Harold Tanner, New York Investment Banker, Elected President of American Jewish Committee

American Jewish Committee
Thursday, 17 May 2001

Harold Tanner, a prominent New York-based investment banker, has been elected 25th National President of the American Jewish Committee. Mr. Tanner succeeds Los Angeles attorney Bruce M. Ramer, who held the post since May 1998.

Mr. Tanner is President of Tanner & Co., Inc., a private investment banking firm. He has also served in senior management positions at Salomon Brothers, Blyth Eastman Dillon & Co., and Rothschild Inc.

Prior to his election as AJC President, Mr. Tanner, a longtime member of AJC's Board of Governors, served the human relations organization as Chair of its Board of Trustees, Member of its Executive Committee and in other key national leadership roles. He is a recipient of AJC's Herbert I. Lehman Human Relations Award.

Upon his election, Mr. Tanner said: "To lead this indispensable organization, especially as it approaches its centennial, is an honor and a responsibility I accept with pride. Since 1906 when a small group of distinguished Jews banded together to advocate for the safety of Jews in Russia, AJC has remained true to its historic mandate: the well-being and security of Jews everywhere in the context of a world respectful of democratic values, human rights and mutual understanding for all.

"Through the efforts of so many dedicated leaders who have gone before, the American Jewish Committee is today uniquely positioned and undeniably qualified to make real differences and lasting contributions in America, the Middle East, and in every corner of the globe. Wherever human rights and human dignity are imperiled, whenever religious freedom is at risk, wherever anti-Semitism and bigotry emerge, and whenever and wherever Israel's security is at risk, the American Jewish Committee will be there to make its voice heard."

Mr. Tanner is a graduate of Cornell University, a longtime Trustee and currently Chair of its Board of Trustees. He is also a graduate of Harvard Business School, where he served as a Director of Associates and Chairman of the Harvard Business School Fund and was the recipient of its Alumni Achievement Award.

He also serves as a Director for the Charles H. Revson Foundation, a Trustee of Classroom Inc., and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and is a former Trustee and Chairman of the Finance Committee of the Russell Sage Foundation and co-Founder and Director of the Volunteer Consulting Group.

Mr. Tanner and his wife have three children and eight grandsons.

For more information, or to contact American Jewish Committee, see their website at: www.ajc.org