John Kevin Mara (born December 1, 1954) is the president, CEO, and co-owner of the New York Giants.
Early life
Born in New York City on Dec. 1, 1954, Mara grew up in Westchester County in White Plains and graduated from Iona Prep High School in New Rochelle. He attended Boston College where he received a B.S. degree in marketing, graduating with Cum Laude honors in 1976. Mara earned his law degree from Fordham University in 1979 and then began his career as an attorney with the New York law firm of Vedder, Price, Kaufman, Kammholz and Day, specializing in labor and employment law and litigation. Two years later he moved to the Manhattan firm of Shea & Gould, where he practiced until joining the Giants.
Mara is the chairman of the NFL Management Council Executive Committee and he played an important role in negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement with the NFLPA. He also has served for 13 years on the influential NFL Competition Committee, which studies all aspects of the game and recommends rules and policy changes to NFL clubs, as well as the league’s Health and Safety Committee and the Committee on Workplace Diversity.
Mara has been affiliated with the Giants his entire life. The franchise was founded in 1925 by his grandfather, Tim Mara. Wellington Mara was one of the most influential, respected and beloved executives in NFL history. Since John Mara joined the organization in an official capacity, the Giants have reached the playoffs nine times, won five NFC East titles and played in three Super Bowls, winning two.
Mara serves on the Board of Directors of Saint Vincent’s Hospital in Harrison, N.Y. and Boys Hope Girls Hope of New York.
New York Giants
John K. Mara is in his 23rd season with the Giants. The franchise’s President and Chief Executive Officer, he assumed the team presidency upon the passing of his father, Wellington Mara, in 2005. John Mara is the oldest of Wellington Mara’s 11 children. He had been the team’s Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. In his present position, Mara, who joined the Giants in 1991, is responsible for all administrative, legal and financial aspects of the organization.
With team Chairman Steve Tisch, Mara was at the forefront of the planning and negotiations for MetLife Stadium, where the Giants began playing their home games in 2010 after 34 seasons in Giants Stadium. In addition, Mara, Steve Tisch and Jonathan Tisch, as well as Jets owner Woody Johnson, headlined the bid committee that helped convince the NFL owners to award Super Bowl XLVIII to the new stadium. The game, the first Super Bowl to be held in a cold-weather outdoor venue, will be played on Feb. 2, 2014.
After working as an attorney, John Mara joined the Giants in 1991, serving as the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer until his father's death in 2005, when he assumed the team's presidency. Under John Mara and Steve Tisch, the Giants have won Super Bowl XLII and Super Bowl XLVI.
Personal life
Mara is the third generation of his family to own the Giants. His grandfather, Tim, founded the team in 1925. Tim's sons, Wellington and Jack (John Mara's uncle), inherited the team in 1959, when Tim Mara died. Among NFL franchises, only the Chicago Bears (controlled by the Halas-McCaskey family since 1921) have been in the hands of one family longer than the Giants.
John and his wife, the former Denise Walter, are the parents of five children: Lauren, Courtney, John Jr., Christine and Erin. They also have four grandchildren, Christopher, Jack, Hailey and Thomas. The Mara family resides in Harrison, N.Y
