Craig Hatkoff
Craig Hatkoff is co-founder of the Tribeca Film Festival. He, along with Jane Rosenthal and Robert De Niro, created the festival immediately following the events of September 11th to help revitalize lower Manhattan. Craig also serves as Chairman of Turtle Pond Publications LLC, a private entertainment and media based company in New York, which has published several best-selling children’s books among them the popular Owen & Mzee series, which he authored with daughter Isabella, and Knut: How One Little Polar Bear Captivated the World – which he penned with Isabella and daughter, Juliana.
Owen & Mzee: The True Story of a Remarkable Friendship (Scholastic 2006) and Owen & Mzee: The Language of Friendship(Scholastic 2007) have appeared simultaneously on the New York Times best-seller list. There are more than 600,000 copies of the award winning Owen & Mzee books in print in 15 different languages including Swahili and Braille. Scholastic, Turtle Pond Publications, and Zoo Berlin recently announced the United States release of Knut: How One Little Polar Bear Captured The World.
In addition to his current business activities, Craig is involved in a number of charitable and civic endeavors, which include serving as Director of the Tribeca Film Institute, on the board of directors of the New York University’s Child Study Center and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He is also a supporter of the National Theater Workshop of the Handicapped. In 2002, Mayor Michael Bloomberg appointed him as one of the three Trustees of the New York City School Construction Authority, a position he held for four years. The agency is responsible for building all of New York City’s public schools.
Craig graduated Magna Cum Laude from Colgate University where he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. He later received his MBA from Columbia University and is a founder of the Columbia Business School’s Real Estate and Capital Markets course. He was an adjunct professor at the school for five years. Since 2004 he has served as Director of Capital Trust, Inc., and the Taubman Companies which are both public companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
Craig is an avid guitarist and has written a rock opera based on the life of Galileo. He lives in New York City with his wife Jane Rosenthal and their two daughters.
Owen & Mzee: The True Story of a Remarkable Friendship (Scholastic 2006) and Owen & Mzee: The Language of Friendship(Scholastic 2007) have appeared simultaneously on the New York Times best-seller list. There are more than 600,000 copies of the award winning Owen & Mzee books in print in 15 different languages including Swahili and Braille. Scholastic, Turtle Pond Publications, and Zoo Berlin recently announced the United States release of Knut: How One Little Polar Bear Captured The World.
In addition to his current business activities, Craig is involved in a number of charitable and civic endeavors, which include serving as Director of the Tribeca Film Institute, on the board of directors of the New York University’s Child Study Center and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He is also a supporter of the National Theater Workshop of the Handicapped. In 2002, Mayor Michael Bloomberg appointed him as one of the three Trustees of the New York City School Construction Authority, a position he held for four years. The agency is responsible for building all of New York City’s public schools.
Craig graduated Magna Cum Laude from Colgate University where he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. He later received his MBA from Columbia University and is a founder of the Columbia Business School’s Real Estate and Capital Markets course. He was an adjunct professor at the school for five years. Since 2004 he has served as Director of Capital Trust, Inc., and the Taubman Companies which are both public companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
Craig is an avid guitarist and has written a rock opera based on the life of Galileo. He lives in New York City with his wife Jane Rosenthal and their two daughters.
