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NEW YORK (JTA) — The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee named Alan Gill, its longtime executive director of international relations and a resident of Israel, as the organization’s new CEO.\u00a0Gill will take over Jan. 31 from interim CEO Darrell Friedman, who stepped in after the abrupt resignation of Steven Schwager in June.<\/p>\n
The JDC, which has an approximate annual budget of $350 million, is one of the two main overseas aid partners of the Jewish Federations of North America; the other is the Jewish Agency for Israel. Gill will be moving to New York, where the JDC has its headquarters.<\/p>\n
The choice to hire an insider followed an extensive global search conducted by the executive search firm DRG, according to the JDC, which said Gill was the unanimous choice of a selection committee comprised of JDC board members.<\/p>\n
Gill’s focus has been fundraising, helping to build the organization’s donor base as its annual allocation from Jewish federations has shrunk. The JDC said Gill also has played a leadership role in launching many of JDC\u2019s landmark programs.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe couldn\u2019t be more proud that Alan Gill, whose seasoned leadership and forward-thinking expertise has been so critical to JDC\u2019s impact in recent years, will lead us into our second century,\u201d JDC President Penny Blumenstein said in a statement.<\/p>\n
Gill was the CEO of the Jewish Federation of Columbus, Ohio, before he moved to Israel in 1993 and began working for the JDC. He attended Ohio University and has a master’s degree in social work from Ohio State.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m privileged to be appointed CEO of this remarkable, dynamic organization,\u201d Gill said in a statement. “Our mission has never been more critical or more urgent, and in the years ahead, we must reach even further to ensure that wherever a Jew is in need, JDC is there.”<\/p>\n