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Larry Connor

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Larry Connor
Born (1950-01-07) 7 January 1950 (age 74)
Albany, New York, U.S.
Space career
Axiom Space
Time in space
17 days, 1 hour and 48 minutes
MissionsAxiom Mission 1

Larry Connor (born January 7, 1950) is an American real estate and technology business person, as well as a private astronaut certified by NASA.[1] Connor is the head of the Connor Group, a real estate investment firm located in Dayton, Ohio.[2]

Education

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Born in 1950 in Albany, New York, Connor graduated summa cum laude in 1972 from Ohio University in Athens, Ohio[3] where he was a member of Sigma Phi Epsilon. 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.[4]

Career

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From 1982 to 1990, Connor owned Orlando Computer Corp.[5] 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.[6] Over the next 18 years, the Connor Group grew from $100 million in assets to $4 billion.[7]

Connor co-founded Heartland Regional Power in 2004.[8] First Billing Services, an online payment and bill processing platform also co-founded by Connor, later acquired the firm.[9] In 2007, Connor founded the Connor Group Kids & Community Partners,[10] serving disadvantaged youth in communities where the Connor Group operates.

Connor has been a member of the National Council of McLean Hospital since 2008.[11][12] 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,[13] a nomination to the Dayton Magazine 2017 Dayton Business Hall of Fame[14] and multiple Dayton Business Journal Top 100 Businesses in the Region.[15]

In 2017, Connor lead fundraising efforts for the redevelopment of The University of Dayton's indoor stadium, UD Arena. He was tasked with raising $33 million of the $72 million total. Connor made a substantial donation himself, before finding other donors to raise the amount required.[16] The stadium opened in 2019 following its renovation.

Connor co-founded First Billing Services in 2003, which provided payment solutions to utility and municipal government clients. In 2019, it was announced that it would be acquired by Atlanta-based, Paya Inc.[17]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Connor made efforts to help alleviate effects of the pandemic for his employees. On April 23, 2020, he donated $1.6 million as bonuses to his associates, which was given to those on salaries under $150,000 per year.[18] He also agreed to fund childcare expenses and expanded the company-sponsored loan program.[19]

Sports and personal interests

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Connor is a private pilot involved in several aerobatic competitions.[20]

In 1983, Connor had a single start in the Atlantic Championship, named Formula Mondial North America at the time, and raced intermittently at various levels of SCCA and Formula 2000 competition since, as well as vintage racing. In 2000 and 2001, Connor was the winner of the SCCA Formula Atlantic National Championship. He also raced in 2002 to defend his title.[21] Later that year, he competed in the 2002 24 Hours of Daytona.[22]

In 2003, Connor was part of the winning team at Petit Le Mans in the LMP675 class.[23] Connor also competed in the 2004 24 Hours of Le Mans.[24] In 2005, Connor signed with Genoa Racing to make his Infiniti Pro Series debut at the Liberty Challenge, but an airborne crash during qualifying left him out of the event, being credited with a finishing position despite not starting the race.[25] He later came back at Watkins Glen, finishing 8th in his only start in the series.[26]

Connor is the founder of Team C Racing. Competing in the Truck Spec class, Connor won the Baja 1000 in 2014.[16] In June 2016, the team won the Baja 500 Trophy Truck Spec series. Team C Racing recorded a winning time of 10 hours and 33 minutes, two hours in front of the second placed team.[27]

In April 2021, Connor completed 3 dives in the Hadal zone, part of the Pacific Ocean with depths below 20,000 ft. The dives were completed alongside Patrick Lahey, with the aim of better understanding of the geologic and biologic makeup of the Hadal zone. The three dives covered Challenger Deep, Sirena Deep and a seamount in the Mariana Trench.[28] Prior to April 2021, only two other people had explored the Sirena Deep: Victor Vescovo and Alan Jamieson in 2018.[29] Connor reported that he aimed to go both to space and to the deepest part of the ocean within the same year.[30]

On April 8, 2022, Connor was a private astronaut on Axiom Mission 1, traveling to the International Space Station (ISS).[31] The mission was the first all-private space mission to the International Space Station, with Connor one of a four-member crew, serving as pilot.[31][32] At 72 years of age, Connor was the second oldest person to enter orbit, after John Glenn who entered space aged 77.[33][34] Connor took heart cells to the ISS' microgravity laboratory.[35]

In May 2024, it was announced that Connor was behind the design and building of a $20 million submersible, the Triton 4000/2 Abyssal Explorer, and planned to voyage to the wreck of the OceanGate Titan submersible implosion with Triton Submarines co-founder Patrick Lahey to prove that a journey to the Titanic site is possible, and safe, and that the industry had made improvements in the wake of the OceanGate implosion.[36][37]

In September 2024, Larry Connor received the National Aviation Hall of Fame’s Armstrong Award, recognizing his leadership and innovation in aviation and aerospace.[38]

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

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Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps Pos. Class
Pos.
2004 United States Intersport Racing United States Jon Field
United States Duncan Dayton 		Lola B01/60 LMP1 29 DNF DNF
Sources:[39][40]

American open–wheel racing results

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(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)

Indy Pro Series

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Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Rank Points
2005 Genoa Racing HOM PHO STP INDY TEX IGP
14 		NSH MIL KEN PPI SON CHI WGI
8 		CAL 20th 40

