Seth Klarman is the President of The Baupost Group, L.L.C., which currently manages approximately $20 billion on behalf of institutional and individual clients. He has been with the Company since its founding in 1982. Author of Margin of Safety, a book that outlines his value investment philosophy, Seth was chosen as lead editor for the recently-published Security Analysis Sixth Edition and has been featured in a variety of investment industry publications. Seth is a 1982 graduate of Harvard Business School, where he was a Baker Scholar, and received his Bachelor of Arts, magna cum laude, in Economics from Cornell University in 1979. Born in New York City, he grew up in Baltimore. He is married and has three children.

Seth is National Chairman of Facing History and Ourselves, a teacher training organization, and serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors for The David Project. He is a member of the Board of Dean's Advisors at HBS, where he has been a senior lecturer on value investing and was a member of the Alumni Board. Seth serves as a member of the National Executive Committee of AIPAC, is on the Board of Directors of The Israel Project, on the Board of Directors of the Broad Institute, Vice Chair of Beth Israel Hospital's Board of Managers and a member of their Board of Trustees. He co-chaired CJP's 2007 Annual Campaign, raising a record-breaking $40M. Seth is Chairman of The Klarman Family Foundation; his wife, Beth, serves as its Executive Director.


Barry Shrage
President, Combined Jewish Philanthropies

Since 1987, Barry Shrage has served as President of the country’s oldest federated charity, Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston, Inc. (CJP). He brings to the position a unique blend of vision, energy, optimism and enthusiasm that has earned him an international reputation. Barry led development of CJP’s Strategic Plan, a bold initiative that called for CJP to develop communities of learning, caring and social justice through innovative partnerships with community service agencies and synagogues. He is deeply committed to Jewish and CJP participation in the broader urban agenda and has worked with the Boston Foundation, United Way, Catholic Charities and New Profit, Inc. to develop the Boston Foundation’s Opportunity Agenda.

A graduate of City College of New York, Barry holds a Master’s Degree in Social Work from Boston University. He has written extensively on Jewish identity, continuity, social justice and the Jewish renaissance. He and his wife Ellie have two children and one grandchild.


Jerry Silverman
President and CEO of The Jewish Federations of North America

Gerrald (Jerry) Silverman is President and Chief Executive Officer of The Jewish Federations of North America. He is a highly experienced leader in the North American Jewish community and longtime corporate executive, with over 25 years of experience.

Before joining The Jewish Federations, Jerry served as president of the Foundation for Jewish Camp, the only non-profit national organization dedicated to raising awareness and support of non-profit Jewish resident camps. Since starting there in 2004 the FJC team oversaw a major expansion of the organization that helped bring a new focus on Jewish camping as a path to enhance Jewish identity. The FJC was extremely successful in building the quality, availability and demand for Jewish summer camps, creating partnerships with key philanthropists and Jewish Federations, increasing incentive dollars for campers, and providing leadership development opportunities for camp directors. Jerry, along with his board and staff, put Jewish camps on the communal map and helped turn the Foundation for Jewish Camp into more visible and successful organization.

For a decade before that, Jerry held a range of executive positions at the Stride Rite Corp. of Boston, including president of its international division; president, Stride Rite Children’s Group, and president, Keds Corp. Between 1979 and 1994 Jerry held several senior executive positions at Levi Strauss & Co. in San Francisco, starting as a production manager in women’s wear, moving into financial planning, working as an account executive and sales representative, then as a regional district national account manager and national sales manager of Levi Dockers.


Jeffrey Swartz
CEO of Timberland
Click here for Jeffrey Swartz's December 19th Interview with the New York Times

Jeffrey Swartz is the third generation of the Swartz family to lead Timberland. He became president and CEO in 1998, after working in virtually every functional area of the company. Under his leadership, Timberland has grown from $156 million in 1989 to $1.4 billion in 2008.  

In 1988, Timberland launched a groundbreaking private/public partnership with City Year, a national youth service organization. Jeff joined City Year’s board in 1989 and was the national chair from 1994 until 2003. Timberland is City Year’s official outfitter.

Recognizing that there was a passion within Timberland for voluntary service, Jeff initiated The Path of Service™ program in 1992, which gives all Timberland employees 40 hours of paid leave each year for community service during the work week. Service sabbaticals provide up to six months of paid leave for employees to serve in capacity building roles in social justice organizations.

Jeff is on the board of directors for the Climate Group, The Harlem Children’s Zone and Limited Brands, Inc. He is a member of the Two/Ten Foundation, an organization providing charitable funds and services to individuals in the footwear industry and has received their T. Kenyon Holly Memorial Award for Humanitarian Achievement. He was also one of 19 founding CEOs selected for President Bush’s task force on national service called Business Strengthening America. Jeff and his family are strong advocates for day schools and Jewish education. He is a member of the Executive Committee of Combined Jewish Philanthropies, chair of the board of the Maimonides School in Newton, MA, and a partner with the Partnership for Excellence in Jewish Education. He and his family are members of the Congregation Shaarei Tefillah in Newton, MA.