WINNIPEG — Adam Bronstone, the new CEO of the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg, resigned suddenly and without explanation on June 15 after less than 10 months on the job, with some local observers suggesting his failure to cultivate influential community leaders may have led to his abrupt departure.
The federation is being tight-lipped about Bronstone’s decision, which some in Winnipeg have characterized as a firing. The only comment from the federation has been a press release stating that it “confirms that Dr. Adam Bronstone has resigned his position as chief executive officer effective June 15, 2015.”
It added: “The Jewish Federation of Winnipeg thanks Dr. Bronstone for all of his efforts on behalf of the community. A search for Dr. Bronstone’s replacement will now begin, with further information in this regard to be provided at a later date.”
Bronstone, who left two months before the end of his probationary contract, did not return phone calls or emails for comment on his decision. Last August, he succeeded longtime CEO Bob Freedman, who spent 28 years in the position.
One factor in Bronstone’s departure may have been the shortfall in the most recent CJA campaign, his first as CEO. The goal for the year was $5,950,000. The final tally, however, was more than $300,000 short of the goal, and almost $150,000 less than last year. It was the first time in 16 years the CJA campaign has fallen short of its goal, which had been increasing every year.
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In a story on the campaign shortfall in Winnipeg’s Jewish Post and News, editor Bernie Bellan quotes Bronstone as saying “there were a couple of top donors that reduced this year for family reasons.”
Bronstone added: “There were some other donors who didn’t give at all. The concerns they had though were not, I would say, with the federation. It was not about how we do business. It was not about our agencies. It was very particular to those specific donors.”
In an opinion piece written after Bronstone’s departure, Bellan suggested that the now former CEO’s key shortcoming was “an inability to cultivate strong alliances among the most powerful members of this community who represent, for the most part, the moneyed movers and shakers who really run things.
“Bronstone’s predecessor, Bob Freedman, in contrast, over the 28 years in which he filled the position, had key protectors who were willing to stand by him when he, like any CEO, had to make some very unpopular moves.”
Bellan concluded that “it seems likely that [Bronstone’s] contract would not have been renewed… given his lack of support from any of the powerful movers and shakers who really control things within our Jewish community.”
In particular, Bellan said Bronstone’s “greatest failing, however, is that he made an enemy early on of one particular individual who can be ruthless in her determination to influence events within this community.”
The comment was a not-so-veiled allusion to former Post and News editor Rhonda Spivak, who, Bellan wrote, has “connections among some very powerful individuals” as well as “influence arising from her family name.”
Spivak currently edits a web newspaper, the Winnipeg Jewish Review, where she posted an article on June 16 containing a list of 11 attributes she believes a new federation CEO should have. Among them are “strong interpersonal skills” and “strong fundraising skills,” as well as “media skills” and “honesty and integrity.”
Spivak declined The CJN’s request to comment on Bronstone’s departure.
Israel Ludwig, a past president of the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg, said the search for Bronstone’s replacement may be put off until the new year.
“The issue is the timing,” he said. “With our annual CJA campaign about to get underway, we will most likely appoint an interim CEO and begin our search for a new CEO in the new year.”
A former Winnipegger, Bronstone brought with him a substantial curriculum in terms of academic accomplishment and community service. He holds a BA from the University of Manitoba, an MA from York University (1991) and a PhD in European security from the University of Hull in England.
He originally returned to Winnipeg in late 1998 to assume a research position at the University of Manitoba’s Transportation Institute. A project he was working on there led him to Kansas City where he was offered a staff job with the local chamber of commerce.
His next stop was the New Orleans Jewish community, where he was director of planning. Bronstone was in New Orleans around the time of Hurricane Katrina and became the voice of the Jewish community there in that difficult period.
He left New Orleans in 2006 for Jewish community leadership positions in Broward County in south Florida, and later in Jacksonville, Fla., where he was in charge of planning, young leadership programs and annual campaigns.
In 2013, he moved to New York to work for ORT America.
After just a few months in New York, he and his wife, Val, decided the city was too big and crowded for their liking. When the position as executive director of the Israel Bonds office in Winnipeg became vacant, the couple took the opportunity to come to Winnipeg.
He served with Israel Bonds from January 2014, until the spring, when he was appointed to succeed Freedman. He assumed the leadership for a probationary period of six months, which was renewed for another six months that would have ended Aug. 31.
* This article has been modified slightly from its original form.
