If you spent any time in Chicago during the mid-2010s, you couldn't escape the name Michael W Ferro Jr. He was everywhere. One day he’s the tech savior of the Chicago Sun-Times, the next he’s rebranding Tribune Publishing into something called "tronc"—a name that launched a thousand memes and made journalists everywhere clutch their pens in horror.
But here’s the thing. Most people only know the "tronc" guy. They remember the bizarre corporate videos about "pixels" and "artificial intelligence" before AI was actually a thing we used every day. They remember him stepping down right before some pretty heavy allegations hit the press in 2018.
But there's a lot more to the story. Honestly, if you look at his actual track record in tech and healthcare, it's way more successful—and way more complicated—than the newspaper drama suggests.
The Early Hustle: From Roofs to "The Father of the Extranet"
Michael W Ferro Jr didn't start with a silver spoon, at least not in the way you'd think. He started with a sealant business called Chem Roof when he was still in high school. Think about that. Most of us were trying to figure out prom, and he was out there sealing roofs. He sold that company for a profit before he was 30.
That was just the warm-up.
In 1994, he founded Click Commerce. This is where he really made his mark. Back then, the internet was basically a digital phone book. Ferro had this idea that companies should be able to manage their entire supply chain over the web. He's often credited as the "Father of the Extranet" because of this.
He took Click Commerce public in June 2000. If you know your history, that was right after the dot-com bubble burst. Taking a tech company public in 2000 was like trying to sell a swimsuit in a snowstorm. But he did it. The company eventually sold to Illinois Tool Works for about $292 million in 2006.
The Healthcare Pivot: Merge and Higi
After the Click Commerce exit, Ferro started Merrick Ventures. This is his private equity firm, and it’s where he really leaned into healthcare tech.
One of his biggest wins was Merge Healthcare. He bought a controlling stake in the company when it was basically on the verge of bankruptcy. He moved it to Chicago, restructured it, and focused heavily on medical imaging and AI. By 2015, IBM came knocking and bought it for $1 billion to fold it into Watson Health.
He also co-founded Higi. You've probably seen those health kiosks in Rite Aid or your local pharmacy where you can check your blood pressure and BMI. That was him. The goal was "democratizing healthcare"—making it so you didn't need a doctor's appointment just to get basic vitals.
The Tribune Years: When Things Got Weird
Then came the newspaper era. This is what most people get wrong or focus on too much. In 2011, Ferro led a group to buy the Chicago Sun-Times. A few years later, he pivoted to the bigger fish: Tribune Publishing (the Chicago Tribune, LA Times, etc.).
He became the non-executive chairman in 2016 and immediately tried to turn a legacy newspaper business into a "content engine."
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- He changed the name to tronc (Tribune Online Content).
- He talked about "harnessing the power of our data."
- He fought off a takeover bid from Gannett.
It was... a lot. Journalists hated the corporate jargon. The "tronc" brand became a laughingstock in media circles. But from a purely cold, business perspective? He bought in at a low price and eventually sold his stake to Alden Global Capital in 2019 for a massive profit. He left the industry $100 million richer, even as the newsrooms he left behind were struggling.
The 2018 Exit and Recent Moves
The end of his time at Tribune wasn't pretty. In March 2018, Ferro resigned just hours before Fortune published a report detailing allegations of inappropriate sexual advances toward two women in business settings. He denied the claims, but he was out.
Since then, he's mostly stayed out of the headlines, which is a big change for a guy who used to be the "toast of the town" in Chicago.
But he hasn't stopped working. Recent patent filings from 2024 show he’s still deeply involved in AI-driven medical diagnostics. He’s been working on systems that use software to "auto-determine" diagnoses from clinical images. Basically, he's trying to finish what he started with Merge Healthcare.
What Most People Get Wrong
People want to pigeonhole Michael W Ferro Jr as either a visionary or a "vulture" capitalist. The truth is he’s kinda both.
He was talking about AI in healthcare ten years before ChatGPT made it cool. He saw the value of data before most legacy media companies knew what a "pixel" was. But he also had a way of alienating the very people—journalists, mostly—who were the backbone of his investments.
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He’s a guy who plays for the exit. Whether it’s roof sealant or the LA Times, his goal has always been to find a distressed asset, rebrand/restructure it, and sell it for a billion dollars.
Actionable Insights: Learning from the Ferro Playbook
If you're looking at Ferro's career for business lessons, here's what actually matters:
- Spot the "Distressed" Winner: Ferro didn't buy healthy companies. He bought Merge when it was dying and Click Commerce when no one wanted tech stocks. Look for assets with good IP but bad management.
- IP is King: Notice how many patents he holds? Even in 2024, he’s filing for new AI diagnostics. Don't just build a service; own the underlying technology.
- Timing the Exit: He sold his Tribune stake at a peak price before the traditional newspaper market completely cratered. Knowing when to walk away is just as important as knowing when to buy.
- The Perils of Branding: "tronc" is a cautionary tale. You can have the best tech in the world, but if your branding is out of touch with your culture (and your customers), you'll lose the room.
If you're interested in how AI is actually changing medicine today—beyond the headlines—you should look into the specific patents Ferro has been granted recently. They deal with "diagnosis discrepancies," which is a fancy way of saying "using software to make sure your doctor didn't miss something on your X-ray." It’s arguably his most lasting legacy, far more than a weirdly named media company.