Neal Jerry Simon, Maryland Senate Candidate

from Wikipedia

Neal Jerry Simon (born May 1, 1968) is a business executive and community leader in Potomac, Maryland.

Simon has led four businesses, and has served on the boards of several leading Maryland non-profits. He is the CEO of Bronfman Rothschild which manages $6.1 billion and has eleven offices in the Midwest and east coast. From 2006 to 2008, Simon was the chairman of the board of the Montgomery County Community Foundation[1] and in 2016 Simon was elected chairman of the board of the Greater Washington Community Foundation.[2] In April 2016, Simon and his family were recognized by Interfaith Works as Humanitarians of the Year.[3][4]

On February 6, 2018, Simon declared his candidacy to represent the state of Maryland in the U.S. Senate as an Independent.[5][6]

Early life and education
Simon was born in New York City, the middle child of Donald Simon and Sylvia Abitbol Simon. At a young age, his family moved to North Woodmere, New York, while his father worked in equipment leasing and his mother worked as a school teacher then a travel agent. In 1986, Simon graduated from George W. Hewlett High School, where he served as class president for three years. Donald Simon was from Brooklyn, NY and is the son of immigrants from Belarus. Simon’s mother, Sylvia Abitbol, was born in Casablanca, Morocco.

In 1986, Simon began his studies at Brown University. He also attended for the summer semester the Sorbonne (Universite de Paris). While at Brown University, Simon attended Tel Aviv University for the spring semester of his junior year, and he spent two summers working for Neuberger Berman in New York, NY. In 1990, he graduated from Brown University with a BA cum laude in Applied Mathematics and Economics. His senior thesis evaluated the impact on Palestinians of work in Israel. Between stints at William Kent International, Simon attended University of Chicago Graduate School of Business where in 1995 he received a Master of Business Administration high honors (top 5% of class). Upon graduation, in recognition largely for his starting and running the business school’s Public Service Fellowship program, Simon received the President’s Award for Student Volunteer Service.[citation needed]

While at University of Chicago, Simon attended Universidad Catolica in Santiago, Chile, for one trimester. During the summer of 1994, he worked for the World Bank in Washington, DC.

Career
Simon worked for William Kent International (WKI) from 1990 to 1993 and again from 1995 to 1999. WKI specialized in helping large US corporations build their businesses overseas. Simon’s clients included Alcoa, Rockwell, Kennametal, and Rubbermaid. During his time at WKI, he worked in over 30 countries and ultimately became the firm’s COO. Simon also served on the Board of the company’s joint venture in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

In 1999, Simon left WKI to become chairman and CEO of USLaw, a national network of small law firms. USLaw was financed with $15 million led by UBS Capital, and the website USLaw.com quickly became the leader for consumers and small businesses researching their legal issues. The company gained notoriety for its offering online chats with attorneys.[7][8] At its peak in 2000, the company employed 96. In November 2000, the company laid off 16 of its 96 people in a business restructuring. In late 2001, in the midst of the bursting of the tech bubble, USLaw was sold to Grand Central Holdings in New York City. In October 2000, Simon was recognized by Washington Business Forward as one of the top 40 business leaders under the age of 40 and in December 2000 he appeared on the cover of Money magazine.

After leaving USLaw in 2001, Simon joined the Meltzer Group as its president and COO. In 2002, Simon started a registered investment advisor which four years later became Highline Wealth Management. By 2015, the company managed $1.5 billion and was one of the fifty largest registered investment advisers in the country.[9]

On July 31, 2015, Highline was acquired by Bronfman Rothschild. As part of the transaction, the company moved its headquarters to Rockville, Maryland, and Simon was hired as chief executive officer. Simon’s new partners include Sir Evelyn Rothschild and Matthew Bronfman. The Washington Post estimated the acquisition price at $30 million.[10]

In 2015, Simon appeared on the cover of Charle Schwab’s Portraits of Independence, a collection of success stories in investment management.[11] In January 2016, along Matthew Bronfman, Simon appeared on the cover of Financial Advisor magazine.[12] In October 2017, Simon appeared on the cover of Financial Planning magazine, for an article featuring the company’s growth.[13]

In July 2016, Bronfman Rothschild was recognized by Financial Advisor Magazine as the second-fastest growing investment advisory in the country.[14]

In August 2017, Simon hired Michael LaMena as President and COO, creating a new position in the company's leadership team.[15]

2018 Campaign for U.S. Senate
On February 6, 2018, Simon declared his candidacy to represent the state of Maryland in the U.S. Senate.[16][17]

On February 27, 2018, Simon was formally endorsed by Unite America, a movement “to elect common-sense, independent candidates that represent the People not party bosses”.[18] Simon is joined in statewide elections by Governor Bill Walker (I-AK), Greg Orman, Terry Hayes, and Craig O’Dear.[19][20]

During the first quarter of 2018, Simon raised double the amount raised by incumbent Ben Cardin.[21][22]

In April and May 2018, Simon completed a “listening tour” of Maryland during which he is traveling to Baltimore City and all 23 of Maryland’s counties.[23]

On July 19, 2018, Simon submitted over 12,000 signatures to complete Maryland’s state requirement for Nomination by Petition, weeks ahead of the Aug. 6, 2018 deadline. This ensures Simon’s name will appear on the ballot as a candidate for Maryland’s U.S. Senate seat during the General Election on Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2018.[24] Among Simon’s signers is Governor Larry Hogan.[25]

In August 2018, Simon launched a campaign ad titled “Together” which ran on broadcast television in the Baltimore media market.[26][27]

One of Simon’s stated primary objectives is to bring the country together. “It’s toxic and it’s divisive and that divisiveness in Washington trickles into our society and it pits us against each other,” Simon said. “Men versus women, black versus white, rich versus poor, left versus right and we’re all tired of it. We’re starved for leadership that brings us together.”[28]

Political Positions
Neal Simon identifies himself as a "moderate independent"; he described his fiscal positions as being closer to that of the Republican platform and his social positions as closer to those of the Democratic platform.[29] He supports lower taxes and cutting the budget. He is pro-choice on the issue of abortion. He supports same-sex marriage. On his Senate campaign site he supports the DREAM Act and a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants and some gun control measures.[30] He also supports tighter border security and nationalizing the E-Verify program, which is believed to cut down on illegal immigration.[30]

Simon supports open primaries, which would allow independent voters to participate in Maryland’s primary elections, a system believed to result in more moderate representatives.[31]

Personal life
Simon is married to Jennifer Brown Simon. They live in Potomac, Maryland, and have three children.