Simon Hochhauser â Past President, United Synagogue - Pelorous
Simon Hochhauser â Past President, United Synagogue - Pelorous
Simon Hochhauser â Past President, United Synagogue - Pelorous
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Below are the biographies of the members of the proposed Working Group for the selection of<br />
the next Chief Rabbi.<br />
<strong>Simon</strong> <strong>Hochhauser</strong> – <strong>Past</strong> <strong>President</strong>, <strong>United</strong> <strong>Synagogue</strong><br />
Between 2005 and 2011, <strong>Simon</strong> <strong>Hochhauser</strong> was the elected <strong>President</strong> of The<br />
<strong>United</strong> <strong>Synagogue</strong>, the UK’s largest synagogal body comprising over 65<br />
individual communities, educational establishments and communal institutions,<br />
with in excess of 40,000 members. He was a Trustee of The Chief Rabbinate<br />
Trust, which is responsible for the activities of the Office of the UK’s Chief<br />
Rabbi, Lord Sacks. He chaired the first consultation phase of the process for<br />
the appointment of the new Chief Rabbi scheduled for September 2013.<br />
<strong>Simon</strong> was active in the growth of South Hampstead <strong>Synagogue</strong> in the 1980’s and 1990’s. He<br />
was an elected a Vice <strong>President</strong> of the <strong>United</strong> <strong>Synagogue</strong> between 1999 and 2005, and was<br />
<strong>President</strong> of the London Board for Shechita between 2003 and 2005.<br />
<strong>Simon</strong> was educated at Haberdashers’ Aske’s School, Gateshead Yeshivah and Imperial College<br />
(University of London) where he obtained a B.Sc. degree (1975) and a Ph.D. in Mathematical<br />
Physics in 1979. He performed post-doctoral research in applied optics and laser physics at the<br />
prestigious Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel between 1979 and 1981.<br />
In the early 1980’s, <strong>Simon</strong> worked as a senior associate in the M&A department of Lehman<br />
Brothers in New York, before being invited by the present Lord Rothschild to set up a<br />
technology-based venture capital fund in 1983. The St. James’s Venture Capital Fund<br />
(subsidiary of RIT Capital Partners plc) maintained a portfolio of investments in the UK and the<br />
US.<br />
In 1992, <strong>Simon</strong> created Video Networks, the company behind the pioneering HomeChoice<br />
broadband video on demand and interactive television service. He raised in excess of £120<br />
million in equity and shareholder loan finance for the company. The Company was sold in 2006<br />
to The Tiscali Group and subsequently became Talk Talk TV, part of the Carphone Warehouse<br />
Group.<br />
In 2005, <strong>Simon</strong> created Statevine Ltd, now Niu-Solutions Group (‘Niu’), to exploit the growing<br />
convergence of telecommunications and IT service applications for medium sized UK<br />
enterprises (typically 100 - 5,000 employees). As Executive Chairman, he was instrumental in a<br />
number of key acquisitions for the Group. <strong>Simon</strong> is now a non-executive Director of Niu which<br />
employs approximately 100 and has revenues of approximately £40m.<br />
<strong>Simon</strong> recently created a new company, Assuract Ltd (t/a Access 21), to exploit further<br />
opportunities in the converged worlds of hosted (‘cloud based’) telecommunications and IT<br />
services for UK companies with approximately 10-100 employees.<br />
He is a violinist and chorister, and enjoys classical music, travel and hiking.
