun,” “Cybill,” “Grace Under Fire” and “That ‘70s Show.”  

Earlier, while working for ABC television, Werner and Carsey saw Robin Williams in a comedy club and launched his career in “Mork and Mindy.”  Werner also oversaw the development of “Bosom Buddies,” which started the career of Tom Hanks; “Soap,” which started the career of Billy Crystal; and “Taxi,” which started the careers of Tony Danza and Danny DeVito.

Werner has also received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Producers Guild of America.  His company has garnered 24 Emmy Awards, 11 People’s Choice Awards and numerous Golden Globes, Humanitas Prizes and Peabody Awards.  

In 2000, Werner and his longtime partners Marcy Carsey and Caryn Mandabach, joined forces with Geraldine Laybourne and Oprah Winfrey to start Oxygen, a 24-hour cable channel serving the modern woman.  Oxygen was recently acquired by NBC in late 2007 and is one of the fastest growing cable networks ever, now in almost 65,000,000 homes.  

Werner spends much of the year in Boston, where he maintains a residence.  He has served on a number of Boards, including the White House Fellows Commission, and he is presently on the Board of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and the Crossroads School. He also serves on the Board for After School All Stars, a program helping at risk youth engage in after school programs and the Ron Brown Scholar Program, which offers scholarships to African-American high school seniors who have demonstrated social commitment and leadership potential.