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Margetta, Robert (February 2, 2022). "NASA, Space Station Partners Approve First Axiom Mission Astronauts". NASA. Retrieved January 20, 2023.
  2. ^ "See why Larry Connor says Dayton has 'huge advantages'". dayton-daily-news. Retrieved February 9, 2024.
  3. ^ Beth, Anspach (August 26, 2015). "Labels don't define local owner of billion dollar company". Dayton Daily News. Retrieved September 16, 2016.
  4. ^ Donatelli, Jen Jones (September 19, 2021). "From sea to space". ohiotoday.com. Retrieved February 13, 2023.
  5. ^ "Detail by Officer/Registered Agent Name". search.sunbiz.org. Retrieved September 16, 2016.
  6. ^ "About Us". The Connor Group. Archived from the original on September 3, 2016. Retrieved September 16, 2016.
  7. ^ "Our Communities". The Connor Group. Retrieved June 15, 2021.
  8. ^ "First Billing Services Acquires Heartland Regional Power" (PDF) (Press release). January 4, 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 19, 2012. Retrieved September 16, 2016.
  9. ^ "First Billing Services: Billing and Payment Solutions for Your Business". www.firstbillingservices.com. Archived from the original on September 1, 2017. Retrieved September 16, 2016.
  10. ^ "The Connor Group Kids and Community Partners | Transforming Good Causes into Great Programs". www.kidsandcommunitypartners.com. Retrieved September 16, 2016.
  11. ^ "About Us | McLean Hospital". www.mcleanhospital.org. Retrieved September 16, 2016.
  12. ^ "Mayo Clinic Trustees Recognize New Named Professors". newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org. August 8, 2014. Retrieved September 16, 2016.
  13. ^ "2014 Top Workplace". The Connor Group. Retrieved September 16, 2016.
  14. ^ "Dayton Business Hall of Fame". Dayton Magazine. December 1, 2017. Retrieved March 24, 2017.
  15. ^ "DBJ names Business of the Year winners for 2014". Dayton Business Journal. Retrieved September 16, 2016.
  16. ^ a b Archdeacon, Tom (October 8, 2017). "Tom Archdeacon: Local adventurist spearheads UD Arena project". Dayton Daily News.
  17. ^ "Connor Group sells First Billing Services for $57.5M". Dayton Daily News. January 9, 2019.
  18. ^ Setty, Ganesh (May 2020). "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.
  19. ^ Allen, Terina (May 5, 2020). "Employees Speechless After Getting Up To $9,000 Bonus Checks". Forbes.
  20. ^ "Pilot Larry Connor | International Aerobatic Club". www.iac.org. Archived from the original on April 16, 2022. Retrieved September 16, 2016.
  21. ^ "SCCA Runoffs grids set". Autoweek. September 19, 2002.
  22. ^ "SCC: Daytona 24: Race results". Motorsport.com. February 6, 2002.
  23. ^ "Champion wins at Petit, but Team Joest is champion". Motorsport.com. October 20, 2003.
  24. ^ "24 Heures du Mans 2004" (PDF). Le Mans. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 19, 2004.
  25. ^ "MIPS: Connor flips in Liberty Challenge qualifying". Crash. June 17, 2005. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
  26. ^ "MIPS: Connor returns at The Glen". Crash. September 22, 2005. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
  27. ^ Pendleton, Marc F. (June 7, 2016). "Team C Racing wins Baja 500". The Journal News.
  28. ^ Sheetz, Michael (April 7, 2021). "Real estate entrepreneur aims to be first to reach space and the bottom of the ocean within a year". CNBC.
  29. ^ Baker, Wayne. "Larry Connor preps for dive to depths of Mariana Trench". USA Today.
  30. ^ Espindle, Mike (July 30, 2021). "Famed Explorer Taps Triton Subs For Latest Challenge...But That's Only Half The Story". Forbes.
  31. ^ a b Howell, Elizabeth (April 15, 2022). "Ax-1's first all-private crew to space station would love a trip to the moon. 'The sights here are amazing.'". Space.com.
  32. ^ Thorbecke, Catherine (April 8, 2022). "What to know about Axiom Space, the company behind the first all-private mission to the ISS". CNN.
  33. ^ Robert Z. Pearlman (January 26, 2021). "Axiom Space Names First Private Crew to Visit Space Station". Scientific American – via SPACE.com.
  34. ^ Margetta, Robert (February 2, 2022). "NASA, Space Station Partners Approve First Axiom Mission Astronauts". NASA. Retrieved February 17, 2022.
  35. ^ Frolik, Cornelius (April 12, 2022). "Live from space: Larry Connor checks in". Dayton Daily News.[permanent dead link]
  36. ^ "Ohio Billionaire from Dayton planning to take sub to Titanic site to prove a point". WKRC. May 28, 2024. Retrieved May 28, 2024.
  37. ^ Koenig, Kevin; Finke, Brian. "After the OceanGate Implosion, the Ultra Wealthy Still Can't Resist the Deep Sea". WSJ. Retrieved May 28, 2024.
  38. ^ "The National Aviation Hall of Fame to Present Prestigious Armstrong Award to Larry Connor". National Aviation Hall of Fame. May 2024. Retrieved November 4, 2024.
  39. ^ "Larry Connor Results". Retrieved October 30, 2023.
  40. ^ "Larry Connor". Automobile Club de l'Ouest. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
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