Ezra S. Ashkenazi was born in Brooklyn, NY, attended Magen David Yeshivah and Monmouth College. He then began to work at SDI Tech, which was founded in 1956 by his family. Ezra currently serves as the company’s CEO.

In addition to sitting on the board of trustees of Hillel Yeshiva, Ezra founded and co-founded many community institutions including The Council for Rescue of Syrian Jews (CRJS), Sephardic Rabbinical College (SRC), Allegra Franco Women’s Bet Midrash and Teaching Fellowship, Morris I. Franco Cancer Center, Propel Network & Yeshivat Moreshet Yerushalayim. In 2009 Ezra was on the first executive committee of the Sephardic Community Alliance (SCA) and in 2017 joined SCA’s board of trustees, a position he holds until today.

A philanthropist and motivational speaker, Ezra’s hobbies include reading books about leadership, innovating products and playing backgammon. Ezra ran four consecutive New York City Marathons, swims a mile daily and loves a good bike ride. He and wife Sharyn have five children and multiple grandkids.