Robert E. Rich Jr. (born January 25, 1941), also known as Bob Rich, is an American businessman, philanthropist and writer. He is chairman and majority owner of

Rich Products Rich Products Corporation (also known as Rich's) is a privately held multinational food products corporation headquartered in Buffalo, New York. The company was founded in 1945 by Robert E. Rich, Sr., after his development of a non-dairy whipped ...

(Rich's), a food processing company headquartered in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...

Early life

Robert E. Rich Jr. graduated from

Williams College Williams College is a Private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts, United States. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim ...

with a bachelor's degree in 1963 and Simon Business School in 1969 an MBA degree.

Career

Rich Products

In 1964 he joined Rich Products, a company started by his father, as president of a start up subsidiary, Rich Products of Canada. Rich was in the United States National Guard from 1963 to 1969 and a member of the Army Reserve Officer school staff. He also earned an MBA from Simon Business School at the

University of Rochester The University of Rochester is a private university, private research university in Rochester, New York, United States. It was founded in 1850 and moved into its current campus, next to the Genesee River in 1930. With approximately 30,000 full ...

in 1969. Moving to Rich's American headquarters that year, he created the company's first marketing department and took on the new role of vice president of sales and marketing. In 1978 he was named President of Rich's.Rich Products website When his father died in Palm Beach, Florida in 2006, Robert Jr was elected to the position of chairman of Rich Products.Forbes 2009

Board roles

In 1969, Rich was an investor and member of the inaugural board of directors of the

Buffalo Sabres The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Con ...

of the National Hockey League and later became Vice Chairman of that professional hockey team. In 1983, Rich Products Corp. purchased the

Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen Fiel ...

minor league baseball team.Answers.com The Bisons are the AAA affiliate of the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Since 1989, the team has p ...

. Rich's also owns the

Northwest Arkansas Naturals The Northwest Arkansas Naturals are a Minor League Baseball team based in Springdale, Arkansas, Springdale, Arkansas. The team is a member of the Texas League, and serves as the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. T ...

(the AA affiliate of the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team ...

), and the

West Virginia Black Bears The West Virginia Black Bears are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. They are located in Granville, West Virginia, and play their home games at Kendrick Family Ballpark, which is across the Monongahela River from Morga ...

, charter members of the Major League Baseball Draft League. Rich is chairman of those three baseball clubs and is also a member of the Trustees Council of the University of Rochester. Rich has chaired many industry organizations including the National Frozen Food Association (NFFA), the Uniform Code Council (Bar Codes) the

Grocery Manufacturers Association The Consumer Brands Association (CBA), formerly the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA), is a United States-wide trade association for manufacturers of consumer packaged goods (CPG). The CBA represents companies that manufacture food, beve ...

(GMA) and Enactus (formerly Students in Free Enterprise - SIFE). Rich was elected to the board of directors of Cleveland Clinic in 2002 and chaired philanthropy and a fundraising campaign for the Clinic that raised more than $1.5 billion. He then was chairman of Cleveland Clinic for two four-year terms from 2011 to 2019. He remains involved with the Clinic today, is their chairman emeritus and assisted in their Centennial Campaign that has raised $2.5 billion.

Writing

Rich has authored five books, the proceeds of which were donated to charities including the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Boys and Girls Clubs of Western New York, Project Healing Waters, and has co-written a sixth. His fifth book, a novel, titled ''Looking Through Water'', is being produced as a movie and enters pre-production in 2022.

Personal life

Rich is married and has four children. His wife, Mindy, is vice chairman of Rich Products and has been with the company for more than 37 years. Politically, Rich is an Independent.

References

Bibliography

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rich, Robert E. Jr. 1941 births Living people Williams College alumni American businesspeople Buffalo Bisons (minor league)