October 7, 2022 – Cleveland Clinic will receive a gift of $30 million from the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Foundation that will have significant impact on leadership and innovation for years to come, as well as honor the legacy of Morton L. Mandel at the highest level of Cleveland Clinic leadership.
The gift will endow the position of Cleveland Clinic’s Chief Executive Officer and establish an endowed fund for innovation.
The Foundation announced that it will solely associate the name of Mort Mandel, who passed away in 2019 at the age of 98, on these new endowments – the Morton L. Mandel CEO Chair will be added to the title of the Cleveland Clinic CEO position. The innovation fund will be named the Morton L. Mandel Innovation Fund.
The inaugural holder of the endowed position is the current Cleveland Clinic CEO and President, Tom Mihaljevic, M.D.
Funds drawn annually from the Mandel Innovation Fund endowment will be available to the CEO to help develop innovative ideas that impact the communities served by Cleveland Clinic. Funds will help support the CEO’s vision and advance priorities important to that vision.
The Foundation’s generous gift recognizes Mr. Mandel’s interest in innovation and providing support to leaders to foster new ideas, and his belief that strong leaders who are lifelong learners drive organizational growth and societal change.
“This gift gives a tool to the CEO of Cleveland Clinic to be able to spark innovation. We think that’s a big part of leadership,” said Stephen H. Hoffman, Chairman of the Board of the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Foundation. “We’re giving the CEO the resources to put muscle behind his or her leadership in innovation, now and in the future.”
As part of his legacy, Mr. Mandel’s name will be associated with the CEO of Cleveland Clinic, which is consistently ranked a top hospital in U.S. News & World Report’s annual “America’s Best Hospitals” survey.
The gift also recognizes the friendships Mr. Mandel had with Dr. Mihaljevic and his predecessor, Toby Cosgrove, M.D.
Previous gifts from the Mandel Foundation during the leadership tenures of Dr. Mihaljevic and Dr. Cosgrove include funds directed to Cleveland Clinic’s urology department and a $23 million gift to the Global Leadership and Learning Institute, now named for Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel.