PROFILE
KEVIN O’NEILL
REINVENTING THE
THEATER EXPERIENCE
IN 3 ACTS
Nestled in the historic harborside village of Northport on Long Island,
the John W. Engeman Theater stands as a reminder that success is sometimes
won by reinventing long-held standards. Fusing Main Street appeal with
Broadway-caliber productions, theater owner Kevin O’Neill’s innovations in
customer experience are upstaging the competition and packing the house.
There are traditionally three elements found at the heart
of any business success story: a person who dreams big, a
product that dazzles customers, and an innovative strategy
that drives the vision. That’s just the ensemble responsible
for the rise of the John W. Engeman Theater on Long Island,
where the once-forgotten venue became a regional destina-
tion for entertainment.
ACT I: The Entrepreneur
From his childhood days in Brooklyn selling lemonade on the
corner to investing in a Long Island theater, Kevin O’Neill
has always had the heart of an entrepreneur.
As a teenager, he worked alongside his mother and father
in their wine and liquor store. There he cut his teeth in
business and learned about interacting with customers and
setting sales goals. During his years at Fordham University,
he earned a director position at the student deli and doubled
its sales. After graduation, he took a challenging operations
position at Salomon Brothers–an investment bank known
for it’s high-risk, high-reward trading and demanding
corporate culture–earning a coveted slot in their exclusive
in-house training program.
At Saloman Brothers, O'Neill worked his way to becoming
a Managing Director on the government bond trading desk—
RANKED ONE OF FORBES' BEST BANKS OF 2018 // CONNECT INNOVATION FALL 2018 // SNB.COM
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