It is with great sadness that Akerman mourns the passing of H. Wayne Huizenga Sr., a longtime client and one of the nation’s preeminent entrepreneurs, as well as a foremost business leader in South Florida. A gifted businessman and caring human being, Mr. Huizenga was at the center of some of the most transformative commercial and charitable projects that made South Florida a coveted place to live and work.
“Mr. Huizenga’s entrepreneurial spirit infused our law firm and we are deeply grateful for the many opportunities he gave to us personally, to our law firm and to the community,” said Jonathan Awner, co-chair of Akerman’s Corporate Practice Group. “His activities created thousands of jobs and changed innumerable lives. Our prayers are with his family.”
Stephen Roddenberry, an Akerman partner, noted, “Mr. Huizenga’s success in the community has forever changed the face of U.S. business and the history of South Florida.”
The founder of Huizenga Holdings, with interests in numerous private businesses, Mr. Huizenga was the only U.S. entrepreneur ever to found three Fortune 500 companies: Waste Management, Blockbuster Entertainment and AutoNation. Ten years after founding AutoNation, he was inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame, along with the likes of historic American business legends including Henry Ford, Lee Iacocca, Walter Chrysler and Thomas Edison. The distinct honor was just one of the countless recognitions Mr. Huizenga received over the course of his remarkable, decades-long career.
For more than 30 years, Akerman’s history and growth have journeyed along the path of Mr. Huizenga’s many successes. Akerman lawyers proudly advised Mr. Huizenga in the launching of two professional U.S. sport franchises, Major League Baseball’s Florida Marlins and National Hockey League’s Florida Panthers. The firm also advised Mr. Huizenga in his successful investments in Blockbuster Video, AutoNation, the Miami Dolphins, Boca Resorts and a dozen other companies he grew into industry leaders. Other ventures the firm advised on included the development of the Broward Arena, now known as the BB&T Center, and Mr. Huizenga’s investment in and dramatic expansion of Republic Services, including the latter’s $12 billion merger with Allied Waste in 2009.
Akerman has counseled many of Mr. Huizenga’s businesses and continues to represent many of them today. With Mr. Huizenga and his companies as leading clients for the last three decades, Akerman expanded its regional presence into the national stage, becoming a top 100 U.S. law firm with more than 650 lawyers serving clients across the Americas.
Akerman mourns Mr. Huizenga’s passing while celebrating his timeless legacy.