John Guppy is the owner of Gilt Edge Soccer Marketing, a soccer-specific marketing agency. [1]
Guppy was Executive VP of the MetroStars until 2005, when he was chosen by former Chicago Fire owners AEG to replace the popular Peter Wilt in Chicago—a move that resulted in substantial fan backlash and protest. [2] He successfully managed the team's move from Soldier Field to Toyota Park in Bridgeview in 2006. [3] and was recognized by Crains Business Magazine as one of Chicago's 40 under 40 important business leaders. [4]
He was the president and CEO of the Fire until agreeing to part ways with new team owners, Andell Holdings, on April 11, 2008. [5]
John Guppy was born in Winchester, England. In 1970, he graduated from New Hampshire College (now Southern New Hampshire University), and in 1992, from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He currently lives in Naperville, Illinois with his family.
John is also the cousin of former England national team midfielder Steve Guppy.
Chicago Fire Football Club is an American professional soccer club based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. The team competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference, having moved to the conference in 2002.
Wrigley Rooftops is a name for the sixteen rooftops of residential buildings which have bleachers or seating on them to view baseball games or other major events at Wrigley Field. Since 1914 Wrigley roofs have dotted the neighborhood of Wrigleyville around Wrigley Field, where the Chicago Cubs play Major League Baseball. Venues on Waveland Avenue overlook left field, while those along Sheffield Avenue have a view over right field.
Stephen Andrew Guppy is an English football coach and former professional footballer who now coaches at Nashville SC.
Jimmy John's Franchise, LLC, commonly referred to as Jimmy John's, is an American sandwich chain, headquartered in Champaign, Illinois. The business was founded by Jimmy John Liautaud in 1983. After Liautaud graduated from high school, his father gave him a choice to either join the military or start a business. Liautaud decided to start a hot dog business, which changed to sandwiches due to costs.
Peter Wilt is a soccer executive who was the first president and general manager of the Chicago Fire in Major League Soccer. He led an effort to expand the MLS franchise to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and maintains strong connections to the sport of soccer in the Midwest, especially Chicago. Wilt is most known for his work with the Chicago Fire, where he gained a reputation for being a fan-friendly businessman in the soccer world.
Section 8 Chicago is the independent supporters' association for the Chicago Fire. The organization encompasses a number of affiliated supporters groups, as well as independent fans. The vision of the ISA is "to unite all Chicago Fire fans, to create a dominant in-stadium force unseen in American sports, and to establish home-field advantage whenever the Fire play".
Crain's Chicago Business is a weekly business newspaper in Chicago, IL. It is owned by Detroit-based Crain Communications.
BigSoccer.com is a soccer-related Internet forum in the United States. The site has more than 150,000 registered users and had over 1.2 million unique visitors during the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Forty percent of the site's traffic comes from outside the United States, with the site having particular popularity in Canada, Mexico, United Kingdom, Australia and Germany.
Joseph Daniel Mansueto is an American billionaire entrepreneur; the founder, majority owner and executive chairman of Morningstar, Inc. he is also the owner of Major League Soccer club Chicago Fire FC and Swiss Super League club FC Lugano.
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William Rockwell "Rocky" Wirtz was an American businessman. He was the principal owner and chairman of the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League. He was also president of the Blackhawks' parent company, the Wirtz Corporation, a diversified conglomerate headquartered in Chicago. Under Wirtz's leadership, the Chicago Blackhawks won three Stanley Cups between 2010 and 2015, reversing a period of declining fan interest and on-ice performance. He oversaw Wirtz Corporation's commercial and residential real estate companies, wine and spirits distributor Breakthru Beverage Group, an insurance company, and banks in Illinois and Florida. Wirtz was also half-owner of the Blackhawks' home arena, the United Center, along with Chicago Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf. He and Reinsdorf were co-chairmen of the arena's Executive Committee.
The Chicago Red Stars are a professional women's soccer club based in Bridgeview, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. A founding member of the Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) league, they have played in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) since 2013.
Andrew Hauptman is an American business executive, philanthropist, and civic leader. Hauptman co-founded the investment firm Andell Holdings which he has helmed since its inception in 1998 and has grown into one of the leading family office entities in the nation.
John McDonough is an American sports executive who spent two decades with the Chicago Cubs. In 2007, he left the presidency of the Cubs to become president of the Chicago Blackhawks. On June 1, 2011, McDonough was promoted to president and CEO of the Blackhawks. He specialized in the area of marketing. On April 27, 2020, he was released from his job with the Blackhawks.
Thomas Stuart Ricketts is the Chairman of the Chicago Cubs, and the Chairman, co-founder and former CEO of Incapital LLC, a firm that provides securities firms and individual investors more efficient access to corporate bonds. Together with his sister Laura and brothers Pete and Todd, the Ricketts siblings are the board of directors for the Cubs. He is the son of TD Ameritrade Holding Corporation founder J. Joseph Ricketts. Joe Ricketts has a net worth of US$2.3 billion as of 2018 according to Forbes.
The Chicago Riot was an indoor soccer team that played in the Major Indoor Soccer League. They were based in Villa Park, Illinois, near Chicago, and they played their home games at the Odeum Expo Center.
The 2018 United States Soccer Federation presidential election was held in February 2018 to determine the next President of the United States Soccer Federation. Having served as President since 2006, incumbent Sunil Gulati decided not to run for re-election, after the United States men's national soccer team failed to qualify for the FIFA World Cup for the first time since 1986.
Forward Madison FC is an American professional soccer team based in Madison, Wisconsin. The team was founded in 2018, and played its inaugural season in 2019. The team competes in USL League One, the third division of the US soccer league system and plays their home matches at Breese Stevens Field.
Chicago House Athletic Club is an American semi-professional men's soccer club owned by Laurence Girard and led by CEO Peter Wilt. The club is based in Chicago, Illinois. They began play in August 2021 as a professional club, competing in the third-tier National Independent Soccer Association (NISA). After being expelled from the league in January 2021, the club currently plays in the semi-professional Midwest Premier League.
Daniel Wirtz is an American businessman who is the owner and chairman of the Wirtz Corporation, a Chicago-based holding company that owns the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League, oversees real estate properties across the Chicago area, and manages one of the largest liquor distribution companies in the United States. He is the son of Rocky Wirtz, and inherited the Wirtz Corporation from his father, who died in 2023. Wirtz is the fourth generation of the family to own the Blackhawks, and the sixth principal owner in franchise history.