After 20 months on the job, Tom Dine has announced he will resign as CEO of the S.F.-based Jewish Community Federation, effective June 30.
“I don’t think it was a good fit,” Dine said. “You know it when you see it.”
Only last November, Dine told j. he planned to be in the Bay Area “for the long haul.”
That came on the heels of a successful 2005-06 annual campaign, during which donations to the federation increased by 7 percent, to $24.6 million — just shy of Dine’s stated goal of a 10 percent increase.
The former AIPAC executive director plans to return to Washington, D.C., which he called his “home base.”
“That’s my natural habitat,” he said. “I have a daughter there, one grandchild and another on the way. I want to return to the political world.”
Meanwhile, he said he intends to “complete my job here, trying to strengthen the Jewish condition and community.”
Federation president John Pritzker said he was “sorry to see Tom go.
“But we’ve done great work getting the place on solid footing,” he said.
“This is as solid a management group as the federation has ever had.” Pritzker, whose family built the Hyatt hotel chain, heads a private equity fund.
During the upcoming transition, the chief financial officer/chief operating officer, Deena Soulon, will work with chief human resources officer Steve Leibman, executive director of the endowment fund Phyllis Cook and the federation board to manage daily operations.
Strategic initiatives and the annual campaign will continue uninterrupted.
Dine took the reins at the federation in the summer of 2005, after an eight-year post as president of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
Before that, Dine had served as longtime executive director of AIPAC, the pro-Israel lobby, based in Washington.
While Dine’s 20-month tenure may seem brief, Pritzker said such changes are not uncommon in large agencies like the federation.
“In any lay-driven organization you have a spectrum of operational experiences,” Pritzker said
“These things happen. They just seem to happen to us a little more often.”
Among his prized accomplishments here, Dine cited assembling a new federation senior management team, which he described as “both creative and strong.”
Second, he said, “we have serious structural reforms under way controlling our budgets and strategic funding initiative. And [we have] our newest outreach program with the synagogues.”
His greatest disappointment?
“What’s missing here is an extensive outreach effort to find and persuade and bring Jews within the community-building process. That takes time.”
No one is waiting in the wings to replace Dine.
He joined the federation following an 18-month gap after the departure of Sam Salkin, the previous federation CEO, who served for three years.
Pritzker does not feel the board has to rush to fill Dine’s position.
“I want to take a look at what will be the best model for this organization going forward,” he said.
“We’ve been able to break some molds, specifically with the strategic funding, and I don’t think we need to rush to find someone just for the sake of finding someone. I’d rather do it well than fast.”
Meanwhile, Dine prepares to leave the Bay Area in the summer with fond feelings. “This is a great place,” he said. “I have no regrets. It’s been a privilege to know the donors and activists, and to see their generosity. My months here have meant a great deal to me, and I will be leaving many friends.”