Paul Fireman
Paul Fireman is an American businessman, who for 26 years led Reebok International, Ltd. as chairman and CEO to become one of the most popular athletic shoe companies worldwide. Beyond financial success, he is well known as a business visionary and a champion for human rights. Fireman challenged corporate America to become more socially responsible and demonstrated that all corporations could succeed financially, while simultaneously serving the public good. He sold Reebok to Adidas in 2005, but his life and business ventures continue to reflect his philanthropy in serving people and communities throughout the country today.

Early life and education
Fireman was born February 14, 1944, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to a Jewish family and raised in the working-class city of Brockton, Massachusetts, also called 'Shoe City'. Fireman grew up with an insatiable love for golf and as a 10-year-old, caddied at Thorny Lea Golf Club in his hometown. He viewed golf as “a code of conduct, a way of life, and a tremendous character builder.” He attended high school at Tabor Academy, a private secondary school in Marion, MA and matriculated to Boston University, but did not graduate.

Personal life

Fireman and his wife Phyllis (née Brenner) grew up in Brockton, Massachusetts and met at age 12 at a YMHA mixer. Paul states it was love at first sight and said, “I knew the minute I met her it was my destiny” (Interview with Paul Fireman April 2020). They were married in May 1964 and have three grown children and nine grandchildren.

Fireman and his wife, Phyllis, are competitive bridge players. In 2014, his team won the Roth Open Swiss Teams at the Summer North American Bridge Championship (NABC) in Las Vegas and subsequently captured the bronze medal representing the U.S. in Chennai, India at the World Bridge Championships in 2015.

Career
Fireman began his career at age 18 working in the family business, Boston Camping, selling outdoor sporting goods and fishing tackle for 15 years. After starting in the warehouse, he moved his way up through the business eventually running it with his brother. As the family business declined, Fireman sought new opportunities.

While attending a sporting goods show in Chicago in 1979 Fireman met Joe Foster, the owner of an English running shoe company founded in 1895 called Reebok. Fireman acquired the North American sales rights to Reebok in 1979 and eventually bought the English-based parent company outright in 1984. Reebok capitalized on the increasing popularity of aerobics in California and introduced the world's first aerobic shoe designed specifically for women in 1982 called Freestyle. Riding the success of the Freestyle shoe as the aerobics craze swept across America, Fireman grew the company and Reebok issued an IPO in 1985. In 1986, Reebok surpassed Nike as the top-selling manufacturer of athletic shoes in the United States, second only in the world to Adidas. Starting in 1986, Reebok acquired several companies to create a multinational corporation, including Avia, a rival athletic shoemaker; John A. Frye, the prestigious and stylish boot maker; Rockport, a company known for its sporting and casual shoes; and Ellesse, an Italian company known for making expensive athletic shoes and clothing. Later acquisitions included Boston Whaler and The Hockey Company (CCM). Starting in 2000 Reebok signed multiyear, exclusive licensing deals with the NFL, NBA, and NHL.

During his tenure at Reebok, Fireman challenged corporate America to become more socially responsible and proved that corporations can financially succeed while serving the public good. He worked diligently to improve human rights worldwide. In 1986, Reebok became one of the first companies to pull out of South Africa because of the country's practice of apartheid and two years later Reebok sponsored the Amnesty International Human Rights Now tour. Fireman subsequently established the annual Reebok Human Rights Awards in 1988 recognizing activists under the age of 30 who exposed and reduced human rights atrocities.

Fireman sold Reebok to Adidas in 2005. He is currently the Chairman of Fireman Capital Partners, a Boston-based, consumer-focused private equity firm founded in 2008 with his son Dan, the firm's Managing Partner.

Golf course development

Fireman has been active in golf course development and in 1991 he purchased Willowbend Country Club (Mashpee, Massachusetts). The development of additional courses followed that included Rio Mar Resort and Country Club (Puerto Rico), Costa Caribe Golf and Country Club (Puerto Rico), Coco Beach Golf and Country Club (Puerto Rico), The Ranch Golf Club (Southwick, Massachusetts), and Starr Pass Club (Tucson, Arizona).

In 1995 Fireman purchased a mile of neglected and decaying New Jersey shoreline along the Hudson River that was an eyesore and would become Liberty National Golf Club (Jersey City, New Jersey). The land that Liberty National lies upon has a unique and storied history including an ammunition depot during World War I, a prisoner of war camp during World War II, and more recently as an oil refinery and warehouse for industrial goods. However, the land when Fireman originally toured the site was “a toxic moonscape of corroded oil tanks, contaminated soil, and rusting warehouses.” “I loved the site and the historical value with the Statue of Liberty, and the city, and it was on the water,” Fireman says. “I just plunged into it because I thought it would be a phenomenal golf site and improve the world. And I was just crazy enough to do it.” At Fireman's expense, the toxic land was cleaned to remove all residual debris, capped, and covered with 6 million cubic feet of soil that was brought in by truck to create the course.

Since its opening in 2006, Liberty National has hosted three FedEx Cup playoff tournaments (The Barclays in 2009, 2013 and The Northern Trust in 2019, 2021) and the Presidents Cup in 2017. Liberty National also hosts junior golf tournaments (AJGA Polo Junior Classic 2019, 2021) and the First Tee of New Jersey.

Philanthropy

The Paul and Phyllis Fireman Charitable Foundation was established in 1985. Since its inception, the foundation has distributed over $165 million to charitable organizations with a focus primarily on improving the communities of both Massachusetts and New Jersey.

Addressing homelessness has been a major initiative of the foundation. One Family Inc. was created to prevent family homelessness through advocacy, education, and innovation. Using a multi-pronged approach, One Family advocates for public policies that will increase affordable housing and provide services to families experiencing or who are at risk for homelessness with an aim to promote permanent solutions to homelessness. The Paul and Phyllis Fireman Foundation also joined with other donors to create Home Funders, a collaborative fund that finances very affordable rental housing for low-income families in Massachusetts.

Fireman is a strong supporter of The First Tee whose mission is to impact the lives of young people by providing educational programs that build character, instill life-enhancing values and promote healthy habits through the game of golf.

With the COVID-19 pandemic sweeping through the United States, the Paul and Phyllis Fireman Charitable Foundation rapidly acted in March 2020 by making donations to the Massachusetts COVID-19 Relief Fund, the Boston Resiliency Fund, the Jersey City COVID-19 Response Fund, and the New Jersey Pandemic Relief Fund.

Awards

The Academy of Achievement's Golden Plate Award, 1987
Thurgood Marshall Corporate Leadership Award
Northeastern University Commencement Speaker and Honorary Degree, Doctor of Humanities, 1990
Babson College, Honorary Degree, LL.D. Doctor of Laws, 1994
Tabor Academy Lifetime Achievement Award, 2007
Suffolk University Commencement Speaker and Honorary Degree, Doctor of Commerce, 2013
Mannie Jackson Award, 2015
Sports Business Journal Lifetime Achievement Award, 2015 https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Daily/Issues/2021/06/16/People-and-Pop-Culture/Fireman.aspx

References

People from Massachusetts
Living people
American Jews
American billionaires
1944 births