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M. Anthony Burns

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M. Anthony Burns
BornNovember 1, 1942
Mesquite, Nevada, United States
Alma materBrigham Young University (BS)
University of California, Berkeley (MBA)
Occupation(s)American business executive and university trustee
Known forFormer president and CEO of Ryder Systems
SpouseJoyce Jordan

M. Anthony Burns (born November 1, 1942) is an American businessman and chairman emeritus of the board of directors of Ryder, a United States-based provider of transportation and supply chain management products.[1]

Burns is also managing owner and chairman of Red Ledges in Heber City, Utah,[2] a corporate director at Pfizer[3] and Huntsman Corporation,[4] and a life trustee at the University of Miami.[5]

Early life and education

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Burns was born on November 1, 1942, in Mesquite, Nevada. He attended Utah Tech University (then Dixie State College) in nearby St. George, Utah on a baseball scholarship and then transferred to Brigham Young University,[6] where he received a B.S. in 1964. In 1965, he received an MBA in 1965 from the Haas School of Business.[7][8][9]

Career

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Burns joined the Ryder finance organization in 1974, and in 1979 was elected Ryder's president and COO. He was later elected CEO in January 1983 and chairman of the board of directors in May 1985. He retired from his position with Ryder System, Inc. in 2002.[10] Throughout his tenure, Burns helped Ryder to grow from $500 million in revenue to more than $5 billion.

When Burns joined Ryder in 1974, the company primarily focused on truck leasing and rental, owning a fleet of about 50,000 vehicles and employing 13,000 workers in three countries. At Burns's retirement in 2002, Ryder had a fleet of more than 170,000 vehicles for commercial truck leasing and rental, had 30,000 employees in more than a dozen countries on four continents and had expanded into logistics.

Before joining Ryder, Burns was Comptroller for North America at Mobil Oil Corporation.

He formerly served on the board of directors of J. P. Morgan Chase & Co., Stanley Black & Decker and J.C. Penney Company, Inc. and was chairman of the audit committee for all three. Burns also served as the director of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and chairman of the Chamber's Services Industries Council.

Burns also served on the national boards of United Way of America, American Red Cross, National Urban League and Boy Scouts of America, as well as on the Board of the Directors of the Foundation for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award.[11] He is an honorary trustee and former chairman of the National Urban League.[12] He also served as the co-chairman of The Business Roundtable and chairman of its Health and Retirement Task Force, as a member of the Business-Higher Education Forum, as a member of The Business Council, and on The Coca-Cola Company's task force on human resource issues.

In the South Florida community, Burns was chairman of the Capital Campaign for the Performing Arts Center of Greater Miami and formerly served as board chairman and campaign chairman of the United Way of Miami-Dade County[13] and president of the South Florida Council of the Boy Scouts of America.

Burns has also served on the national advisory council of the School of Management of Brigham Young University, the board of visitors of the Graduate School of Business Administration of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the board of overseers of the Wharton School. He was an associate trustee of the University of Pennsylvania.

Philanthropy

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Burns has led many humanitarian, cultural, civic and industry endeavors throughout his career, especially in the Miami-Dade area of South Florida.

Burns chaired the capital campaign for the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts for 17 years, leading an effort that raised $415 million (including more than $1 million that he personally gave). While at Ryder, he oversaw donations for the construction of the Ryder Trauma Center at Jackson Memorial Hospital and the Ryder Center Arena (now the BankUnited Center) at the University of Miami, and he coordinated Ryder's sponsorship of the Doral Ryder Open for 16 years.

He also created scholarship funds at Utah Tech University in St. George, Utah, which to date have provided more than 100 scholarships, and has endowed four scholarships each at Wasatch High School in Heber City, Utah, and Virgin Valley High School in Mesquite, Nevada.

Personal life

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Burns is married to the former Joyce Jordan. They have three children and six grandchildren. He is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) and has served in leadership roles in the church including bishop and stake president. He recently served as an area seventy in the church's Sixth Quorum of the Seventy.

Burns was serving as an LDS Church bishop in Miami when Hurricane Andrew hit in 1992, destroying much of his neighborhood. With extensive destruction surrounding him, Burns went out to the front lines and joined the work crews in repairing roofs. He also made the lobby of Ryder's corporate headquarters available to United Way. Making many donations such as food and clothing to charitable agencies, Burns also provided Ryder's trucks to people who needed to transport themselves and possessions to safer, drier places. With his approval, Ryder also donated $2.5 million to rebuild the Miami-Dade County after Hurricane Andrew's destruction and allowed Ryder employees to work half days at the company and half days in the rescue effort. Burns was recognized as the American Red Cross Humanitarian of the Year for this work following Hurricane Andrew.[14]

Several facilities, centers and other education resources at various institutions are named in honor of M. Anthony Burns in recognition of donations or other assistance during construction:

Awards

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Humanitarian

Burns has been awarded the Jay W. Weiss Humanitarian Award by the Jackson Memorial Foundation, the Robert W. Laidlaw Humanitarian Award by the Epilepsy Foundation of South Florida, the Sand In My Shoes award by the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce,[16] and the Community Service Award by the Advertising Federation of Greater Miami.

