Jack N. Mandel, renowned philanthropist, co-founder of Premier Industrial Corporation, and co-founder of Parkwood Corporation and Parkwood Trust Company, passed away on May 12, 2011 at his home in Cleveland, Ohio. He was ninety-nine years old.
At the time of his death, he served as the Chairman of the Finance Committee of Parkwood Corporation and Chairman of the Jack and Lilyan Mandel Foundation.
Mr. Mandel was born in 1911 in Kolbusowa, Poland. In 1913, his father, Simon (1885 – 1943), came to the United States to pave the way for his family to relocate in order to seek a better life. Simon intended to have his wife, Rose (Nussbaum) Mandel (1888 – 1959) and children join him but, due to World War I, they were unable to do so until 1920. Mr. Mandel was nine years old when the family arrived in the United States. Mr. Mandel attended Cleveland Public Schools and graduated from Glenville High School in 1929, where his education was based on half-day programs. From the time he was 14 years old, he spent the rest of the day working. His jobs included selling the Cleveland News; ushering at the Palace Theatre; spot welding at Cleveland Metal Products and die casting at Superior Casting Company. After high school, he worked for an uncle who operated a small automotive parts store.
In 1940, Mr. Mandel co-founded Premier Automotive Supply Company with his brothers, Joseph and Morton, when they pooled together $900 to purchase the “remnants” of the auto parts store from their uncle. In the mid 1950’s, Premier entered the industrial maintenance market with the formation of a new division, Premier Fastener Company. This was the beginning of efforts to seek out specialized market niches where Premier could meet identified customer needs. In May of 1960, the company changed its name to Premier Industrial Corporation and offered its common stock for sale to the public. Then, on May 18, 1964, Premier’s stock was accepted for listing on the New York Stock Exchange. Premier established earnings records in 34 out of 36 years as a publicly-traded company under the leadership of the three Mandel brothers. Premier Industrial Corporation earned numerous business awards. Premier was one of 50 top companies profiled in the 1995 book, Making It in America. In 1996, Premier merged with Farnell Electronics PLC, of London, England, to form Premier Farnell, PLC. Subsequently, Jack Mandel and his brothers established the Parkwood Corporation and its subsidiary, Parkwood Trust Company.
Mr. Mandel and his brothers created a charitable foundation in 1953. The Mandel Foundation has as its primary areas of interest: management of nonprofit organizations; Jewish education and continuity; leadership; higher education and urban neighborhood renewal. It also supports leadership education programs in its own institutions and at selected universities and organizations. Over the years many institutions have been founded or named by the brothers including the Mandel Center for Nonprofit Organizations and the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences (Case Western Reserve University); the Mandel Center for the Humanities and the Mandel Center for Studies in Jewish Education (Brandeis University); the Mandel Center for Excellence in Leadership and Management and the Mandel Center for Jewish Education (Jewish Community Centers of North America); and internationally, the Mandel Leadership Institute (Israel), the Mandel Center for Leadership in the Negev (Israel); and most recently the Mandel Center for the Humanities (The Hebrew University - Israel). As stated by the Mandel brothers, “The Hallmark of our philanthropy is our commitment to invest in people with the values, ability and passion to change the world.”
In addition to the Mandel Foundation, Mr. Mandel was active in a number of community causes, including serving on the Boards of Montefiore, (including a term as Board Chair), the Cleveland Sight Center, and the Cleveland Play House. He was a Life Trustee of The Temple-Tifereth Israel, and a Life Trustee of the Jewish Federation of Cleveland.
Mr. Mandel is survived by his brothers, Joseph C. Mandel and Morton L. Mandel, sister-in-law Barbara A. Mandel, his son Sheldon Mandel, and numerous nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his wife Lilyan, daughter Bonnie and sister Meriam Cole.