When Daniel Ruth first accepted the position of CEO at the Jewish Home of San Francisco (I.e., the San Francisco Campus for Jewish Living, as per his habit, he took initiative and met in person with all current and former Board trustees, as well as many high-profile donors in the community.
These meetings shined light on a 40-year old dream from many board members to build a Jewish-sponsored senior living community in the south peninsula of San Francisco.
Leveraging documentation of this intention dating back to the 1970’s, and a $3M donation from the Jewish Home, Daniel became a main leader of this initiative and personally took on the responsibility of bringing the vision to life.
Known as the Taube-Koret Campus for Jewish Life (TKCJL), the project included two primary tenants: the Oshman Family Jewish Community Center, and the Moldaw Residences, which was the senior living component and Daniel’s largest involvement.
In addition to his full time position as CEO at the Jewish Home of San Francisco, Daniel drove down the peninsula three to four times a week to meet with the partners of the project to bring the senior living project to reality.
His involvement went far beyond high-level strategies. In collaboration with the Steinberg Architects group, and the executive/Board leadership of the Oshman Jewish Community Center, Daniel ensured that the campus be maximized with industry-leading, research-based features and benefits. He contributed down to the minute details of lighting, colors, fabrics and the ergonomics of constructed spaces. The innovative qualities they designed into Moldaw were later recognized for their value winning many design awards, and went on to influence the design of the Frank Residences.
The launch of TKCJL, however, was faced with challenges carrying the gravity and potential to foil the entire project. A full fledged economic depression coincided with the launch timeline, and resulted in 50% of pre-sales backing out. At a time when financial support was most needed, the banks threatened to back out.
Daniel flew to meet with bank leaders in Chicago frequently while also leveraging his personal involvement in the local Jewish community to ultimately get sales back on track. Daniel obtained a renewal of the bank’s commitment and the community soon after sold out.
Daniel’s ability to handle seemingly impossible negotiations stood out in other projects during his time as CEO of SFCJL. Leveraging political dynamics, he was able to sway a change of minds from both federal and state governments on separate existential issues with both having the potential to shut down the entire institution.
“I don’t get afraid or crumble under pressure. I’ll fight for my client’s interests and negotiate positive outcomes, no matter the situation.”
Under Daniel’s direction, Moldaw launched and was a resounding success. The campus enjoyed 95 to 98% occupancy prior to the pandemic, when the industry standard was below 90%, all with extremely high customer satisfaction ratings.