Business

Burns was named CEO of the decade in Transportation: Freight & Leasing by Financial World and is a three-time recipient of CEO of the Year in Transportation: Freight & Leasing. He was also named the International Executive of the Year by the Marriott School of Management at Brigham Young University[17] and Business Leader of the Century by Brigham Young University—Idaho.

Other awards Burns has received include:

Business

  • South Florida Business Hall of Fame (Florida Council on Economic Education)
  • Junior Achievement's Business Leadership Hall of Fame
  • Business Leader of the Year (The Miami News)
  • Joseph Wharton Business Statesman Award (Wharton School Club)
  • Marketer of the Year (Academy of Marketing Science)
  • Leslie Pantin, Sr. Leadership Award (Coalition of Hispanic American Women)

Education

  • Honorary doctor of public service degree from Florida International University[18]
  • Honorary doctor of humane letters degree from Florida Memorial University (formerly Florida Memorial College)
  • Haas School of Business Hall of Fame[19] (University of California, Berkeley)
  • Charter Member of the Utah Tech University Hall of Fame (Formerly Dixie State University)
  • Outstanding Alumnus (American Association of Community Colleges)
  • Wall of Fame (Mesquite, Nev.)
  • Jesse Knight Industrial Citizenship Award (Brigham Young University)

Scouting

  • Silver Buffalo Award (Boy Scouts of America)
  • Silver Beaver (Boy Scouts of America)
  • Good Scout Award (Boy Scouts of America)

Miscellaneous

References

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  1. ^ "Executive Profile - M. Anthony Burns". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2013-06-18.
  2. ^ "Developer". Red Ledges. Retrieved 2013-06-18.
  3. ^ "Meet Our Board". Pfizer Inc. Archived from the original on 2013-05-15. Retrieved 2013-06-18.
  4. ^ "Huntsman - Board of Directors". Huntsman Corporation. Retrieved 2013-06-18.
  5. ^ "University of Miami: Board of Trustees". University of Miami. Archived from the original on 2015-03-21. Retrieved 2013-06-18.
  6. ^ "Big city executive has small town style", Church News August 6, 1988.
  7. ^ "Burns Executive Profile". BusinessWeek. Retrieved 2008-06-15.[dead link]
  8. ^ "2007 BYU Basketball Guide" (PDF). BYU Magazine. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-03-20. Retrieved 2008-06-01.
  9. ^ "Burns Executive Pay". Forbes. Archived from the original on December 17, 2001. Retrieved 2008-06-15.
  10. ^ "Ryder Board Selects Gregory T. Swienton Chairman To Succeed M. Anthony Burns, Who Is Retiring May 3rd". Business Wire. 2002-03-28. Retrieved 2008-06-15.
  11. ^ "Foundation Directors and Trustees - Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award" (PDF). National Institute of Standards and Technology. Retrieved 2013-06-24.
  12. ^ "Burns gets Urban League post". Palm Beach Post. 1987-07-23. Retrieved 2013-06-18.
  13. ^ "Andrew Leaves Behind Bills In The Billions". BusinessWeek. 1992-09-06. Archived from the original on October 21, 2013. Retrieved 2013-06-18.
  14. ^ "Elizabeth Dole to peak at dinner honoring M. Anthony Burns as Red Cross Humanitarian of the Year". PR Newswire. 1993-08-13. Retrieved 2013-06-18.
  15. ^ "MDC Announces 2012 Endowed Teaching Chairs". Miami Dade College. Retrieved 2013-06-24.
  16. ^ "Sand In My Shoes Award". Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce. Archived from the original on 2013-04-15. Retrieved 2013-06-20.
  17. ^ "School Names Alum International Executive of the Year". Marriott Alumni Magazine. Archived from the original on 2006-09-15. Retrieved 2013-06-20.
  18. ^ "Florida Statewide Drug Control Summit - Biographies of Speakers and Roundtable Guests". Florida Senate Website Archive. Retrieved 2013-06-20.
  19. ^ "Hall of Fame - Haas Alumni Network". University of California, Berkeley - Haas School of Business. Retrieved 2013-06-24.