Elisha Wiesel

{{Infobox person

| name = Elisha Wiesel

| image =

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| birth_name = Shlomo Elisha Wiesel

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1972|06|06}}

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| employer = ClearAlpha Technologies and its first fund -- Niche Plus

| known_for =

former chief information officer of Goldman Sachs
co-runs the Niche Plus multi-manager hedge fund, the first fund of ClearAlpha Technologies, where he is a founding partner and the chief risk officer
social activist and philanthropist

| title = Chairman

| term =

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| boards =entrio; FactSet; Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity

| spouse = Lynn Bartner-Wiesel

| children = 2

|father = Elie Wiesel

|mother = Marion Erster Rose Wiesel

| alma mater =Yale University (B.S., Computer Science, 1994)

}}

Shlomo Elisha Wiesel (born June 6, 1972) is an American businessman, hedge fund manager, social activist, and philanthropist. He is the only child of Holocaust survivor, author, professor, and Nobel Peace Prize recipient Elie Wiesel. He worked for Goldman Sachs for 25 years, serving as its chief information officer for three years, until 2019. He currently co-runs the Niche Plus multi-manager hedge fund, the first fund of ClearAlpha Technologies, where he is a founding partner and the chief risk officer. He is also the chairman of Israeli fintech start-up vendor management firm entrio, and on the board of directors of American financial data and software company FactSet. In addition, he is the chairman of the board of the Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity, which he is seeking to "reboot."

Early and personal life

Shlomo Elisha Wiesel was born in 1972.{{cite news|last1=Popper|first1=Nathaniel|title=Goldman Sachs Names Elisha Wiesel Chief Information Officer|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/09/business/dealbook/goldman-sachs-elisha-wiesel-chief-information-officer.html?_r=0|access-date=April 18, 2017|work=The New York Times|date=January 9, 2017}}{{Cite web|url=https://jewishinsider.com/2020/09/elisha-wiesels-next-chapter/|title=Elisha Wiesel turns to the next chapter in his career|author=Melissa Weiss|date=September 2, 2020|website=Jewish Insider}}File:Elie Wiesel and wife Marion 2012 Shankbone.JPG and Marion Wiesel, parents of Elisha Wiesel (2012)]]

His father, Elie Wiesel, was a Holocaust survivor, author, professor, activist, and Nobel Peace Prize recipient of Hungarian Jewish and Romanian Jewish descent, whose hometown was Sighet, Romania.{{cite news|last1=Crowe|first1=Portia|title=Goldman Sachs just named a new head of its giant tech division|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/goldman-names-elisha-wiesel-chief-information-officer-2017-1|access-date=April 18, 2017|work=Business Insider|date=January 9, 2017}}{{cite web |last=Lewak |first=Doree |date=January 25, 2020 |title=Elie Wiesel's son recalls dad, 75 years after Auschwitz liberation |url=https://nypost.com/2020/01/25/elie-wiesels-son-opens-up-about-growing-up-with-world-famous-holocaust-survivor/ |access-date=March 8, 2020 |work=The New York Post}} Elisha's paternal grandmother and his father's younger sister were killed in the gas chambers in the Auschwitz concentration camp.

Elisha's mother, Marion Wiesel, was a Holocaust survivor born in Vienna, Austria, of Austrian Jewish descent, who came to the United States shortly after World War II with her family, with the help of HIAS, then known as the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society.{{cite web |author=Shawn Macomber |date=April 4, 2018 |title=People of the Mosh: Elie Wiesel's Son Elisha On Metal Misfits, Hardcore Matinees & Forging Identity in the Punk Underground |url=https://www.decibelmagazine.com/2018/04/04/people-of-the-mosh-elie-wiesels-son-elisha-on-metal-misfits-hardcore-matinees-forging-identity-in-the-punk-underground/ |access-date=March 8, 2020 |work=Decibel Magazine}}

File:A convention of victims who survived the Holocaust in the Bergen Belzen concentration camp was held at the diaspora museum Beit Hatfutzot (FL45830233).jpg concentration camp Holocaust survivors]]

He was raised on the Upper West Side and Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City, attending Modern Orthodox yeshiva Ramaz on the Upper East Side, and suburban New Jersey.{{cite news|author=Joseph Berger |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/10/15/world/man-in-the-news-witness-to-evil-eliezer-weisel.html |title=Man In The News; Witness To Evil: Eliezer Weisel |work=The New York Times |date= October 15, 1986|access-date=March 8, 2020}}

Wiesel then attended Yale University, graduating with a B.S. in computer science in 1994. After graduating from Yale, he spent a few months doing basic military training in Israel.

