Ron Fowler
Vice Chairman
Ron Fowler is the Vice Chairman and co-owner of the San Diego Padres and the Chairman and CEO of Liquid Investments, Inc. He is a principal and board member of Columbia Distributing in Oregon and Washington. Recognized as a beverage industry leader, Ron has chaired or been a member of numerous corporate and association boards over the past 40 years.
Ron was named to the Major League Baseball (MLB) Executive Council in 2017 and currently sits on MLB’s Pension Committee and Labor Policy Committee. From 2015-2016, he served as chairman of the Labor Policy Committee’s negotiation with the MLB Player’s Association on the new Collective Bargaining Agreement that ensures labor peace through 2021.
Ron’s special interest is higher education. In 2016, Ron and his wife, Alexis, pledged a $25 million endowment gift to San Diego State University’s (SDSU) College of Business Administration that will provide scholarships and professorships, develop a lecture series, and provide international experiences and expanded programming for SDSU business students. Additionally, he was the primary financial contributor and chaired the successful campaign to create the Entrepreneurial Management Center at SDSU and served as the first chairman of its board of governors. He is chairman emeritus of the SDSU Campanile Foundation and past chairman of the SDSU President’s Advisory Board. In 2005, Ron received an honorary doctorate from SDSU. Ron served on the University of San Diego’s (USD) Board of Trustees from 1996 – 2016, served as Chair of the Board for six years, and was awarded Chair Emeritus in 2016. Ron is also actively involved and supportive of his alma mater, the University of St. Thomas (Minnesota). Ron served on the St. Thomas Board of Trustees from 2009 – 2014 and on the Athletic Advisory Board from 2011 – 2014. In 2008, Ron received the John F. Cade Award in Entrepreneurship. And in 2014, he received the Distinguished Alumnus Award, both from the University of St. Thomas.
An avid sports enthusiast, Ron is chairman emeritus of the San Diego Sports Association. From 1987-1991, he was the Owner/ Managing General Partner of the San Diego Sockers professional soccer team. In 1991, he was recognized as “San Diego Sports Businessman of the Year.” He chaired the Mayor’s Task Force on Padres Planning, helping deliver a new ballpark for San Diego. He was the founding chair of the San Diego International Sports Council and also chaired the San Diego Super Bowl Task Force and the 2003 Super Bowl Host Committee. Ron’s efforts were instrumental in San Diego being awarded the 2016 Major League Baseball All-Star game.
Ron has been recognized many times for his leadership roles in athletics, entrepreneurship and community service. In recent years, he received the first Chairman’s Award from the San Diego County Board of Supervisors. He was named Herb Klein Civic Leadership Honoree by the Regional EDC, received the Downtown San Diego Partnership’s Alonzo Award and was Big Brothers/Big Sisters of San Diego County’s Person of the Year. In 2013, he was honored with the Guthrie Award by the Huntington’s Disease Society of America. The San Diego Hall of Champions named him “Sportsman of the Year” and his generosity led to the construction of Fowler Park, the 1,700-seat ballpark on the campus of the University of San Diego (USD). In 2015, Ron was honored by the San Diego Chamber of Commerce with the Herb Klein Spirit of San Diego Award. In 2018, the Hall of Champions’ annual Community Champion Award was renamed the Ron Fowler Community Champion Award in honor of Ron’s “unending generosity to San Diego, the Hall and its community programs.”
Ron and his wife, Alexis, are the parents of five children and grandparents of three girls.