Mark Filanowski was born in Milford, Conn., in 1954, and he was raised there. His mother’s family arrived in Milford 400 years ago, and his father’s parents came from Eastern Europe in the late 1800s to work a farm in Milford that still operates today.
Mark graduated from University of Connecticut’s main campus in Storrs in 1976 and became a certified public accountant, working for Ernst & Young in New Haven. In 1984, he became vice president and controller of Armstrong Tire Co. in New Haven. He obtained an M.B.A. from New York University in 1989 and began a 35-year career in ocean shipping that same year, living in London and New York. His shipping experience includes private ship owner and operator and, most recently, chief executive officer (retired) of Pangaea Logistics Solutions Ltd., a publicly traded dry bulk shipping company with worldwide headquarters in Newport, R.I.
Mark moved to Darien in 1993 with his wife Monica McNally to set up household and raise a family, believing there is no better place than Darien. Mark and Monica led a Boy Scout troop, were Darien Boat Club members and are today active in many Town functions. They are long time members of St. Luke’s Parish and The Tokeneke Club. Their two children, Helen and Stephen, live and work in New York and Rhode Island, respectively. The family enjoys time together at home in Darien, in Bozeman, Mont., and traveling around the world.
