Henry Taub
1927 – 2011
All of us at AVI CHAI lost a dear friend and colleague with the passing last week of Henry Taub, who joined AVI CHAI as a trustee in 1984 and served faithfully for almost twenty two years.
Much has been written in the press about Henry’s unusual accomplishments as the visionary founder of ADP, a remarkable company that reflected, from its very beginnings in 1949, Henry’s reach for perfection. I need say no more than the company achieved the unparalleled record of forty two straight years of 10% annual earnings growth.
It is about Henry’s role with and enormous contribution to our foundation that I would like to write.
The late Mr. Bernstein and I both knew Henry Taub from our Wall Street days, and even back in 1984, he had established a great reputation for his work in Jewish philanthropy where he was, at the time, serving as the President of the Joint Distribution Committee (JDC). He, of course, had his own foundation, and it was a rather difficult “sell” to get him to join the board of a newly created philanthropic foundation, but Zalman and I convinced him that it would be good for him and, ultimately, very good for the Jews for Henry to be part of this new foundation.
The rest, my dear readers, is, as they say, history. Henry’s contribution to everything we did, every new initiative, every new project, every new hire, bore his stamp of critical analysis, thoughtful questioning and insightful comment.
We’ve missed Henry, from the time of his last board meeting, that came with the onset of a fatal illness, which claimed his life after a valiant five-year battle. He had a deep wisdom, wonderful judgment and insightful understanding that we never can replace. He had a charm as well, and when we would meet for our annual retreats in the Carmel Mountains in Israel, he made sure, in the course of our few days together, to speak to every member of staff; thereby encouraging and motivating them to emulate his reach for perfection.
Henry was unique, that goes without saying. The world has lost a true adornment, and we are all the poorer for his passing. May his memory be for a blessing.
Arthur W. Fried
Chairman of the Board