I was born on April 6, 1948, in Bombay, India, to my parents Benjamin and Sarah, whose parents fled Iraq due to the persecution of the Jewish community. Our home was a large, orthodox Jewish one, filled with the noise and energy of eight children. My mother was a remarkable woman. With my father’s support, she devoted herself to the Jewish community in India and worked tirelessly to help thousands of impoverished Jews immigrate to Israel. Her efforts were later recognized by The Jewish Agency for Israel. She was my first and greatest example of service to others, and her commitment to Zionism and that of my grandparents inspired me from a very early age.

As a boy, I didn’t attend a Jewish school, but I was active in B’nai Akiva and Habonim, and I followed Israel's growth with great pride and excitement. Many of my siblings eventually settled in Israel, and I remain deeply connected through them, but I felt a pull to carve my own path. At nineteen, I came to Canada to pursue a business degree. Winnipeg became my new home, where one of my sisters, Malka Cohen, was already living. It was not an easy transition, but I was determined to make it. I supported myself through university with a variety of jobs — ranging from pizza chef to mechanical design technologist — and I completed a Bachelor of Commerce (Honours), followed by a Master’s of Business Administration in Finance, both at the University of Manitoba. Those were formative years, and I became an active member of the Jewish Students Association, where I demonstrated for the release of Soviet Jewry and strengthened my voice as an advocate.

After graduation, I began my professional career with the Government of Manitoba. Over time, I became Managing Partner in the Department of Industry, where I had the opportunity to design innovative programs through leadership of Enterprise Manitoba, including Canada’s first business incubator and the Business Start Program. I enjoyed teaching, and my work at the University of Manitoba remains one of the most fulfilling chapters of my life. I recognized a need for entrepreneurship education, which led to the creation of the Centre for Entrepreneurship (now the Stu Clark Centre for Entrepreneurship), an initiative that has and will have a significant impact on the Manitoba economy.

In the private sector, I owned and grew the Winnipeg Fur Exchange into a multi-million dollar catalogue enterprise. And in 1999, I was honoured to be appointed the first Executive Director of The Asper Foundation. Working closely with Dr. Israel Asper, I helped bring to life some truly extraordinary projects. Sitting one evening on July 18, 2000, we dreamed of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights (CMHR). This would come to be a $350 million initiative that has transformed Winnipeg's landscape, establishing it as Canada’s fifth national museum — now featured on the $10 bill. The CMHR, which took from 2000-2014 to complete, stands as my greatest and proudest accomplishment. I also developed the Foundation’s Human Rights and Holocaust Studies Program and helped establish several Community Action Centres in Israel for disadvantaged youth, innovative programs at Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and an international education program at Yad Vashem, among other initiatives. After nearly 25 years with the Foundation, I retired in 2023, grateful for the opportunity to have worked closely with Gail Asper on projects of such meaning and scope. Not content with my retirement from 2023, I became the first director of a new initiative, IDEA Start, at the University of Manitoba.

Through it all, my family has been the centre of my universe. My beloved wife, Barbara, z”l, a retired teacher, passed away in 2020. She was my partner in every sense and remains an enduring source of love and strength. Together, we raised three children —Adam, Samuel, and Sarah —who benefited from a Jewish education and make me proud every day. I am also blessed with two grandchildren, Benjamin and Maya, children of Adam and his wife, Tanya. Jewish tradition shaped our home, and I am proud to see that spirit continue in my children and grandchildren.

Here in Winnipeg, I have been fortunate to have received the 2023 University of Manitoba’s Distinguished Alumni Lifetime Achievement Award, the Scopus Award from the Hebrew University, the Jewish Federation’s Sol Kanee award, the Canadian Race Relations Champion Award, the Mahatma Ghandi Peace Award, as well as being the Honouree for the CMHR gala in addition to the Jewish National Fund Gala, with proceeds of $1 million from the latter donated towards an Ethiopian women’s empowerment centre in Israel. I am also a governor of the Hebrew University, the Adas Yeshurun Herzlia Synagogue, and the Friends of the CMHR, and have served on the boards for the Jewish National Fund, the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, The Philanthropic Foundations of Canada, the Canadian Fashion and Textile Board, the Asper Jewish Community Campus, The Associates of the University of Manitoba, the Stu Clark Centre for Entrepreneurship, the Canadian Council for Indigenous Business, as well as serving as the first director and creator of the Manitoba Direct Marketing Association along with many other roles. Each role has been another opportunity to strengthen the community that has given me so much.

Judaism is central to my identity, and I believe in strong and flourishing Diaspora communities, as well as in supporting the people of Israel. Our community has thrived because of those who came before us and invested in its future. The Jewish Foundation carries that responsibility forward today, ensuring that Jewish life in Winnipeg is strong and enduring. For me, fulfillment has always come from family, community, and helping others. My commitment to the Endowment Book of Life is one way of giving back so that future generations can share in the same blessings that I have.

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