Greg Marcus
President and CEO, The Marcus Corporation
public company. He was the force behind our lodging business which was the big driver of our growth for many years. The philosophies they developed are what guide us to this day, they are: the only constant is change; own your real estate; maintain a strong balance sheet; pay attention to the details; give back to the communities that make you successful; and people are our most important asset.
In the beginning I was born in Milwaukee, Wis. and grew up in the business. I’ m the third generation of the Marcus family to lead the company, which was founded by my grandfather, Ben Marcus, in 1935 with the opening of his first movie theatre in Ripon, Wis. Ben passed the baton to my father, Steve Marcus, our current chairman. My dad and I like to say we came to management’ s attention at an early age.
Schooling B. A. degree in accounting from Indiana University in 1986 and J. D. degree from Boston University School of Law in 1989.
Career moves After law school, I wanted to pursue my passion for the movies so I went to film school at the University of Southern California. I didn’ t finish, but I did spend a year as an assistant to the late film producer Laura Ziskin, which was an incredible experience but I realized that was not a career path I wanted to take, so I headed back to Chicago where I got a job with a real estate firm. After a few years knowing I had an incredible opportunity with The Marcus Corporation, I moved home. It was 1992 and I started in property management and corporate development. I joined the board of directors in 2005, became president in 2008 and CEO in 2009.
Family Married to Linda Breshears Marcus and we have three children.
Hobbies Playing jazz piano – a fun way to relax. I play in the lounge at the top of our Pfister Hotel in Milwaukee once a week. It started as a way to get a little practice in, and eventually it turned into a way to raise money for charity. In fact we have raised over $ 100,000 over the last few years. I also love to play golf.
People who influenced me My father and grandfather. My grandfather was a true American success story. He was only 24 when he opened his first movie theatre and went on to build a successful circuit. My dad took the company to the next level, creating the infrastructure we needed to support our growth and perform as a
66 • ShowTime Preview Guide – Spring 2017
Giving back Giving back to the communities where our associates live and work is in our DNA. It started with my grandfather who understood that not only was being charitable the right thing to do, it also was good for business, because it strengthens our communities, and strong communities support business. While we have always been philanthropic over the last 10 years, our company has donated more than $ 7.5 million to nonprofit organizations. But that’ s just the beginning. In 2015, our managers and associates contributed more than 28,000 hours of volunteer time and $ 3.4 million of in-kind donations between our movie theatres and hotels. My grandfather started donating to Variety when he opened his first theatre and Variety has been one of our charities ever since. We’ ve all been involved in NATO, as have other leaders in our company including Rolando Rodriguez, president and CEO of Marcus Theatres. I’ m very proud of the impact we have on the communities where we do business.
Serving customers My mantra to all of our associates is to“ remember that our ordinary day, is our customers extraordinary day.” What I mean by that is we’ re accustomed to what we do every day – taking tickets, serving popcorn, keeping our theatres clean. But we don’ t know what that day means to our customer. The couple we served the 500th tub of popcorn to that night had just got engaged. A night at the movies could be a welcome home family event for a soldier who just returned from active duty. We just never know – it could be an ordinary night or a night our customers will remember for the rest of their life. That’ s why we have to create a memorable experience for each and every customer each and every day.
Favorite movies North by Northwest and Animal House.
Biggest concern about our industry There are a number of key issues to be alert to. I have talked about the need to maintain windows. As you remove exclusivity you devalue the offering, and lose the potential for multiple sales, and I find it hard to believe people will pay enough to watch something at home when they have a voluminous flow of content for pennies a viewing. I just don’ t see how the math works.
Biggest reason to remain optimistic When TVs came out, people thought that was the end of the motion picture industry. Then it was VCRs, Blockbuster and Netflix. The industry has stood the test of time because nothing can compare to the experience of seeing a first-run movie on the big screen along with other people and the sights and sounds you can only get in a movie theatre. And of course, today’ s theatres are better than ever, with premium large-format screens, immersive sound, recliner seating and an array of food and beverage concepts. My grandfather always pointed out that every house has a kitchen but people still go to restaurants. The same is true in our business. When you deliver a memorable experience people can’ t get anywhere else, you have the recipe for success.