Felix Zandman Biography
[N.B.I WAS FORTUNATE TO SEE A DVD DEPICTING THE LIFE STORY OF THIS REMARKABLE MAN.
The following is extracted from thousands of references about him available on the internet.]
Survivor Triumphant: Felix Zandman's life story is a saga of success in the face of some of this century's greatest evil. Jew. Survivor. Physicist. Entrepreneur. Industrial magnate.
Felix Zandman's life story grows like a blossoming tree from gnarled roots in Grodno, Poland.
There he was raised in a comfortable home, and from an early age given Jewish, Zionist and secular educations.
At 15, with the Nazi extermination campaign in full swing, he had the good fortune to be able to hide for 17 months in a tiny pit dug under the floorboards of a house of righteous Gentiles in the Polish countryside, along with four other Jews.(This is reproduced in a Holocaust Museum in Florida).
Whilst hidden, his engineer uncle continually educated him in higher maths and physics and as he describes it in his DVD-life story, his brain absorbed it all like a sponge. After their harrowing escape from the grave-like hiding place, they eventually made their way to Paris after liberation where he was immediately able to continue his education at The Sorbonne, to Ph.D. level.
His ability to think ‘outside the square’ he attributes to his amazing problem-solving skills, such as inventing the tiny resistors and other scientific innovations now used in the aircraft industries, in every electronic device in the world.
Dr. Felix Zandman is Chairman and CEO of Vishay Intertechnology, Inc. (NYSE: VSH). In 1962, Dr. Zandman, with the financial help of the late Alfred P. Slaner, founded Vishay to develop and manufacture Bulk Metal foil resistors. The Company was named after Dr. Zandman's and Mr. Slaner's ancestral village in Lithuania, in memory of family members who perished in the Holocaust.
Dr. Zandman holds a Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Paris, Sorbonne. He has received numerous honors throughout his life, including the Musser Award for Excellence in Leadership, the Order of Merit for Research and Invention (France), the Distinguished Contribution Award from the American Society of Stress Analysis, the Franklin Institute Medal for Science, and the Legion of Honor (France).
Dr. Zandman speaks Russian, Polish, Yiddish, German, Hebrew, French, and English. He has also published three textbooks and holds 39 patents.
Dr. Zandman´s autobiography, Never the Last Journey, recounts his story from Holocaust victim to head of Vishay.
EXECUTIVE PROFILE*
Felix Zandman
Founder, Executive Chairman, Chief Technical & Business Development Officer and Chairman of Executive Committee, Vishay Intertechnology Inc.
Age 80.
This person is connected to 14 board members in 4 different organizations across 1 different industries.
BACKGROUND*
Felix Zandman founded Vishay Intertechnology Inc. and has been its Chief Technology Officer and Chief Business Development Officer since January 1, 2005. Dr. Zandman serves as Chief Technical and Business Development Officer of Vishay Israel Ltd. Dr. Zandman founded Vishay Semiconductor Gmbh and serves as its Chief Technical Officer. He served as Chief Executive Officer of Vishay Intertechnology Inc. since 1962 until January 1, 2005. He served as President of Vishay .
HONORARY DOCTORATE CITATION TEL AVIV UNIVERSITY>
At its session on the 2nd day of March, 2005
the Senate of Tel Aviv University resolved to honor
Felix Zandman
in recognition of his indomitable spirit and resourcefulness in transforming himself from Holocaust refugee tosuccessful industrialist, physicist, inventor and philanthropist; his remarkable entrepreneurial and leadership ability in building up his company, Vishay, into one of the world’s largest electronic
manufacturers; his creative scientific vision and numerous patents
and publications, for which he has won accolades worldwide; and
in special recognition of his pioneering contribution to the Israeli high-tech industry, which has also helped to advance the
absorption of immigrants and the strengthening of development towns in the country; his steadfast support of Tel Aviv University; and his establishment at the University of projects in Holocaust studies
as well as the Zandman Graduate School of Engineering,
by conferring upon him the degree of
Doctor Philosophiae Honoris Causa
• of Tel Aviv University.
No comments:
Post a Comment