ALEX RODRIGUEZ - Youngstown State University

YSU Thomas Colloquium presents: Building a Legacy of Leadership: Discipline, Reinvention, and the Power of Enterprise - An Evening with Alex Rodriguez

Alex Rodriguez is the Chairman and CEO of A-Rod Corp, an investment firm that backs world-class startups and partners with leading global companies across real estate, sports, and entertainment. Alex is best known as one of the world’s greatest athletes (a 14 time MLB All-Star and a 2009 World Series Champion with the New York Yankees), but he is also a business leader who has built high-growth businesses and enhanced the value of more than 40 companies in the A-Rod Corp portfolio. Alex founded A-Rod Corp in 1995, purchasing a duplex apartment on the theory that investing his MLB earnings wisely would protect him from the kinds of financial struggles that afflict too many professional athletes. While achieving extraordinary stats on the field (696 home runs and more grand slams than any other MLB player in history), Alex simultaneously assembled an expert team at A-Rod Corp, bought property and built a fully integrated real estate and development company. In 2025, Alex became the controlling owner of the NBA’s Minnesota Timberwolves and Minnesota Lynx. He serves as a strategic advisor to the Professional Fighters League and is an investor in Blue Crow Sports. Alex also formed A-Rod Media which offers scalable, multimedia capabilities, including original content creation, compelling narrative storytelling, and audience engagement across all marketing platforms. 

Alex is an Emmy Award-winning MLB analyst for Fox Sports. He was a judge and investor on ABC’s Shark Tank, mentored financially distressed ex-athletes on CNBC’s Back in the Game, and co-hosts the video series The Deal interviewing CEOs, entrepreneurs, and sports legends. Alex is a guest lecturer at Stanford Graduate School of Business where he teaches a class called Strategic Pivoting. Committed to creating opportunities for young people to succeed, Alex serves on the Board of the Boys and Girls Club of America and is in the National Alumni Hall of Fame. Alex is on the Board of Trustees at the University of Miami. His gifts to that University, and also to Florida International University, have provided scholarships to dozens of students.