John W. Henry (Commodity Trading Advisor)

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JohnHenry

John W. Henry is chairman of John W. Henry & Co., Inc.

Biography

John Henry is a futures and foreign exchange trading advisor and an avowed "trend follower" who founded John W. Henry & Company (JWH). He is the principal owner of the Boston Red Sox and co-owner of Roush Fenway Racing (NASCAR racing).

He began trading futures in his mid-20s, hedging soybean, corn and wheat prices for his family’s farming operation, and showed a life-long fascination with statistical trends in the markets. Since establishing his company in 1981, he developed many innovative investment programs in futures, foreign exchange and fixed income and won acclaim for his systematic approach to trend following, but like most traders, had his share of business disappointments, as well.

He also was one of the leaders in opening the doors for public participation in managed futures through his partnerships with some of the largest and best-known wire houses such as Dean Witter and Merrill Lynch. He also served in a number of prominent positions in industry organizations, including the FIA Board of Directors and the Managed Futures Association.

In 2006, he was inducted into the Futures Industry Association's Futures Hall of Fame, which was established in 2005 to commemorate outstanding contributions to the global futures and options community.

Sports

Henry entered Major League Baseball with his purchase of a small interest in the New York Yankees in 1991. He became the sole owner of the Florida Marlins in 1999, purchasing the Major League club for a reported $158,000,000, which he ironically bought from Huizenga. In January of 2002, Henry sold the Marlins in a multi-franchise deal to Jeffrey Loria then owner of the Montreal Expos (now the Washington Nationals). Simultaneously, Henry led a purchase of the Boston Red Sox with partners Tom Werner and the New York Times Company from the Yawkey Trust headed by John Harrington. He as principal owner and, Werner, as chairman, assembled a front office team headed up by Larry Lucchino with the express goal of winning a championship, a feat accomplished in the 2004 World Series, and again in 2007.

Education

He attended Victor Valley Junior College in Victorville, California, the University of California at Riverside, the University of California at Irvine and UCLA, majoring in philosophy, but failed to obtain his degree due in part to traveling with rock and roll bands called Elysian Fields and Hillary.