He led the low-power TV licensee once known as HC2 Holdings that in August 2021 changed its name to Innovate Corp. as the successor to Philip Falcone. As of the end of Q2 2021, it had a broadcasting arm operating 227 stations, of which 212 were connected to the company’s Miami-based CentralCast system. The Azteca América broadcast TV network was also a part of its asset portfolio.
Now, Innovate is coping with the sudden loss of President/CEO Wayne Barr Jr.
Barr passed away unexpectedly on Saturday (7/22). According to an unconfirmed report, he fell off a horse that was jumping, resulting in a fatality.
Avi Glazer, who serves as Chairman of Innovate Inc.’s Board of Directors, said, “Wayne was an outstanding colleague and friend, and he will be greatly missed. On behalf of all of Innovate’s employees and the Board of Directors, I extend our deepest sympathies to the entire Barr family.”
Glazer added that while Innovate “has suffered a great loss,” the company’s board is confident that COO Suzi Herbst, in her role as interim CEO, and the rest of the company’s management team will continue to lead Innovate forward and capitalize on the opportunities that Barr created.
Barr emerged as the leader of then-HC2 in November 2020, quietly taking over for the disgraced Falcone as interim CEO in June 2020. Falcone’s travails have been widely disseminated by New York tabloid publications.
Barr had been a HC2 director since 2014, and his rise to the top is the culmination of efforts that first became widely known at the end of March 2020. Before taking over for Falcone, Barr was President/CEO of CCUR Holdings Inc.; he had taken the role in March 2019. He is also the founder of Oakleaf Consulting Group, a management consulting firm focusing on technology and telecommunications companies, and the co-founder and former president of consulting and restructuring firm Capital & Technology Advisors.
