The Van Leer Group have announced the appointment of Michael Feigelson as the Chief Executive of the Van Leer Group and Cecilia Vaca Jones as the new Executive Director of the Bernard van Leer Foundation.

Michael Feigelson will oversee all activities, including the Bernard van Leer Foundation;  the Van Leer Jerusalem Institute and the Jerusalem Film Center, and through the Van Leer Group Foundation – the management of the endowment that finances charitable activities.

Michael joins within the Van Leer Group where he was the Executive Director of the Bernard van Leer Foundation since 2014. Prior to that, Michael held several other positions within the Bernard van Leer Foundation since first joining in 2007 as a Programme Officer. Before this, Michael spent most of his career serving grassroots and non-profit organisations in Latin America, Africa and Eastern Europe focussed on supporting homeless, working and displaced children and families.

Since 2016, Cecilia has served as Programme Director at the Bernard van Leer Foundation. Prior to this, Cecilia held a wide range of positions in and outside of government where she championed social policies to improve the conditions of children, women and indigenous populations. In Cecilia’s most recent role before joining The Bernard van Leer Foundation, Cecilia served as Minister for Social Development in her home country of Ecuador where she was responsible for policies in the areas of health, education, housing, sport and social welfare.