Seth M. Siegel (born 1953) is an American businessman, writer, and activist. He is the author of the 2015
''New York Times'' Best Seller, ''Let There Be Water: Israel's Solution for a Water-Starved World''. He has also founded or co-founded several companies including, The Beanstalk Group and Sixpoint Partners. Additionally, Siegel has produced shows for
Broadway and television, and his essays and articles have appeared in publications including ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', ''
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
'', ''
The Wall Street Journal
''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
'', and others.
Early life and education
Siegel grew up in
Queens
Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...
,
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
as the grandchild of
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
immigrants.
He attended
Cornell University
Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...
, graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1974.
After graduate studies at the
Hebrew University of Jerusalem
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; he, הַאוּנִיבֶרְסִיטָה הַעִבְרִית בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם) is a public research university based in Jerusalem, Israel. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Dr. Chaim Weiz ...
,
Siegel returned to New York where he earned a
Juris Doctor
The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law
and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...
degree from
Cornell Law School
Cornell Law School is the law school of Cornell University, a private Ivy League university in Ithaca, New York. One of the five Ivy League law schools, it offers four law degree programs, JD, LLM, MSLS and JSD, along with several dual-deg ...
.
Career
In 1992, Siegel co-founded The Beanstalk Group, a trademark licensing and
brand extension
Brand extension or brand stretching is a marketing strategy in which a firm marketing a product with a well-developed image uses the same brand name in a different product category. The new product is called a spin-off.
Organizations use this ...
company.
Clients of the company included
Coca-Cola and
Harley-Davidson, and
AT&T.
The company was sold to the
Ford Motor Company in June 2001, and was, in turn, sold to the
Omnicom Group in 2005.
Siegel served as a producer of the 2002
Broadway revival of ''
Man of La Mancha
''Man of La Mancha'' is a 1965 musical with a book by Dale Wasserman, music by Mitch Leigh, and lyrics by Joe Darion. It is adapted from Wasserman's non-musical 1959 teleplay ''I, Don Quixote'', which was in turn inspired by Miguel de Cervantes ...
'',
which was nominated for three
Tony Awards including
Best Revival of a Musical.
He was also a producer of the
ABC miniseries, ''
Dinotopia'',
which received six
Emmy Award
The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
nominations and won
Outstanding Special Visual Effects for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special.
In 2007,
Siegel co-founded Sixpoint Partners, a financial services firm.
In 2015,
St. Martin's Press published Siegel's book, ''Let There Be Water: Israel's Solution for a Water-Starved World'', which detailed the ways in which Israel successfully implemented water management and conservation policies despite its arid climate.
''Let There Be Water'' became a ''New York Times'', ''Los Angeles Times'', and ''Washington Post'' best seller
and has appeared in multiple foreign-language editions.
Since the publication of Let There Be Water, Siegel has lectured on water themes around the world. He is also a member of the
Council on Foreign Relations
The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an American think tank
A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, mi ...
.
Bibliography
References
External links
Official websiteTEDx, Israel's solution for a water-starved world
by Seth Siegel
Can a Desert Nation Solve the World's Water Shortage?
by Seth Siegel
{{DEFAULTSORT:Siegel, Seth M.
1953 births
Living people
20th-century American Jews
20th-century American male writers
21st-century American Jews
21st-century American male writers
Activists from New York City
American male non-fiction writers
Cornell Law School alumni
Cornell University alumni
Jewish American activists
Jewish American non-fiction writers
Writers from New York City