Michael Federmann elected chairman of the Board of Governors

June 10 2009 -Israeli businessman Michael (Mickey) I. Federmann has been elected as the new Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He succeeds Charles H. (Corky) Goodman of Chicago, who served as chairman for the past three years. Federmann was selected unanimously for the post during the 72nd meeting of the University’s Board of Governors.

Federmann was born in Haifa in 1943, served as an officer in the Israel Defense Forces and received his BA at the Hebrew University in economics and political science. He is president and CEO of Federmann Enterprises and chairman of the boards of Elbit Systems and Dan Hotels Corp.

Federmann first joined the University’s Board of Governors in 1984 and has served as its deputy chairman. In 1994 he was awarded an honorary doctor of philosophy degree by the University.

The Federmann family has had a long and close affiliation with the university. Among the University projects which it has supported are the Federmann School of Public Policy and Government and the Hotel, Food and Tourism Management program at the Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment in Rehovot. A chair in hotel management there is named for the late Yekutiel Federmann, father of Michael Federmann and founder of the Dan chain of hotels. Yekutiel Federmann was also the recipient of an honorary doctor of philosophy degree from the University. 

In accepting the election to the post of chairman, Federmann said that this was a “moving moment” for him. He pledged to “spare no effort to support the incoming administration to see that the University will succeed and will continue to be Israel’s leading educational and research institution.” 

The search committee which nominated Federmann said that he is “a person who has dedicated his energy, his wisdom and his resources for the benefit of the university, and has attracted others who work with him.”