New Balance has grown into one of the world’s most recognizable athletic brands, but the company remains closely associated with the Greek-American family that transformed it from a tiny Boston shoemaker into a multibillion-dollar business.
Jim Davis, the longtime chairman of New Balance, purchased the company in 1972. More than five decades later, Davis and his family continue to own an estimated 95 percent of the privately held business, according to Forbes.
Who is Jim Davis, the owner of New Balance
Davis was born in Brookline, Massachusetts, in 1943, the son of Greek immigrants. His upbringing and subsequent business career form part of a broader Greek-American success story dipped in immigration, education, entrepreneurship and a willingness to take considerable risks.
After studying biology and chemistry at Middlebury College, where he also played football, Davis began his career as a sales engineer. His future changed dramatically when, at the age of twenty-eight, he acquired New Balance on the day of the 1972 Boston Marathon. At the time, New Balance was far away from the global sportswear company it would eventually become. The business had only six employees and produced approximately thirty pairs of shoes a day. Its products were mainly sold through mail orders and a limited number of specialist retailers.
The company itself was not new. It had been founded in Boston in 1906 as the New Balance Arch Support Company, initially manufacturing arch supports and orthopedic footwear. However, Davis recognized that the growing popularity of running and recreational exercise could create an enormous market for well-designed athletic shoes.
Together with his wife, Anne Davis, he expanded the company while retaining its reputation for practicality, comfort and specialized sizing. New Balance became particularly well known for offering shoes in a wide variety of widths. This was an approach that distinguished the brand from many of its larger competitors.
The timing of the acquisition proved important. Running became increasingly popular across the United States during the 1970s, and Boston emerged as one of the centers of that movement. New Balance benefited from the boom, but its growth was also the result of the Davis family’s emphasis on product development, independent distribution and long-term planning.
Today, New Balance sells footwear, apparel and sporting equipment around the world. Forbes reported that the company recorded approximately $9.2 billion in sales in 2025, an extraordinary transformation from the modest operation Davis purchased more than fifty years earlier.
Despite its size, New Balance remains privately owned. That status has allowed the Davis family to maintain substantial control over the company’s strategy without facing the short-term pressures often experienced by publicly traded corporations. Jim Davis continues to serve as chairman, although he is not responsible for the company’s daily management. Joe Preston has served as president and chief executive officer since 2018. The next generation is also involved: Jim and Anne Davis’s son, Chris Davis, is New Balance’s chief marketing officer and has played a significant role in introducing the brand to younger consumers.
Under the family’s ownership, New Balance has also maintained a manufacturing presence in the United States and the United Kingdom. While not every New Balance product is domestically manufactured, the company operates several factories in New England and continues to promote selected “Made in USA” footwear.
Jim and Anne Davis have also become prominent philanthropists. They established the New Balance Foundation in 1981, supporting programs focused on children, health, education and underserved communities. The foundation says it has contributed more than $120 million to charitable initiatives.
The couple’s philanthropy has extended to universities and medical institutions as well. Their donations have supported educational facilities, research and healthcare projects, adding another dimension to the family’s public legacy.
New Balance is sometimes mistakenly described as a company founded by Jim Davis. In reality, Davis purchased an existing business that was already sixty-six years old. His achievement was taking that small, struggling manufacturer and turning it into a major international competitor while keeping it independent and largely family-owned.
For Greek Americans, the story of Davis and his family represents one of the community’s most notable business successes. The son of Greek immigrants managed to build a personal fortune, but also he and his family created a global company whose identity remains tied to Boston, promoting independent ownership with a distinctly long-term vision.
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