Christopher Ilitch
Christopher "The Dude" Ilitch
It wasn't exactly a shocker when Mike and Marian Ilitch announced Thursday that son Christopher will be the successor to the throne when they step down.
After all, Christopher Ilitch is already president and CEO of Ilitch Holdings and runs the day-to-day operations.
LIke in the "Big Lebowski," as Jeffrey Lebowski says: "I'm the Dude. So that's what you call me. That, or His Dudeness . . . Duder . . . or El Duderino."
Yes, Chris is clearly the Dude and all of that.
Louis Aguilar of The Detroit News writes:
All their business holdings will remain under family ownership and one of their sons, Christopher Ilitch, will eventually take on his parents' role in overseeing their entreperneurial empire — a role he’s been growing into for years now.
“I’m pleased to say that all of our businesses, including the sports teams, will remain 100 percent Ilitch-family owned,” said Mike Ilitch, chairman of Ilitch Holdings Inc., in a statement released Thursday afternoon. Mike is 86 and Marian is 83.
The Original Dude“Given the public nature of our companies, the wide range of interested stakeholders, the large-scale projects we are working on, and the thousands of hard-working employees we rely on every day, we thought it was important to publicly disclose our plans,” Mike Ilitch said.
Mike is 86. Marian is 83.
