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About Bob Harlan
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| Bob Harlan, Chairman Emeritus of the Green Bay Packers |
Bob Harlan is enjoying his "second" career with the Packers as the
organization's chairman emeritus. Having retired Jan. 28, 2008, after 37
years with the organization, including 19 as its principal executive,
he serves the organization as a goodwill ambassador, appearing on behalf
of the club at events and in the community. Although a different
position for him, its duties are not, for throughout his tenure as CEO,
the genial Harlan built and maintained considerable goodwill on behalf
of the storied franchise.
Harlan transitioned into his latest
career with a solid legacy in place. The team enjoyed tremendous success
under his stewardship and also is positioned to succeed well into the
future under the leadership of President/CEO Mark Murphy and a talented
staff.
Off the field, the crowning achievement of Harlan's
tenure - the $295 million redevelopment of historic Lambeau Field - was
ushered in at the beginning of the 2003 campaign and stands as the chief
component for assuring the team's financial survival for the next
generation.
On the field, the Packers enjoyed a resurgence under
Harlan's guidance, posting the league's best overall record, 152-88,
from 1993-2007, and returning the Lombardi Trophy to Green Bay with a
victory in Super Bowl XXXI. The successful period also included 13
straight .500-or-better seasons (1992-2004), an impressive
accomplishment in this era of free agency and the team's best stretch
since the 1930s and '40s.
A member of the club's front office
since 1971, the veteran Packers official made two major decisions late
in the 1991 season. Convinced the organization was merely treading water
competitively, he first relieved then-executive vice president Tom
Braatz of his responsibilities Nov. 20, 1991, and, one week later, named
Ron Wolf as executive vice president and general manager, with total
authority over football operations.
Wolf was chosen 'NFL
Executive of the Year' by Sporting News following his first full season
with the Packers, which saw him hire Mike Holmgren as head coach and
acquire Pro Bowl quarterback Brett Favre in 1992 in one of pro
football's most acclaimed trades ever. He subsequently "recruited"
perennial Pro Bowl defensive end Reggie White, the game's most
sought-after unrestricted free agent, in 1993.
During the
productive interim, the Packers advanced to the playoffs for six
consecutive years - the first such accomplishment in franchise history -
climaxing their 1996 achievements by reaching and winning the Super
Bowl for the first time in 29 years and following that singular
achievement by returning to the Super Bowl in January of 1998.
In
2005, Harlan hired Ted Thompson as the team's general manager, and
Thompson has built the Packers into one of the NFL's strongest young
teams, with the 2007 squad tying a team record for victories with a 13-3
regular-season mark en route to the division title and an appearance in
the NFC Championship.
Harlan fittingly was honored July 17,
2004, with his induction into the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame. His
mark on the franchise earlier was recognized Sept. 2, 2003, with the
dedication of the Robert E. Harlan Plaza, in front of the main entrance
to Lambeau Field. It is marked by a plaque featured between the statues
of team founder Curly Lambeau and Hall of Fame coach Vince Lombardi.
Other
notable achievements include the 1994 decision to leave Milwaukee,
ending a 62-year stay, and play all home games in Green Bay; launching
the fourth stock sale in the team's history in 1997, a mechanism which
produced more than $20 million in "new money" and in excess of 100,000
new shareholders; and authorizing construction of the Don Hutson Center,
the team's "state of the art" indoor practice facility.
Under
Harlan, the organization also has been accorded national acclaim for its
consistently high quality of operation. Additionally, the team ranked
among the league's most popular the last several years and merchandise
sales consistently land in the NFL's top five.
The affable
Iowan, who was involved in every area of the club's operations over the
course of his three-plus decade career, joined the organization as
assistant general manager on June 1, 1971, after serving as director of
public relations for the St. Louis baseball Cardinals. He earlier earned
a B.S. degree in journalism from Marquette in 1958 and had a brief tour
of duty in the U.S. Army before spending six months as a general
reporter for United Press International in Milwaukee. He subsequently
became sports information director at Marquette in 1959, then joined the
Cardinals in 1965, acting as director of community relations and the
speakers' bureau for two years and as director of public relations for
three-and-a-half years before joining the Packers.
Harlan
currently serves on the board of directors for a number of community
organizations and has been the recipient of multiple honors, both on a
local and state basis, including being honored three times by his alma
mater, Marquette University, in 1997. In 2007, he penned his
autobiography, Green and Golden Moments: Bob Harlan and the Green Bay
Packers.
Born Robert Ernest Harlan in Des Moines, Iowa, he and
his wife, Madeline, have three sons, Kevin, Bryan, and Michael, plus
four grandchildren.
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