Chicago entrepreneur and philanthropist elected to serve Tel Aviv University

American Friends of Tel Aviv University (AFTAU) has announced that Chicago native Richard Sincere, the founder and CEO of Sincere & Co., has been elected national chairman of its Board of Directors. Sincere & Co. is a third-party marketing company that promotes undiscovered mutual fund and start-up companies to the independent Registered Investment Advisors. “I am honored to be a part of this organization and to take on this exciting role as national chairman,” said Sincere, who previously served as AFTAU’s board secretary. “I am looking forward with great eagerness to working with our board, staff, TAU faculty and administrators to increase the visibility and stature of this truly international university that has been a global leader in academic excellence, groundbreaking research, and entrepreneurship.” Sincere succeeds AFTAU’s outgoing chairman Jon Gurkoff, CEO of Ada Products Company. “Richard Sincere has been a tremendously active board member and we are delighted and fortunate to welcome him as our new chairman,” said Gail Reiss, AFTAU president and CEO. “Richard is a distinguished leader in the philanthropic and business communities, with an unmatched passion for strengthening higher education in Israel. He has a strong vision for furthering the development of Tel Aviv University on the global stage and I look forward to the many opportunities that lie ahead with him at our helm.” A successful entrepreneur and philanthropist, Sincere brings more than four decades of experience in the financial services industry to AFTAU’s Board of Directors. Prior to starting his firm, he was Senior Vice President of Fidelity Investment Advisory Group, a division of Fidelity Investments. Prior to that, Sincere served as Senior Vice President of National Westminster Bank Brokerage Group. He has also held strategic marketing and sales management positions at Citibank/Citicorp. Sincere is a member of TAU’s International Board of Governors, AFTAU’s Executive Committee, the Recanati Business School at TAU, as well as other charity and financial boards. He holds a BA from the University of Wisconsin, Madison and an MBA from J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University. He spent a year of his undergraduate studies abroad at TAU, an experience he credits for sparking his enthusiasm for Israel and a lasting commitment to give back to the university. In addition to other significant gifts, last year Sincere and his wife donated a $1 million gift to establish the Debra and Richard Sincere Tel Aviv University Project in Middle Eastern Studies, created to award substantial scholarships to outstanding doctoral students at TAU’s top-rated think tank, The Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies. The gift also supports joint academic activities with the Mosse/Weinstein Center for Jewish Studies at the University of Wisconsin, paving the way for a lasting connection between the two universities. “I made a commitment in 1974 when I returned back to the U.S. after a life-changing year at Tel Aviv University, that I would give back to the university when I graduated – and I have tried to do that in as many ways as possible,” said Sincere. “I truly believe in investing in people, projects and innovative research that can make a difference.” “It is especially exciting for me to be affiliated with a university that has reached such academic accolades, and has evolved into an internationally-recognized center of excellence.”