Mark Feinberg, a single father from Atlanta, GA, is our Lead Dad of the Week.
Originally from the New York area, Mark moved to Atlanta for college, stayed, and found professional success. He’s an entrepreneur and investor who has held a variety of C-suite roles.
After being married for 15 years, he got divorced when his son was 9. He credits that painful break with changing how he viewed fatherhood. “I always felt micro-judged in terms of my relationship with my son, so much so that when we got divorced in 2018 there were some thoughts in my ex-wife’s mind that I might not be a very present father,” he said.
Instead, Mark, who was the CEO of a company at the time, went the other way. He became the silly, goofy dad he never felt he could be before and that changed his relationship with his son, who is now 14. “As a CEO, I’m serious all the time,” he said. “Here I had this outlet. I’m missing it now. I still want to be kid-like, but I don’t have this kid anymore. He’s a little man.”
What Mark does have is a solid relationship with his high school son that he didn’t think was possible before. “I’ve made decisions to stay present in his life,” Mark said. “Cutting my day short at 3 p.m. to pick him up at school can be hard. But I’ve chosen that.”
It’s been a big but positive change for him.
“As this man, I was wired to work. Now I’m realizing there’s more to life than that. I want to have a good career. But No. 1 is my son. I’m a different dude.”
Glad to have Mark in The Company of Dads!
