Gordy Zacks (1933-2014) was Chairman of the R.G. Barry Corporation, the world’s largest marketer and supplier of comfort footwear under the brand-names of Dearfoams, EZ-Feet, and Liz Clairborne. He became president of R.G. Barry in 1965 when it was a small family manufacturer, and he retired as CEO and president in 2004. He was also Chairman of the board of the Florence Melton Adult Mini-School, which is a world pioneer in the field of adult Jewish education, and is the largest pluralistic adult Jewish education network in the world.
Zacks was active as a volunteer in a wide variety of civic, philanthropic, and political leadership roles at the local, national, and international levels for nearly half a century. During that time, he worked closely with three American Presidents and almost all of Israel’s Prime Ministers. Gordy turned down an ambassadorship and a cabinet post so that he could be an informal advisor to first Vice President and later President George H.W. Bush on crucial policy matters, relating to Israeli-American relations, the Middle East Peace process, Soviet and Ethiopian Jewry, and more.