MARC HASKELL – CEO

Growing up in Brooklyn, New York, in a family of eight children, Marc Haskell worked in his father’s grocery store, assisting with inventory, making deliveries, and working the register. The seeds of his own career were planted in those formative days, though it would take him many years to figure out how he wanted to harness his own instincts and energy.

After earning his accounting degree at Brooklyn College, Haskell dipped his toe in a few professional pools: He worked in a certified public accounting firm, but “hated it” and switched gears after six months. He spent time with Saks Fifth Avenue, serving as the accountant for ten of its department stores in the Midwest, picking up valuable skills, but still finding himself uninspired. With a friend, he attempted to buy a furniture company in Texas, but the deal went south and he returned to New York City, becoming a stockbroker for three months but, like his earlier life as a CPA, it left him cold.

The shape of Haskell’s eventual career began to take shape in 1986, when a headhunter asked if he’d be interested in becoming Controller for the South Street Seaport, a job he accepted in July 1986, eventually being promoted to Chief Financial Officer and Director of Leasing and Retail Operations, positions he held from 1989 to 1995. It was a huge undertaking in which Haskell oversaw all of the myriad interests that intersected in the enormous landmark New York City location, but Haskell loved it, discovering that he was immune to the pressures and thrived on the responsibility.

As part of his duties at the South Street Seaport, Haskell met Peter Glazier of The Glazier Group, who owned a business, Bridgewaters, that operated there, as well as other restaurants around town. Glazier repeatedly tried to woo Haskell away to join his company. In 1996, Haskell did just that, becoming executive vice president for The Glazier Group. In this position, Haskell had a hand in running all of The Glazier Group’s businesses including, eventually, The Monkey Bar, Michael Jordan’s The Steakhouse NYC, and Strip House.

“I was successful,” says Haskell of his long stints with the South Street Seaport and The Glazier Group. “But I realized that my dream was to be like my dad, who owned his own business with nobody to answer to.”

It was at Bridgewaters where Haskell met his partner in Maritime Parc, Chris Siversen. The two didn’t interact on a day-to-day basis, but enjoyed a relationship founded on mutual respect. When Siversen discovered the space that eventually became Maritime Parc, he approached Haskell, who sensed that the project could be the opportunity to build something of his own, and jumped at the chance to collaborate with Siversen in bringing the project to life, helping to put together the financing for the project and overseeing the design and build out of the space.

At Maritime Parc, Haskell has relished bringing his skills and personal philosophy to bear in forging an extended family founded on good business and goodwill. “One of my nicknames is ‘The Negotiator’,” he says. “I love negotiating. It’s like debating with numbers.” But Haskell is quick to point out that he’s not only about winning. “The only good deal is a fair deal,” he says.

Maybe that’s why his proudest achievement with Maritime Parc is assembling a winning team that functions as a tight-knit unit, drawing on relationships he’s established over years of doing business—from architects and lighting designers to construction managers and an in-house sales team devoted to booking private events and ensuring that they come off without a hitch.

A proud father in his personal life, as Haskell strolls the public and private areas of Maritime Parc, watching his professional family operate, he feels a similar paternal sense of pride.

Says Haskell: “It’s like having a kid and watching him grow up and saying, ‘Wow!’”