Changing of the guard at JCA
A CHANGING of the guard at JCA will see communal stalwart Peter Philippsohn pass his seat at the helm to Stephen Chipkin, a lawyer and Investec banker who currently sits on the committee at JCA.
Following a four-year term as president, Philippsohn will officially pass the baton to Chipkin on January 1.
“Frankly it’s a real honour,” Chipkin told The AJN this week. “Clearly it’s a big responsibility, and I’m sure the role is going to be challenging. I’ve been able, through my other committee roles, I suppose to hide behind the presidents on the front-line who have carried more of the load. I’m prepared to step up and take the load,” he said.
Chipkin emphasised that his visions for JCA and the community are very much building on the strength and the base established by Philippsohn, and presidents before him.
“It’s been a monumental effort. [Philippsohn] has been a leader without ego who has a great Jewish heart and is a great example of the sort of people we have in our community,” Chipkin said.
Philippsohn, who was officially farewelled at a cocktail event on the weekend, will continue working with JCA in the role of chairman of the JCA Foundation.
“I’ve got a lot of great relationships that I have built over many years with people in the community, and that’s an area I’d like to keep helping JCA with – and JCA’s happy to harness me for that purpose,” Philippsohn told The AJN.
He spoke highly of the value of a space which bring’s the community’s 22 major organisations together. “I think the big strength of JCA is the fact that it’s not only a fundraiser for the community, but it’s a place where the leaders of the community can get together,” he said.
Asked what he feels he has achieved during his term, Philippsohn was humble. “I think it’s more what the community has been able to achieve for me,” he said.
However, he noted that putting “a more human face” on JCA has constituted a big part of his efforts.
He added that changing the leadership in peak communal organisations is important. “I’m very aware that we don’t want to be a gerontocracy … I don’t believe that the community should be a case of the same guys continuing, holding the same roles forever, or just passing them around from one to the other.
“The best way to build community is to bring more people in and give them active roles. Once someone gets active in the community they get passionate about it,” he said.
Full of praise for Chipkin, Philippsohn said: “He knows the way JCA thinks, he’s very much in tune with the ideals of our community, the objectives of our community.”
PHOEBE ROTH
Stephen Chipkin and Peter Philippsohn. Photo: Giselle Haber
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