Paul Fireman

Paul Fireman is an American businessman who for 26 years led Reebok International, Ltd. as Chairman and CEO.

Personal life

Fireman is a competitive bridge player. 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 sold Reebok to Adidas in 2005.

Liberty National Golf Club Controversy

Fireman was one of the developers of Liberty National Golf Club (Jersey City, New Jersey), which is adjacent to Liberty State Park. The golf club is one of the most expensive ever built, costing a reported $250 million dollars. Although Fireman has publicly taken credit for paying to redevelop the "former toxic Superfund site", the cost of cleaning the land was at least in part paid with public funds. It is one of the most exclusive golf clubs in the world, with initial membership fees contemplated at $500,000 to $750,000 in 2004.

In 2017 Fireman spearheaded a push to expand the golf club by 3 holes by acquiring the Caven Point section of Liberty State Park, which is a migratory bird habitat, sparking a controversy amongst Jersey City community members and environmental activists. The attempted acquisition of Caven Point by private developers also inspired proposed legislation entitled The "Liberty State Park Protection Act", which would permanently protect much of the park from privatization.

Fireman reportedly responded to the public backlash with a strategy to begin "framing the park’s redevelopment as a 'fight for social justice,' just as the nation was roiled by the police killing of George Floyd". Fireman funded a social media push to oppose the public redevelopment plan, pushing the narrative that it was "excluding communities of color from decision-making and asking on its website, 'Do Black lives matter when it comes to Liberty State Park?'"

The golf club also came under fire for collecting $751,452 from the Paycheck Protection Program, a relief fund for small businesses affected by the shutdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Philanthropy

The Paul and Phyllis Fireman Charitable Foundation was established in 1985.

Fireman is a 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."

Awards

• Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement, 1987
• 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