Wiesel and his wife Lynn Bartner-Wiesel have two children.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/12/world/europe/elie-wiesels-only-son-steps-up-to-his-fathers-legacy.html|title=Elie Wiesel's Only Son Steps Up to His Father's Legacy|last=Lyman|first=Rick|date=May 12, 2017|work=The New York Times|access-date=May 12, 2017}}

Career

=Goldman Sachs=

Wiesel joined the J. Aron commodities division of Goldman Sachs in 1994, after the head of J. Aron strats (the code-writers whose computer models and algorithms power the firm's trading desks) convinced him to give up his initial preference of working in the video game industry.Liz Hoffman (January 10, 2017). [https://www.fnlondon.com/articles/goldman-sachs-names-new-tech-chief-20170110 "Goldman Sachs names new tech chief,"] Financial News.{{cite web|url=https://www.goldmansachs.com/careers/blog/posts/conversation-with-elisha-wiesel.html |title=Careers Blog - In Conversation with Elisha Wiesel, Chief Information Officer |publisher=Goldman Sachs |date=November 19, 2018 |access-date=March 8, 2020}}{{cite web|url=https://www.institutionalinvestor.com/article/b1505ppktbk55s/the-2017-tech-40-elisha-wiesel |title=The 2017 Tech 40: Elisha Wiesel |work=Institutional Investor |date=July 27, 2017 |access-date=March 8, 2020}} At the time, technology was in its earliest days in banking.Laura Noonan (September 4, 2019). [https://www.ft.com/content/c70f1082-cf72-11e9-b018-ca4456540ea6 "Goldman Sachs braced for more top-level changes,"] The Financial Times. At Goldman he worked for Lloyd Blankfein and Gary Cohn, who ended up leading the firm.{{cite web |author=Amanda L Gordon |date=September 12, 2019 |title=Goldman's Wiesel Exits as Bank Turns to Amazon for Tech Leader |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-09-12/goldman-s-wiesel-exits-as-bank-turns-to-amazon-for-tech-leader |access-date=March 8, 2020 |publisher=Bloomberg}}

He became a managing director in 2002, and a partner in 2004.{{cite news|last1=Samson|first1=Adam|title=Elisha Wiesel tapped to become Goldman's tech chief|url=https://www.ft.com/content/955eff9d-ad38-3e6a-a81f-41ca9b2d2c55|access-date=April 18, 2017|work=Financial Times|date=January 9, 2017}}{{cite news|last1=Oran|first1=Olivia|title=Goldman names Elisha Wiesel as new chief information officer|url=http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-goldman-sachs-wiesel-idUKKBN14T27P|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170109200747/http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-goldman-sachs-wiesel-idUKKBN14T27P|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 9, 2017|access-date=April 18, 2017|work=Reuters|date=January 9, 2017}} Wiesel later served as the chief risk officer of its securities division (which houses Goldman's technology-intensive trading business), and global head of its securities division desk strategists.Liz Hoffman (January 10, 2017). [https://www.wsj.com/articles/goldman-sachs-names-new-tech-guru-1483999113 "Goldman Sachs Names New Tech Guru,"] The Wall Street Journal.

In January 2017, when Wiesel was 44 years old, he succeeded R. Martin Chavez as Goldman's chief information officer, overseeing Engineering (the firm's Technology Division and global strategists groups).{{cite web|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-01-09/goldman-sachs-names-elisha-wiesel-as-chief-information-officer |title=Goldman Promotes Elisha Wiesel to Chief Information Officer |author=Dakin Campbell|publisher=Bloomberg |date=January 9, 2017 |access-date=March 8, 2020}} Wiesel became the highest-ranked of 9,000 Goldman engineers, who accounted for 25% of the firm's total employees. In July 2017, Institutional Investor named him # 10 in the "2017 Tech 40."

=Board memberships=

In December 2019 Wiesel left Goldman Sachs after a 25-year career at the firm.

He volunteered on Michael Bloomberg's presidential campaign and also began an archive of his father's writings.

