
From Vader to Evergreen: A CEO’s Journey to Enlightened Ownership
October 21, 2025
From Vader to Evergreen: A CEO’s Journey to Enlightened Ownership
- Mark Steele
- Craftsmen Industries, Inc.
Mark Steele is the president and owner of Craftsmen Industries and a former turnaround specialist for private equity firms. Early in his career, he stepped into struggling businesses and made the tough calls others avoided.
In this Tugboat Institute® talk, Mark shares how the opportunity to lead family-owned Craftsmen Industries sparked a profound shift in his career and business philosophy. He explores how leading the company, and ultimately becoming its owner, led him to embrace an approach to leadership and ownership grounded in Evergreen® values.
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