Bio On Mark Begelman
I was raised in Long Island, NY and graduated from Dowling College with a BA in History.
Upon my discharge (honorable) I began working at Abraham and Straus department store in Brooklyn, NY. I grew through the ranks of merchandise and marketing and left in 1976 to be a Buyer at Jordon Marsh in Florida. I left in 1981 to become SVP of the Furniture Rental Division at Breuners, a home furnishings specialist, in San Francisco.
In 1986 I started “Office Club”, one of the country’s first Office Product Superstores. I grew it to $350 million in 4 years, took it public in 1988, and merged with Office Depot in 1991. I was Entrepreneur of the Year and CEO of the Year in 1992. I took over combined operations of Office Depot as President, and grew the company to $5.5 billion (NYSE) and 37,000 employees by 1995.
I left Office Depot in 1995 and started MARS music, a musical instrument superstore. I grew that to $360 million and was Entrepreneur of the Year again in 1999. I left Mars in 2002 and began a retail and entertainment consulting practice.
In September 2008 I joined Pizza Fusion as CEO. Pizza Fusion specializes in fast food franchising of all fresh and organic pizza. In addition, Pizza Fusion is the only LEED certified (totally green) franchise restaurant in America. Currently, Pizza Fusion has 19 stores operating throughout the US. In addition, Pizza Fusion has 39 additional units under various stages of development. Furthermore, the company is expanding internationally with operations in Saudi Arabia and the UK.
I have been married for 30 years and have 2 grown children. I live in Delray Beach, Florida.
I am Chairman of the Begelman Foundation. The foundation contributes to both National and local charities. It’s charter is geared towards unprivileged children, music and arts, The American Red Cross, major health care and education. I also sit on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame board of directors, I am a past member of Boca Raton Community Hospital Foundation Board and the US Eco Chamber board. In addition, I am very active in several charities including Conner Nursery and Kids At Home. I am also the Chairman of the American Red Cross annual fundraiser for the last 3 years and have raised tens of thousands for this charity.
