Meet Alex Lasry

Alex Lasry is the Senior Vice President of the Milwaukee Bucks. He lives in Milwaukee’s Walker’s Point neighborhood with his wife Lauren, Chief of Staff for Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin. Alex and Lauren are active members of the Milwaukee community and welcomed their first child, Eleanor, in August. Alex is running to represent Wisconsin in the United States Senate so he can bring a new way of thinking to Washington and deliver real results for Wisconsinites.

Since joining the Bucks, Alex has helped lead the team’s transformation into one of the premier NBA franchises, proving that you can run a successful business with progressive values. He spearheaded the Buck’s corporate citizenship efforts to demonstrate that some things are bigger than basketball: marching with local leaders to protest the police shooting of Jacob Blake, leading the “Bucks Vote” initiative, and consistently raising the level of the team’s racial and social justice activism.

Alex brought together the public/private partnership to build Fiserv Forum and the Deer District surrounding the arena. As part of the agreement to build Fiserv Forum, Lasry led the workforce development efforts to make sure that people often left out of major construction work got a chance to expand skills, find jobs, and build wealth. Lasry’s plan required 40% of workers on the project to consist of people underemployed or unemployed for the previous five years and at least 25% of service contracts to be awarded to minority and/or disadvantaged businesses. Under Alex’s leadership, the Bucks did not just set ambitious goals, they surpassed them — reaching 43% and 30% respectively. He also ensured 80% of the materials and services for building Fiserv Forum were sourced from Wisconsin, including steel from a plant north of Stevens Point, cast concrete from near Manitowoc, and plumbing supplies from Madison. 

While others just talk about raising wages, Alex turned his words into actions. He led negotiations for a historic project labor agreement that included provisions to hire women and minorities that are often underrepresented among union workers. The Bucks also included an agreement to implement a $15 minimum wage for Fiserv Forum workers no later than 2023. The Bucks achieved this goal early, raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour in 2020. In addition, Fiserv Forum is one of the most environmentally-friendly arenas in North America.

Alex believes that progressive values are good for business. Paying workers family-sustaining wages, providing them with good benefits, and treating everyone with the dignity and respect they deserve doesn’t have to be controversial. Alex and the Bucks have shown that it’s possible to do all of this while still running a successful and profitable business. 

Alex led the successful bid for Milwaukee to host the 2020 Democratic National Convention. He served as the Chair of the Milwaukee 2020 Bid Committee and the Finance Chair for the Democratic Convention’s Host Committee, raising over $40 million for the Convention. Alex worked with both Democrats and Republicans to launch this successful bid showing that it is possible to work across the aisle to get things done for the people of Wisconsin. As a result of these efforts, Alex was named Milwaukee Community Leader of the Year.

Prior to joining the Bucks, Alex worked in various roles for the Obama Administration, including as Special Assistant to the Chief of Staff to Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett, and later as Deputy Counselor for Strategic Engagement to the Senior Advisor where he worked on business outreach and the Jobs Council.

Alex is an active member of the community and serves on the boards of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metro Milwaukee, the Marcus Performing Arts Center, Milwaukee Film Festival, and the Sojourner Family Peace Foundation. He is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and received his MBA from the New York University Leonard N. Stern School of Business.

The Democratic Primary election for U.S. Senate will be held August 9, 2022.