Haslam, who lives in his native Knoxville, Tennessee, is the elder brother of Bill Haslam, former Governor of Tennessee.[2] He is married to Susan "Dee" Bagwell Haslam, CEO of RIVR Media, part of the family ownership group of Pilot and co-owner of the Browns and Crew. They have three adult children, James Bagwell Haslam (adopted 2016), Whitney Haslam Johnson, and Cynthia Haslam Arnholt and five grandchildren.
Haslam began his career at Pilot Corporation in 1976, which his father had founded. In 1980, Haslam was named vice president of sales, development and operations. At that time, Pilot operated 100 convenience stores with annual fuel sales of about 125 million gallons. Pilot opened its first travel center in 1981, and by 1996 – the same year Haslam was named president and chief executive officer – the company operated 96 travel centers and 50 convenience stores and its total gallon sales had reached 1.2 billion. Pilot Corporation attained yet another milestone in 2001 when it joined with Marathon Ashland Petroleum LLC to form Pilot Travel Centers LLC.
Pilot Flying J is one of the largest top 10 privately held companies in the United States and employs more than 24,000 employees. The Pilot Flying J network provides customers with access to more than 70,000 parking spaces for trucks, 4,800 showers and 4,300 diesel lanes featuring DEF at the pump.
In April 2013, Federal Bureau of Investigation and Internal Revenue Service agents executed a search and seizure warrant and affidavit detailing a five-year fraud scheme by the Pilot Flying J chain. The company paid restitution to customers and agreed to pay a $92 million penalty pursuant to a Criminal Enforcement Agreement.[3][4]
Community involvement
Haslam's civic involvement includes service on the board of directors of Anderson Media Corporation. He also has served on the boards of the United Way of Greater Knoxville, Lakeshore Park in Knoxville and the National Association of Truck Stop Operators (NATSO). In addition, Haslam served as honorary chair of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Cleveland campaign committee and as campaign chair for Knox Area Rescue Ministries and United Way of Greater Knoxville.
In 2006, he served as Tennessee statewide campaign chair for the United States Senator Bob Corker and in 2012, he served as Statewide Finance Chairman for Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam, his brother.[5] Haslam was inducted into the Junior Achievement of East Tennessee Business Hall of Fame in 2007, and in 2010, he was named a recipient of the Ernst & YoungEntrepreneur Of The Year award for the Southeast region. In 2013, the University of Tennessee recognized Haslam with the Distinguished Alumnus Award. He is the co-founder of the Haslam Scholars Program for premier honor students at the University of Tennessee.[5]
Sports ownership
National Football League
Haslam bought a minority interest in the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2008. In 2012, he reached an agreement with Browns owner Randy Lerner to purchase the franchise for $1 billion. The Browns were valued at $977 million in 2011 by Forbes magazine, 20th in the NFL. NFL rules prohibit ownership in multiple teams and so Haslam sold his interest in the Steelers.[2][6] The Haslams' purchase of the Browns was unanimously approved by the 32 teams in the NFL on October 12; the sale itself closed thirteen days later.[7]
Since officially taking over the Browns seven games into the 2012 season, and through week 5 of the 2024 regular season, Haslam has a 70-123-1 record as team owner, but had his first winning season in 2020 when the Browns went 11-5, and won his first postseason game as Browns owner when they defeated the Steelers 48-37 in the Wild Card round of the 2020–21 NFL playoffs.
Major League Soccer
In late 2018, reports emerged that Haslam had purchased Major League Soccer club Columbus Crew from Anthony Precourt, who wanted to move the club to Austin, Texas. Haslam, along with his wife Dee and former team physician Pete Edwards, took over as owners on January 1, 2019, as a deal to purchase the club from Precourt was finalized.[8]
The Crew won MLS Cup 2020, giving Haslam his first major sports championship as an owner.[9] The Crew won their second MLS Cup under Haslam's ownership in 2023.
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