Russell Kett - Vice <strong>President</strong>, <strong>United</strong> <strong>Synagogue</strong><br />
Russell Kett is a Vice <strong>President</strong> of the <strong>United</strong> <strong>Synagogue</strong>, having been elected in<br />
July 2011. He lives in Canons Park, Edgware and has been a member of Belmont<br />
<strong>Synagogue</strong> since 1984, and previously of Pinner. He is a past Warden of Belmont<br />
and was a member of its Board of Management for many years, introducing the<br />
shul to strategic planning even before the Kalms report was produced.<br />
Russell is a former governor of JFS School and served as chairman of governors from 2003 to<br />
2009. He is an advisory board member of the Jewish Volunteering Network and a trustee of the<br />
British Friends of Reuth, which raises funds for the Reuth rehabilitation hospital in Tel Aviv. A<br />
keen singer, Russell is a member and past chairman of the Shabbaton Choir, and also sings with<br />
the Belmont shul choir (under the baton of the <strong>United</strong> <strong>Synagogue</strong>’s moonlighting Chief<br />
Executive, Jeremy Jacobs).<br />
After hotel school and having worked for a leading international hotel company, he became a<br />
hotel consultant in 1977, spending 10 and 7 years respectively with the specialist hotel<br />
consultancy divisions of accountants Stoy Hayward (now BDO) and Deloitte, before joining his<br />
current firm, HVS, in 1995 where he is managing director of the London office and serves on the<br />
firm’s global board.<br />
Naomi Landy - Women Representative, <strong>United</strong> <strong>Synagogue</strong><br />
Naomi was elected as a Women’s Representative to the US Trustees in July 2011.<br />
She served on the Board of Management of Hendon <strong>Synagogue</strong> for fifteen years.<br />
From 2004 – 2010 she was Vice Chair, which included a period as Acting Chair.<br />
Naomi has been involved in the recruitment of the two Associate Rabbis<br />
appointed to Hendon.<br />
Naomi is a qualified solicitor, having studied Law at LSE and obtaining a Masters degree in Law<br />
from UCL. The Home Office appointed her to act as both an Appropriate Adult and a Lay<br />
Visitor in police stations in the borough of Barnet. Since 2000 Naomi has worked as the<br />
Admissions Officer and Administrator of North West London Jewish Day School. Sheis also a<br />
Governor of the school, a member of the Leadership Team and has been involved in the<br />
recruitment of the Head Teacher, Deputy Head and many staff.<br />
In her spare time Naomi sits on Admission Appeals Panels for schools in the boroughs of Barnet<br />
and Brent and also for Jewish Voluntary Aided schools.<br />
Naomi is married to David, son of the late Rabbi Maurice Landy and they have three children.<br />
Anna, a solicitor, Rebecca, who is finishing a Ph.D in Statistics and Josh who works in sports<br />
broadcasting.
Stephen Pack – <strong>President</strong> of Chief Rabbinate Trust and <strong>United</strong> <strong>Synagogue</strong><br />
Stephen is the <strong>President</strong> of the <strong>United</strong> <strong>Synagogue</strong>, having been elected in July<br />
2011.<br />
Family: Stephen grew up in Cockfosters in North London where his parents were<br />
founding members of the Shul. In 1973, he married Cheryl Klyne who lived in<br />
Hampstead Garden Suburb. They met at Manchester University where they both<br />
spent four years. They moved to Hadley Wood in 1977 where they still reside. The couple have<br />
two adult children – Susannah Jacobs who lives in Muswell Hill with her husband Yoni and two<br />
children – Mazhira and Arye, and Anthony who lives in West Hampstead.<br />
Communal life: Stephen has been a Trustee of the <strong>United</strong> <strong>Synagogue</strong> for nine years, six as a<br />
Treasurer and three as Vice <strong>President</strong>. During that time he had been Chairman of the<br />
Remuneration Committee and was closely involved with the Religious Affairs Group, US<br />
Schools, Peir, new communities and many matters involving individual Rabbis and shuls. He<br />
represents the US on the JLC committee dealing with Jewish Education and is also a Trustee of<br />
the Chief Rabbinate Trust where he is responsible for the financial side of the Charity.<br />
As Life <strong>President</strong> of the Hadley Wood Jewish Community together with Cheryl, they have been<br />
responsible for nurturing the community from its early days when it met in the Pack household to<br />
it current state where it is expanding rapidly. Stephen regularly leads the davenning and was<br />
appointed an Elder of the Community in 2010. Stephen was Chairman of the Cockfosters shul<br />
for several years and prior to that was its Financial Representative. Outside of the Jewish sphere,<br />
he was <strong>President</strong> of the Hadley Wood Association for over 10 years.<br />
Professional life: Stephen has a Masters Degree in Business Finance from Manchester<br />
University and Manchester Business School and a Bachelors degree in Economics and<br />
Accounting. He joined Price Waterhouse (now PwC), qualified as a Chartered Accountant and<br />
became a partner in 1984. He initially specialised in audit and was responsible for two of the<br />
firm’s largest FTSE 100 clients. He was appointed director in charge of operations for the audit<br />
practice and London office. Some years later Stephen helped to establish a new global business<br />
process outsourcing division and following the sale of that business moved into management<br />
consulting. In that role he led many transformation programmes for large clients helping them to<br />
achieve their strategic objectives. Stephen was appointed Head of Risk and Quality for the UK<br />
firm (which by then was the largest professional services firm in the UK) and led a team of 180<br />
professionals dealing with all aspects of risk, quality and compliance for PwC.<br />
Retiring from the firm last year, within a few months Stephen was headhunted by another major<br />
firm to assist them with their risk and quality organization and has just completed a consulting<br />
assignment for them.
