Larry Connor

Larry Connor (January 7, 1950) is an American real estate, technology business person, and private astronaut. Connor is the head of the Connor Group, a real estate investment firm located in Dayton, Ohio. Connor piloted the first Axiom space mission, AX-1.

Larry Connor
Larry Connor in 2015
Born (1950-01-07) 7 January 1950
Albany, New York
Space career
Axiom Space
Time in space
17 days, 1 hour and 49 minutes
MissionsSpaceX Ax1

Education

Born in 1950 in Albany, New York, Connor graduated summa cum laude in 1972 from Ohio University in Athens, Ohio.[1] Connor was a member of Who’s Who of College Students and was one of 22 students out of a class of 4,500 undergraduates selected to the Ohio University J Club.[2]

Career

From 1982 to 1990, Connor owned Orlando Computer Corp.[3] The company had operations in central Florida and Cincinnati, OH, providing hardware and software to businesses.

The Connor Group, a real estate investment firm, was founded as Connor, Murphy & Buhrman in 1992. Connor bought out his partners and established the Connor Group in 2003.[4] Over the next 18 years, the Connor Group grew from $100 million in assets to $3.5 billion.[5]

Connor co-founded Heartland Regional Power in 2004.[6] First Billing Services, an online payment and bill processing platform also co-founded by Connor, later acquired the firm.[7]

In 2007, Connor founded the Connor Group Kids & Community Partners,[8] serving disadvantaged youth in communities where the Connor Group operates.

Connor has been a member of the National Council of McLean Hospital since 2008.[9][10]

Connor and the Connor Group have received awards including the 2014 Glassdoor Top 50 Best Places to Work in the US, Small and Medium-Sized Companies,[11] a nomination to the Dayton Magazine 2017 Dayton Business Hall of Fame[12] and multiple Dayton Business Journal Top 100 Businesses in the Region.[13]

On April 23, 2020, Connor donated $1.6 Million as bonuses to his associates.[14]

Personal interests

Connor is a private pilot involved in multiple aerobatic competitions,[15] participates in off-road racing,[16] and circuit racing.[17] He carried out dives in the Mariana Trench in 2021.[18]

Connor was pilot of the first American private space mission that visited the International Space Station in 2022, as part of Axiom Mission 1 (Ax-1).[19][20] He received his astronaut wings during the welcoming ceremony in the International Space Station. Larry Connor is the 582nd space traveler in the world.[21]

References
  1. Beth, Anspach (August 26, 2015). "Labels don't define local owner of billion dollar company". Dayton Daily News. Retrieved September 16, 2016.
  2. "Larry Connor". The Connor Group. Retrieved September 16, 2016.
  3. "Detail by Officer/Registered Agent Name". search.sunbiz.org. Retrieved September 16, 2016.
  4. "About Us". The Connor Group. Retrieved September 16, 2016.
  5. "Our Communities". The Connor Group. Retrieved June 15, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  6. "First Billing Services Acquires Heartland Regional Power" (PDF) (Press release). January 4, 2012.
  7. "First Billing Services: Billing and Payment Solutions for Your Business". www.firstbillingservices.com. Retrieved September 16, 2016.
  8. "The Connor Group Kids and Community Partners | Transforming Good Causes into Great Programs". www.kidsandcommunitypartners.com. Retrieved September 16, 2016.
  9. "About Us | McLean Hospital". www.mcleanhospital.org. Retrieved September 16, 2016.
  10. "Mayo Clinic Trustees Recognize New Named Professors". newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org. August 8, 2014. Retrieved September 16, 2016.
  11. "2014 Top Workplace". The Connor Group. Retrieved September 16, 2016.
  12. "Dayton Business Hall of Fame". Dayton Magazine. December 1, 2017. Retrieved March 24, 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  13. "DBJ names Business of the Year winners for 2014". Dayton Business Journal. Retrieved September 16, 2016.
  14. Setty, Ganesh. "A real estate CEO made $1.6 million in the stock market. Then he gave the money to his employees". CNN. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
  15. "Pilot Larry Connor | International Aerobatic Club". www.iac.org. Retrieved September 16, 2016.
  16. "Connor and Team C Racing Dominate Baja 500". www.teamcdesertracing.com. Retrieved September 16, 2016.
  17. "IPS: Larry Connor Indy and The Glen double duty". Retrieved September 16, 2016.
  18. "Halfway to History: Connor completes 3 dives to ocean depths". April 30, 2021.
  19. Robert Z. Pearlman (January 26, 2021). "Axiom Space Names First Private Crew to Visit Space Station". Scientific American. SPACE.com.
  20. Margetta, Robert (February 2, 2022). "NASA, Space Station Partners Approve First Axiom Mission Astronauts". NASA. Retrieved February 17, 2022.
  21. Axiom Ax-1 Crew welcomed by International Space Station Expedition 67 Crew, retrieved April 25, 2022
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