Francesco Aquilini (born 1960) is a Canadian businessman and investor, and is the current chairman and owner of the Vancouver Canucks. He is a managing director of Vancouver-based Aquilini Investment Group,"Francesco Aquilini, Chairman & Governor, NHL"
''NHL.com''. the parent company of several diverse subsidiaries. The company is best known for its ownership of the

Vancouver Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. The Canucks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conferenc ...

and

Rogers Arena Rogers Arena, (formerly General Motors Place), is a multi-purpose list of indoor arenas, arena at 800 Griffiths Way in the Downtown Vancouver, downtown area of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Opened in 1995, the arena was known as General ...

, where Aquilini sits as Chairman and NHL Governor. Aquilini is also chairman of Canadian digital media company Enthusiast Gaming.

Early life and family business

Francesco Aquilini was born and raised in

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

. Aquilini attended

Templeton Secondary School Templeton Secondary School is a Public education, public secondary school located in the Grandview-Woodland neighbourhood on the East Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Its student teams won the SmartAsk competition in 2004, the junior ''Reach Fo ...

. He went on to graduate from

Simon Fraser University Simon Fraser University (SFU) is a Public university, public research university in British Columbia, Canada. It maintains three campuses in Greater Vancouver, respectively located in Burnaby (main campus), Surrey, British Columbia, Surrey, and ...

with a degree in Business Administration."The Breakaway Shot"
''

BC Business Canada Wide Media Limited is a publishing company in Western Canada, based in Burnaby, British Columbia. History Canada Wide Media Limited co-founder and CEO Peter Legge purchased a ten-cent magazine in 1976. In 2023 it was bought by the Ali ...

'', October 9, 2008. He later earned an

MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular a ...

from

UCLA Anderson School of Management The John E. Anderson Graduate School of Management (branded as UCLA Anderson) is the graduate business school at the University of California, Los Angeles. The school offers MBA (full-time, part-time, executive), Post Graduate Program for Executi ...

. His father, Luigi Aquilini, emigrated in 1953 from Travagliato,

Brescia Brescia (, ; ; or ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the region of Lombardy, in Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Lake Garda, Garda and Lake Iseo, Iseo. With a population of 199,949, it is the se ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, to Vancouver. He started Aquilini Investment Group in the 1960s and is still active in the company operations and decision making. Having come to Canada from Italy in the mid-1950s, Luigi started his own construction company, working in East Vancouver during the 1960s and 1970s. In the 1980s, he bought and sold older buildings in

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

and

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

. He then began buying land to build new condominium towers. Francesco and his two brothers, Roberto and Paolo, began working in the company during the 1980s and are now all managing directors. In May 2019, it was found that the Aquilini family had underpaid 174 migrant workers at their berry farm in Pitt Meadows. The office of the Director of Employment Standards ordered the Aquilinis to repay $133,632.56 in back wages, vacation pay and interest to temporary foreign workers brought in from Guatemala to work at its Golden Eagle Blueberry Farm in the summer of 2018.

Aquilini Investment Group

Aquilini, along with his brothers and father, oversees several subsidiaries:

Vancouver Canucks and Rogers Arena

The

Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. The Canucks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference. The team plays its home games at Rogers Arena ...

are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. On November 17, 2004, Aquilini purchased a 50% share in Orca Bay Sports and Entertainment (the owners of both the Canucks franchise and Rogers Arena) from John McCaw, Jr. On November 8, 2006, Aquilini purchased the remaining 50% of the Vancouver Canucks and Rogers Arena. In May 2007, Gaglardi and Beedie's civil lawsuit over Aquilini's purchase reached the Supreme Court of British Columbia. The court ruled for Aquilini, on January 10, 2008. The court held that there was no legal partnership between Aquilini, Beedie, and Gaglardi, and that McCaw was free to sell the team to anyone he wished. Aquilini and Gaglardi knew each other from the many joint family events they had attended over the years. Their fathers (Luigi and Bob) were longtime friends and commercial allies. Both families are still majority partners in the proposed Garibaldi At Squamish resort north of Vancouver.

