Biography
About Mark & Mary
Mark grew up in Irvine, 30 miles south of Glasgow, Scotland. His wife and partner, Mary, grew up in Uddingston, a village near Glasgow. They met on the first day of studying Manufacturing Sciences and Engineering at Strathclyde University in Glasgow.
Mark came to Japan in October 1989 and did several jobs, including teaching English, before becoming a computer Network Administrator for a securities company. Mary left her job as a strategy consultant for Andersen Consulting to come to Japan in 1990. On arriving in Tokyo she worked as an information technology consultant for a large bank.
In September 1993 Mark and Mary started Crisscross to publish the first four-page issue of Tokyo Classified on February 26, 1994. Renamed as Metropolis in 2000, the magazine now has 80 pages every week and is Japan's No 1 English magazine. A brief history of Metropolis is here.
In September 2000 Mark and Mary started Japan Today, which became the most popular news and information site about Japan in English.
In May 2006 they launched Crisscross , a social networking site that lets users share and compare their life goals and favorites. We hope to relaunch the site in the U.S. in late 2008.
In December 2007, after 18 years in Japan, Mark and Mary sold their Japan businesses and moved to Sarasota, Florida. They are currently setting up Kroaky's Karaoke a private room karaoke business.
Mark and Mary were married in Hawaii in 1995. They have two children Aran (6) and Kara (4).
You can read a little more about Mark & Mary at here.
