JDC’s Board of Directors voted at its September Board meeting to name Asher Ostrin as Interim CEO, a position he will assume on January 1, 2020.
In light of JDC CEO David Schizer’s commitment to return to Columbia at the start of 2020 and JDC’s desire to accelerate its CEO search process after it’s Board’s presidential election in December, this appointment provides Ostrin ample opportunity to work closely with David Schizer over the next several months before he assumes the Interim CEO role at start of next year. Ostrin will serve as a bridge between JDC’s current and future CEOs, and will to travel to the US regularly until he relocates to New York in January 2020.
With more than three decades of senior leadership at JDC, Ostrin is well-positioned to serve as Interim CEO. A key advisor to JDC operations in Europe, Asia, and North Africa, Ostrin helped design and led JDC’s transformative work reviving Jewish life and aiding needy Jews in the former Soviet Union (FSU) for more than 20 years.
He currently serves as the organization’s senior executive for international affairs. Ostrin has also represented JDC on the global stage with a wide range of funders, partner organizations, governments, and other key stakeholders. Ostrin lectures widely on JDC’s pivotal role in shaping 20th- and 21st-century Jewish history and is a recognized expert in the post-Soviet Jewish experience.
