Arthur Blank

Biography

Now in his seventh season as Owner & CEO of the Atlanta Falcons, Arthur Blank’s passion and commitment to the team has never been more intense. Following a tumultuous 2007 season, Blank left no stone unturned in strengthening the Falcons foundation. This began with the hiring of General Manager Thomas Dimitroff, 19-year player personnel veteran, to direct all aspects of football operations. Dimitroff joined Atlanta from the very successful New England Patriots franchise, which won two Super Bowls during Dimitroff’s tenure.

The next step was finding a Head Coach with an impressive resume, deep football knowledge and experience, and a solid game plan. Blank and Dimitroff’s passion to win led them to Mike Smith. Smith’s experience includes nine NFL seasons and 26 total years in football. His defensive background has produced remarkable success as he helped guide the Baltimore Ravens to a Super Bowl XXXV Championship in 2000 and led the Jacksonville Jaguars defense to top-10 rankings in a number of categories during his time as defensive coordinator from 2003 to 2007.

Blank has distinguished himself as one of the most innovative and progressive owners in all of professional sports. Through listening, planning and surrounding himself with some of the most respected minds in football, Blank has transformed both the Falcons and the Arena Football League’s Georgia Force into franchises that expect to be in playoff contention each season, while also being All-Pro performers in the community.

As one who continuously demands high standards of his players, coaches and staff, Blank will not rest until the Falcons are transformed into a perennial winner.

Commitment to Fans
Whether it’s The Home Depot — the company Blank co-founded and led until his retirement as co-chairman in 2001 — or the Atlanta Falcons, Blank has always subscribed to one simple theory: Listening is what matters most. Customers, fans, players, coaches or associates — Blank listens, understands and responds to all of them and expects his associates to do the same.

Being a man who helped build The Home Depot into the world’s largest home improvement retailer, Blank was prepared for the hard work that would be necessary to turn around a franchise that had only eight winning seasons since its inception in 1966. Under his leadership, the Falcons organization made a three-point commitment to fans to produce a winning team on the field; provide a great game day experience; and have a winning team off the field by being active in the community.

Following the challenges — on and off the field – in 2007, that commitment is stronger than ever. “Every one of us at the Falcons is dedicated to delivering in each of these three areas,” Blank said.

Fans entering the Georgia Dome in the 2008 season will enjoy the results of a two-year, $30 million investment by the Falcons. Following renovations to suites and the club seat area, and the addition of super suites and LED ribbon boards in 2007, the Falcons, along with the Georgia World Congress Center Authority, completed enhancements this year to the interior and exterior of the Dome. The Dome feels more like the “home of the Falcons,” with red and black paint on the exterior, and red and black seats throughout the interior. In addition, refurbished concourse areas boast enhanced lighting and signage and improved concessions.

“We think it’s important to maintain the Georgia Dome to NFL standards for our fans,” Blank said. “It’s another way we can add value to their game day experience.”

Coupled with lowering 2008 ticket prices on approximately 30,000 seats and holding others flat, Blank continues to deliver on his commitment to fans.

“Some owners get what the game’s all about,” commented NFL writer Clark Judge, who named Blank his 2002 NFL Executive of the Year. “Thank goodness for Atlanta’s owner. When he took over the club, he asked players what they wanted…and they said they wanted their fans back. So Blank did what he could. Blank understands the game is not just about the players. It’s about the people who pay to see them, too. Good for him. Lucky for Atlanta.”

Commitment to Players
Blank’s decision to move his team’s training camp from Furman University to the club’s in-season training facility in Flowery Branch beginning in 2005 was largely driven by his desire to make it easier for fans to attend camp. Falcons players, however, benefited as well.

The first fully self-contained training camp complex in the NFL, the campus includes condominium-style dormitory buildings that house Falcons players, coaches and football staff for the duration of the club’s annual training camp. The complex also includes a swimming pool and aplayer amenities building, which contains pool tables, plasma TVs, a full-service food preparation area and video game systems.

The Falcons campus is also home to the Georgia Force, the Arena Football League team Blank acquired in August 2004 and immediately placed on the top of the AFL landscape. Employing the same principles, concepts and management approaches he uses to propel the Falcons, the Force has qualified for the AFL playoffs in each of Blank’s first three seasons as an AFL team owner, winning two Southern Division championship titles and playing in ArenaBowl XIX. The 2005 team earned National Conference championship honors after posting a then-franchise-best 11–5 record en route to sending a league-high four players to the 2005 All-Arena team. In 2007, the Force finished the regular season with a new franchise-best 14–2 record.