In November 2020 Wiesel joined Israeli Tel Aviv-based fintech start-up vendor management firm entrio (formerly, The Floor), as chairman of its board of directors.{{Cite web|url=https://finder.startupnationcentral.org:443/company_page/the-floor1|title=Entrio|website=Startup Nation Central}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/son-of-elie-wiesel-former-banking-exec-to-chair-israeli-fintech-firm-649977|title=Son of Elie Wiesel, former banking exec to chair Israeli fintech firm|website=The Jerusalem Post|date=November 23, 2020 }}{{Cite web|url=https://www.finextra.com/newsarticle/37000/former-goldman-cio-elisha-wiesel-joins-the-floor|title=Former Goldman CIO Elisha Wiesel joins The Floor|date=November 23, 2020|website=Finextra Research}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-fintec-thefloor-idUKKBN28315G|title=Former Goldman CIO Elisha Wiesel joins fintech startup The Floor|first=Anna|last=Irrera|date=November 23, 2020|work=Reuters}}

In March 2023, financial digital platform and enterprise solutions provider FactSet appointed Wiesel to its board of directors.{{Cite web|url=https://finance.yahoo.com/news/factset-appoints-elisha-wiesel-board-123000072.html|title=FactSet Appoints Elisha Wiesel to Board of Directors|date=March 24, 2023|website=Yahoo Finance}} The company as of 2025 had 37 offices in 20 countries, and 216,000 users.[https://www.factset.com/our-company?_gl=1*lne88l*_gcl_au*NDQwODk2MDM0LjE3NDE0NTE2NTA.*_ga*MTU3MzQ5NzU5NC4xNzQxNDUxNjUw*_ga_2Q3PTT96M8*MTc0MTQ1MTY1MC4xLjAuMTc0MTQ1MTY1MS4wLjAuMA.. "About FactSet,"] FactSet.

=Niche Plus hedge fund=

In May 2023, Wiesel and quantitative investment firm AQR Capital Management alumnus Brian Hurst launched and began co-running the Niche Plus multimanager hedge fund, the first fund of ClearAlpha Technologies, where he is a founding partner and CRO.Matthew Dietz (October 3, 2023). [https://www.wlwt.com/article/holocaust-survivor-elie-wiesel-cincinnatis-union-terminal/45429604 "Son of Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel to speak at Cincinnati's Union Terminal,"] WLWT5.{{Cite web|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-06-01/goldman-aqr-alumni-start-niche-multistrat-with-asness-backing|title=Goldman, AQR Alumni Start Niche Hedge Fund With Backing From Cliff Asness|date=June 1, 2023|publisher=Bloomberg|author=Amanda L Gordon}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.hedgeweek.com/2023/06/02/320790/aqr-founder-backs-new-niche-hedge-fund|title=AQR founder backs new niche hedge fund|work=Hedge Week|date=June 2, 2023}} The firm launched with commitments of several hundred million dollars from AQR founder Cliff Asness, Stable Asset Management, and other institutional investors. The fund is focusing on niche strategies, including temperature arbitrage. It will have 13 teams, running 20 different strategies. The fund said it expected to collect $1 billion within a year.

Philanthropy

Wiesel organized fundraisers and has served as a board member for Good Shepherd Services, a Brooklyn-based after-school program charity that provides support for at-risk youths and their families, at Goldman beginning in 2013.Bill Brownstein (May 10, 2022). [https://www.montrealgazette.com/opinion/columnists/article36199.html "Elisha Wiesel keeps his father’s humanitarian legacy alive ,"] The Montreal Gazette.{{cite news|last1=Robbins|first1=Liz|title=One Long Night in Puzzle City|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/13/nyregion/one-long-night-in-puzzle-city.html|access-date=April 19, 2017|work=The New York Times|date=October 11, 2013}}

Wiesel is the Chairman of the Board of the Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity, which he is seeking to "reboot."Katherine Rosman (April 17, 2024). [https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/17/nyregion/uyghurs-elisha-wiesel-conference.html "A New York Conference Focuses on the Crisis of the Uyghurs; Elisha Wiesel, son of the writer Elie Wiesel, says the group’s plight has echoes of the Holocaust,"] The New York Times.[https://eliewieselfoundation.org/about-elisha-wiesel/ "Elisha Wiesel,"] Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity. In February 2024, he announced that the University of South Florida St. Petersburg and the Florida Holocaust Museum would house his father's papers and artifacts.Bill DeYoung (February 7, 2024). [https://stpetecatalyst.com/usfsp-holocaust-museum-to-house-elie-wiesel-archive/ "USFSP, Holocaust Museum to house Elie Wiesel archive,"] St. Pete Catalyst.