Doreen Samuels - Women Representative, <strong>United</strong> <strong>Synagogue</strong><br />
Doreen was elected as a Women’s Representative in July 2011.<br />
Doreen’s first husband was Jonathan Fine, z”l, a well-known and much admired<br />
lay leader. They had three daughters, Miriam, Sarah and Ruth, and now have three<br />
adorable grandchildren who take up any ‘spare’ time.<br />
Now married to Jeffrey Samuels they, together with Doreen’s mother, brother and<br />
his family, and sister and her family, all live in Pinner.<br />
Having originally qualified and worked for several years as a pharmacist, her later career has<br />
been in education and latterly, in Jewish Studies. She has a PGCE from the Institute of Education<br />
as well as an MA in Hebrew and Jewish Studies from Jews College. Doreen was a class teacher,<br />
Head of Juniors, and then Head of Department of Jewish Studies and Deputy Head at Sinai, and<br />
still works as a teacher-trainer and schools and curriculum advisor.<br />
Doreen writes extensively on Jewish topics and was co – author of the Chief Rabbi’s Children’s<br />
Siddur. Communally, Doreen has served on the Board of Management of Pinner <strong>Synagogue</strong>, and<br />
was one of the first women representatives at the US Council.<br />
She runs and participates in many educational programmes for families, adults, Bat Mitzvah girls<br />
and children at Pinner, as well as in the wider community, and is a graduate of the Susi Bradfield<br />
Educators’ Fellowship. She has recently ‘retired’ as Chair of Governors of Moriah Jewish Day<br />
School, but is still actively involved in fundraising for the school.<br />
Doreen was a founder member of the Stanmore Women’s Tefillah Service, the original London<br />
Women’s Rosh Chodesh Group and the Jewish Women’s Network. She was co-Chair of the very<br />
successful Harrow Day Limmud in March 2011, and is already working towards the next one, in<br />
March 2013.<br />
She is currently involved in many initiatives and discussions around challenges and opportunities<br />
for women, and is keen to work with all in the <strong>United</strong> <strong>Synagogue</strong> to find viable, halachically<br />
acceptable responses to enhance women’s full participation in the organisation.
Peter Sheldon – Chief Rabbinate Trust and <strong>Past</strong> <strong>President</strong>, <strong>United</strong> <strong>Synagogue</strong><br />
Peter Sheldon is a qualified chartered accountant and has held senior positions in<br />
a wide range of listed and private companies from retail to high-tech; clothing<br />
manufacturing to banking and healthcare to publishing. He has served as nonexecutive<br />
chairman of BATM Advanced Communications, an Israeli technology<br />
company listed on the London Stock Exchange for 12 years.<br />
His long involvement in the voluntary sector includes 12 years as chairman of<br />
Kerem Schools and 6 years as president of the <strong>United</strong> <strong>Synagogue</strong>. He is currently chairman of<br />
the Chief Rabbinate Trust, a trustee and treasurer of the Jerusalem Foundation (UK); a founding<br />
trustee of Morasha Jewish Primary School among other charities and Deputy at the Board of<br />
Deputies. He recently retired as a JP after 25 years service.<br />
He was made an OBE in the 2010 New Years Honours for his services to the Jewish<br />
Community.<br />
Russell Tenzer – Treasurer, <strong>United</strong> <strong>Synagogue</strong><br />
Russell was elected as a Treasurer and Trustee of the US in 2008, and re-elected<br />
in 2011. He was the Financial Representative of Stanmore and Canons Park<br />
<strong>Synagogue</strong> from 2000 to 2005. Russell was a member of the Audit Revenue<br />
Committee of the US from 2002 - 2005.<br />
Russell was a trustee of Norwood from 1991 to 2009 and its treasurer from 1996<br />
to 2009. He was a member of the steering committee that merged Norwood and Ravenswood in<br />
1999. Russell was a trustee of JCOSS, representing Norwood’s interests, from 2007 to 2009.<br />
After qualifying as a chartered accountant Russell worked for Peat Marwick (now known as<br />
KPMG) and then N M Rothschild. In 1983 he was a founding partner of Hazlems Fenton where<br />
he is still in practice.<br />
One other non-US Representative<br />
To be announced.