Aquilini Developments

Aquilini Developments owns and develops real estate. The company is primarily focused on Vancouver and the Lower Mainland, but has holdings across Canada, in the US, and Italy. Recent residential and mixed use developments in Greater Vancouver include Tsawwassen Shores in Delta, Seymour Village in North Vancouver, and the Willingdon Lands redevelopment in Burnaby. The company has also built two residential towers around Rogers Arena. Other recent acquisitions include an acre of land in downtown Moncton, NB and a golf course redevelopment and commercial land in Chilliwack, BC. Aquilini Developments, in partnership with the Gaglardi family, is the proponent of the proposed $3.5B Garibaldi at Squamish resort.

Aquilini Properties

Aquilini Properties owns and manages hotels and other income-producing properties across Canada. Aquilini Properties owns five office towers across Canada and has half ownership of Halifax-based Pacrim Hospitality Services, which owns and manages 30 hotels across Canada. These include the Embassy Suites hotel in Montreal, the Holiday Inn Express in East Vancouver, The division also owns all 48 Pizza Hut locations in BC. The company previously owned one of the largest rental complexes in Canada, the West Edmonton village.

Golden Eagle Group

Golden Eagle Group operates a variety of recreational and agricultural businesses within of prime agricultural land. This is the single largest land holding in the Greater Vancouver Area. This includes two 18-hole golf courses, a western town movie set, real estate, and a hardwood tree nursery. The Group also owns and manages one of the world's larger blueberry and cranberry growing and processing operations.

Aquilini Renewable Energy

Aquilini Renewable Energy, led by John Negrin, is looking for opportunities in green energy, including waste-to-power and

wind power Wind power is the use of wind energy to generate useful work. Historically, wind power was used by sails, windmills and windpumps, but today it is mostly used to generate electricity. This article deals only with wind power for electricity ge ...

. The division earned community and media attention for a proposal in 2008 and 2009 to build a petroleum waste reduction and recycling plant near Christina Lake, a lake that is popular with summer vacationers.

Personal life and philanthropy

Aquilini has undertaken philanthropic work in British Columbia, through both his personal contributions and the charitable organizations founded by his family through their various business ventures. Aquilini is the Chair and primary sponsor of the Italian Gardens (Il Giardino Italiano) in Hastings Park. His company has given significant support to the BC Children's Hospital. Francesco is also a regular participant and contributor to the East End Boys Club, which provides mentorship for at-risk young men in BC. The Aquilini Investment Group also supports land conservation and wildlife habitat protection, including contributing to the purchase of the Codd Wetlands in Pitt Meadows to protect the area. Additionally, a site adjacent to Blaney Bog Regional Park was renamed the Aquilini Land Conservancy to recognize their significant financial contribution that helped permanently protect the area. Under the Canucks brand, Aquilini has hosted many charity groups at Canucks games and supports a number of charitable organizations, including: the Canucks for Kids Fund, to support childhood health and wellness, with specific programs aimed at issues like childhood diabetes; the Canucks Autism Network (CAN), which provides adaptive sports, recreational, social and arts programs for children, teens and young adults living with autism in British Columbia; and the Canuck Place Children's Hospice, which provides care for sick children in BC. In his early 20s, Aquilini married Dusty Martel, then a local radio personality at CFMI. They had one child but were soon divorced. In 1994, he married Taliah Aquilini and the couple had four children together. They divorced in 2013.

Allegations of child abuse

On September 27, 2022, three of Aquilini's children testified in sworn affidavits before BC Supreme Court that they had been physically and psychologically abused by their father. Aquilini denied the allegations.

References

External links

Canucks.com Official Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aquilini, Francesco 1969 births Businesspeople from Vancouver Canadian chief executives Canadian investors Canadian people of Italian descent 21st-century Canadian philanthropists Canadian businesspeople in real estate Living people National Hockey League executives National Hockey League owners People associated with wind power Simon Fraser University alumni Ice hockey people from Vancouver UCLA Anderson School of Management alumni Vancouver Canucks executives Templeton Secondary School alumni Vancouver Titans