Political activity

=LGBT discrimination; Syrian refugees =

In various speeches at venues such as the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and the Museum of Jewish Heritage Wiesel has spoken in support of Syrian refugees and against the persecution of LGBT communities in Muslim countries.Elisha Wiesel (April 25, 2017). [https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4953526,00.html "My father was a witness, and now I will be a witness (op-ed),"] Ynet. In January 2017, he suggested that protesting against Executive Order 13769 ("Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States") was part of his father's legacy.{{cite news|last1=Gordon|first1=Amanda L.|title=Elisha Wiesel Reflects on Immigrant Ban and Father's Legacy|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-01-30/elisha-wiesel-reflects-on-immigrant-ban-and-father-s-legacy|access-date=April 19, 2017|work=Bloomberg|date=January 30, 2017}}

=Jewish–Black relations=

In December 2022, Wiesel attended the 15 Days of Light event hosted by New York City Mayor Eric Adams, Rev. Al Sharpton, Vista Equity Partners CEO and Carnegie Hall Chairman Robert F. Smith, Baptist Minister Conrad Tillard, and World Values Network founder and CEO Rabbi Shmuley Boteach. The celebrated Hanukkah and Kwanzaa in a unifying holiday ceremony at Carnegie Hall.{{Cite web|url=http://amsterdamnews.com/news/2022/12/21/mayor-eric-adams-the-rev-al-sharpton-others-gather-for-joint-kwanzaa-hanukkah-celebration/|title=Mayor Eric Adams, Rev. Al Sharpton, others gather for joint Kwanzaa, Hanukkah celebration|first=AmNews Staff|last=Reports|date=December 21, 2022|website=New York Amsterdam News}}

=The Uyghurs=

In March 2023, Wiesel testified at a hearing on the treatment of Uyghurs before the U.S. House Select Committee on China.Karina Lipsman (March 24, 2023). [https://victimsofcommunism.org/voc-testifies-to-us-congress-on-beijings-genocide-in-xinjiang/ "VOC Testifies to US Congress on Beijing’s Genocide in Xinjiang,"] Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation. In April 2024, together with Uyghur leaders he launched a two-day conference in New York City, which included multifaith panels and Uyghur camp survivors discussing how teachings from the Holocaust can be applied to address the Uyghur crisis, China’s media censorship and propaganda, companies benefiting from forced Uyghur labor, and forced assimilation.Kylie Ora Lobell (May 6, 2024). [https://jewishjournal.com/community/371057/elisha-wiesel-and-the-elie-wiesel-foundation-host-disrupting-uyghur-genocide-conference/ "Elisha Wiesel and the Elie Wiesel Foundation Host Disrupting Uyghur Genocide Conference,"] Jewish Journal.

=Israel; antisemitism=

Wiesel was as of 2020 a board member of the progressive Zionist organization Zioness, founded by Amanda Berman.{{Cite web|url=https://zioness.org/staff-board-of-directors/|title=Staff & Board of Directors|website=Zioness Movement}}

Since November 2023, Wiesel has been a vocal defender of Israel in his capacity as chairman of the Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity. In a speech at the 92nd Street Y in Manhattan, he said that the IDF seeks to avoid civilian casualties.Alan Zeitlin (November 10, 2023). [https://jewishjournal.com/community/365123/elisha-wiesel-hatred-is-a-stain-that-is-hard-to-wash-out/ "Elisha Wiesel: ‘Hatred Is A Stain That is Hard To Wash Out’; In a speech commemorating Kristallnacht, The Night of Broken Glass, Wiesel told a crowd at 92NY in Manhattan how his father, Elie, inspired him, and that Israel must triumph over evil,"] Jewish Journal. He has said that the accusation that Israel was genocidal was blood libel, and that campus protests were "obviously antisemitic".[https://www.foxnews.com/video/6351169554112 "Anti-Israel protesters looking to create same fears against Jews as a century ago: Elisha Wiesel; Elie Wiesel Foundation Chairman Elisha Wiesel responds to the increase of anti-Israel protests across the U.S. and a House panel pressing Columbia University's president on anti-Israel demonstrations on campus,"] Fox News, April 18, 2024 (video).