Early Life and Education
John Fish was raised in Hingham, Massachusetts. He attended Tabor Academy, where he played football, and graduated from Bowdoin College in 1982 with a degree in political science. He also received an honorary doctorate from Curry College in 2019.
Rise to Success
After college, Fish worked for Peabody Construction, his father's company. At the age of 23, in 1982, he took charge of the newly formed Suffolk Construction Company, an offshoot of the family construction business. Fish built the company into a national construction company, overseeing high-profile projects like the Millennium Tower in Boston and Encore Boston Harbor. In 2006, Fish bought out his father's stake in the company. By 2024, Suffolk had $6 billion in revenue.
Key Business Strategies
Fish has expanded Suffolk's U.S. footprint through the 1990s and 2000s, constructing buildings in the commercial, healthcare, higher-ed, K-12, airport, life sciences, and gaming sectors. Since 2019 Suffolk has invested over $50 million across more than 50 construction tech startups, including robotics and AI ventures. In 2017, he hired MIT grad and McKinsey & Company data scientist Jit Kee Chin as Chief Data Officer. He also brought on 39 analysts to pour through historical data from hundreds of projects and created a mission control center at its headquarters where the findings are studied to help teams make better business decisions.
Philanthropy
Fish is committed to philanthropic endeavors focused on creating opportunities for young people. He founded Scholar Athletes, a program to improve the academic performance of inner-city high school students. He also serves as Chair of Brigham and Women's Hospital and sits on Mass General Brigham's Executive Committee. He is also the Chair of the Board at Boston College.