Commitment to Community
One of the hallmarks of Blank’s philosophy is giving back to the community. During his tenure with The Home Depot, the company donated more than $113 million to the communities it served. In addition, associates provided hundreds of thousands of hours of personal volunteer time.

Given his philanthropic history, it came as no surprise that the one element of Blank’s three-point plan for the Falcons was a program that would see the Falcons organization lending its support all over the state of Georgia. One vehicle of the Falcons’ community outreach efforts is the Atlanta Falcons Youth Foundation, which gives back to the community by promoting the healthy development of youth. It does so by supporting physical fitness and sports in communities across Georgia through grants, strategic partnerships and signature programs.

Since 2002, the Foundation has awarded $14.7 million in grants to more than 615 nonprofit organizations. The centerpiece of the foundation’s work is the Falcons Fitness Zones signature program, in which Blank has invested more than $6 million since the program’s inception in 2005, in a focused effort to shape the lives of Georgia’s youth through fitness.

Through a matching gift fund initiated by Blank, Falcons players, coaches and staff are also involved in the community at unprecedented levels. Together, they have raised more than $3.5 million for 483 charitable organizations during the last six years.

Following Blank’s lead, Atlanta Falcons players, coaches and associates remain among the most active community citizens in the NFL, contributing an average of 2,200 hours of their time each season. Much of this time is spent participating in Atlanta Falcons community relations programs and initiatives, which address a range of issues from breast cancer awareness to outreach to underserved communities.

Blank is also dedicated to his personal giving back. In addition to serving as Owner & CEO of the Falcons, Blank is Chairman, President & CEO of AMB Group, LLC, and Chairman of The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation. Both organizations are part of The Arthur M. Blank Family Office, with the common purpose of giving back to society through financial contributions and personal involvement. Through his generosity, the foundation, along with his and his wife Stephanie’s personal giving, has granted and committed more than $250 million to numerous nonprofit organizations.

How It All Started
A native of Flushing, N.Y., Blank attended Stuyvesant High School in Manhattan, where he competed on the football, baseball and track teams. He received a B.S. Degree in Business Administration with Distinction from Babson College, where he was active in a wide variety of extracurricular activities. He co-founded The Home Depot in 1978 and retired from the company as Co-Chairman in 2001. At the time of his retirement, The Home Depot was a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average and one of Fortune magazine’s “Global Most Admired Companies.” During Blank’s last year as CEO of the company, The Home Depot ranked first in social responsibility in an annual survey conducted by Harris Interactive, Inc.

Blank is recognized throughout the country for his personal and professional achievements. In 2008, Blank received an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from the University of South Carolina-Bluffton. In 2006, he was named a Distinguished American by the Walter Camp Football Foundation, which every year recognizes an individual who has utilized his or her talents to attain great success in business, private life, or public service. Also in 2006, Blank was inducted into the Junior Achievement U.S. Business Hall of Fame, and was awarded an honorary degree of Doctor of Humanities from Furman University. In 2005 he was named National Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst & Young.

In 2003, for the second time in three years, Blank was named Georgia’s Most Respected CEO by Georgia Trend magazine, and in 2002 he was inducted into Georgia State University’s Business Hall of Fame. Among other previous honors, Babson College inducted Blank into its Academy of Distinguished Entrepreneurs in 1995 and conferred on him an honorary degree of Doctor of Laws in 1998.

Blank serves on a number of boards including: Outward Bound USA; the Board of Trustees of The Carter Center, Inc.; the Board of Trustees of Emory University; the Board of Trustees of The Cooper Institute; and the boards of Cox Enterprises, Inc., and Staples, Inc.

Blank is Chairman of the capital campaign for the new Atlanta Symphony Center. He previously served as Co-Chair for the capital campaign for the new Centennial Olympic Games Museum at the Atlanta History Center.

In September 2001, Blank joined the faculty of Emory University’s Goizueta Business School as its first Distinguished Executive in Residence. He also served as the 2003 Chairman of the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce.

Blank has six children and two grandchildren. He and Stephanie, along with their three youngest children, live in Atlanta. A strong believer in work-life balance, Blank still makes time daily for working out and spending time with family.