NY Islanders Co-Owner Is 2023 Greenwich High School Commencement Speaker

GREENWICH, CT — Greenwich Public Schools announced this week that Jon Ledecky, co-owner of the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League, will be the 2023 commencement speaker at Greenwich High School. Graduation is slated for June 15 at Cardinal Stadium.

"It’s an honor to be asked to speak at this year’s commencement," said Ledecky, a GHS alum, in a news release. "I made so many friends and created a lifetime of memories at Greenwich High School. I cannot wait to celebrate this momentous occasion with the students and their families."

While at GHS, Ledecky reported on GHS sports for WGCH Radio and the Greenwich Time, and was awarded the nationally prestigious Grantland Rice Scholarship as the nation’s top teenage sports reporter.

"Greenwich High School has a rich and proud tradition of educational excellence in the state of Connecticut," GHS Principal Ralph Mayo said in a news release. "To welcome back Jon Ledecky, a GHS graduate with such an accomplished and successful business career, as the 2023 commencement speaker, is a true honor for us."

Ledecky founded U.S. Office Products in 1994 and by 1997, the company had become the fastest entrant ever in the history of the Fortune 500, according to a news release from the school district. Ledecky has also served on over 20 public company boards during his career and helped to raise over $25 billion in financing for these companies.

Ledecky’s initial foray into professional sports ownership came in in 1999 when, with partner Ted Leonsis, he bought the NHL’s Washington Capitals and an interest in the Washington Wizards of the National Basketball Association. He later sold his partnership interest and started a foundation that dedicated itself to the education of inner-city children in Boston, New York, and Washington, D.C.

Ledecky and Scott Malkin bought into the Islanders franchise as partners with now-former owner Charles Wang in 2014. In 2016, Ledecky and Malkin took over as majority owners.

Ledecky is an honors graduate of Harvard College and graduated from Harvard Business School. He has served on the National Commission on Entrepreneurship and on the board of directors of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Ledecky has been honored as an Anti-Defamation League "Man of the Year" and was the International Franchise Association’s "Free Enterprise Award" winner. His niece, Katie Ledecky, is a seven-time Olympic gold medalist whose 19 world championship gold medals are the most in history for a female swimmer.