Jack F. Adler Jr., a Philadelphia business executive and longtime civic and Jewish nonprofit leader whose work shaped health care, education and the arts in the region, died on Jan. 12 in Margate City, New Jersey. He was 86.
Adler spent decades guiding major Philadelphia institutions, particularly in health care. He served as board chairman for the Einstein Health Care Network, a trustee of Jefferson Health System and a director of Moss Rehabilitation Hospital in the 1990s, before it merged into Einstein Health Care Network.
Barry Freedman, a former CEO of Einstein Healthcare Network who was recruited by Adler and the board to lead the system in 2003, said Adler was known for his leadership and commitment to the institution.
“He was respected and thoughtful, and he listened carefully to people across the organization,” Freedman said. “He was open-minded and communicative, and he took his responsibilities seriously.”
Freedman said Adler played a central role in major decisions facing the health system, including periods of financial strain and long-term planning for growth.
Adler was also deeply involved in Jewish communal leadership. In 1969, at age 30, he received the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia’s Young Leadership Award and later served as a Federation trustee and a member of its president’s advisory council.
His son, Jonathan Adler, said his father’s Jewish identity was shaped less by religious observance than by a sense of responsibility to the community.
“What was central to my dad’s upbringing as a Jew was the importance of supporting Jewish institutions and giving back to the community,” he said. “It wasn’t the religious part. It was the community part.”
Adler was married to Adelaide Beacham, his second wife, for just over 40 years. They lived in the Society Hill neighborhood and later in Margate.
His business career included a wide range of ventures in the Philadelphia area. Through J.A.D. Enterprises, he was involved in businesses that included Ace Lumber & Millwork Co., New Jersey Wood Treating Corporation, Eden Restaurant and Nan Duskin, a fine clothing boutique, among others. He was also active in commercial real estate.
His son said Adler was drawn to the challenge of building and sustaining enterprises rather than to any single industry.
Steve Poses, a friend and former business partner, said Adler combined business skill with mentorship. Their relationship began through a restaurant venture and evolved into a lasting friendship.
“He was supportive and nurturing,” Poses said. “He pointed me in the right direction.”
Poses said Adler encouraged him to join the Young Presidents Organization¸ a global leadership network for chief executives and business founders. Adler remained a consistent presence in Poses’ life after their business partnership ended.
“He was persistent in business and persistent in maintaining friendships,” Poses said.
In nonprofit settings, Poses said Adler preferred collaboration over confrontation.
“Not flashy,” he said. “Calm. Very smart. He worked to form consensus.”
Born in Philadelphia on July 20, 1939, Adler was the son of Jack F. Adler and his wife Jean. He attended Cheltenham High School, graduating in 1957, where he was a nationally ranked swimmer.
“He was very disciplined, very organized and very competitive,” Jonathan Adler said. Because of a change in the stroke definition, he missed the opportunity to qualify for the Olympics in the butterfly competition.
Adler continued swimming at Yale University, graduating magna cum laude in 1961, and earned an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1964. After completing his education, he returned to Philadelphia.
His civic work extended beyond health care. Adler was a founder and president of The Philadelphia School, an independent, progressive school in Center City. He also served as treasurer and a director of the Philadelphia College of the Performing Arts and became a director of the Byerschool Foundation, a Philadelphia nonprofit that supports the Russell Byers Charter School in Center City.
Jonathan Adler said his father’s role in founding The Philadelphia School reflected a desire among families committed to city life to expand educational options.
“He and a group of friends were committed to Philadelphia but concerned about the limited choices available,” he said. “They wanted to create an option that was not a public school and not a parochial school.”
Adler later served as chair of the Philadelphia Film Society. “It is not an understatement to say that it is incredibly unlikely that PFS would be in the position it is today without Jack’s leadership and advocacy,” wrote Andrew Greenblatt, CEO and executive director of the Philadelphia Film Society.
Freedman said Adler’s commitment to health care reflected both family history and the Jewish roots of the institutions.
“I think it was generational,” Freedman said. “He believed these institutions mattered to the Jewish community and to Philadelphia.”
During Freedman’s early years as CEO, Adler was closely involved in stabilizing the system financially and developing plans for growth. Freedman highlighted Adler’s role in the relocation and expansion of Moss Rehabilitation Institute.
“When we looked at what needed to be done for Moss — to relocate it, expand it and upgrade it — Jack was enthusiastic and fully engaged,” Freedman said. “He was instrumental in acquiring a facility in Elkins Park and relocating Moss there.”
In later years, Adler continued to follow the institutions he had helped guide and remained in regular contact with colleagues and friends. Freedman said Adler’s influence was reflected not only in policies and buildings, but in the people he mentored and supported.
“He was deeply involved in the most difficult decisions the system faced,” Freedman said.
Jonathan Adler said his father believed leadership meant taking responsibility for the community around him.
“There are institutions in Philadelphia that are what they are in part because of him,” he said. “I think that’s what mattered most to him — knowing he had helped strengthen the community.”
Ellen Braunstein is a freelance writer.