News and Views - Summer 2008
|
Summer 2008
Jewish Education Update |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
- Home
- About UsWhat We Do
- Our WorkProjects & Networks
- SoslandResource Center
- Program CentersJESNA's Three Units
- Berman Center
- LCC
- Lippman Kanfer Institute
- Support Jewish EducationDonations
 |
Advancing Jewish Learning
 Transformimg Jewish Lives |
Support Jewish Education |
 |
Where do you go to talk about what makes a great Jewish communal leader? We went to the top of the mountain – to talk with Mort Mandel. Born in Cleveland to a family of modest means, Mort and his two brothers established the Premier Automotive Supply Company in 1940. After trying for years to market their products in traditional ways with limited success, the brothers eventually reached out to their customers themselves and asked what they really needed from their company. When they found that an overwhelming majority of their clients were looking for hard-to-find parts, the Mandel brothers delivered and, by the early 1950s, business was booming. Premier Automotive Supply Company eventually evolved into Premier Industrial Corporation, one of the biggest US distributors of auto parts and electronic components, going public in 1960 and enabling the brothers to diversify into new areas by buying up underperforming companies with potential, revising their business models and upgrading their performance. Along the way, Mort learned a valuable lesson that he has applied to his remarkable philanthropic investments as well – great management makes great accomplishment possible. As he is so often quoted as saying, “It’s all about the people!”
Philanthropists like Mort Mandel, Michael Steinhardt, Florence Melton, Lynn Schusterman and others have been in the vanguard of the movement to nurture and develop leadership within the Jewish community. One “brand” among these has become so synonymous with excellence in leadership development that it would be impossible to discuss this movement without considering the tremendous contributions of Leslie and Abigail Wexner of Columbus, Ohio. With remarkable vision and focus, The