Alex Von Furstenburg is a man who defies any conventional definitions of success in the corporate world. Although he is without a doubt one of the most astute financial brains in corporate America, it is his philanthropic work that has earned him a fair share of worldwide repute. He serves as the director and secretary of the charity founded by his parents: the Driller – von Furstenberg Family Foundation. This is in addition to a number of other philanthropic organizations in the world with interests as divergent as disease research to Holocaust awareness.
One of the more notable charity initiatives that Alex is renowned for is his contribution as a board member of the charity Friends of the High Line. This is a privately funded and not-for-profit organization that partners with the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. The fund is in particular interested in funding the High Line, a remarkable public park located in the West Side of Manhattan. The establishment of the park in 2009 was the culmination of a ten year campaign to have the iconic area spanning the historic freight line preserved and redeveloped for public enjoyment.
A further contribution to the wellbeing of public spaces in New York by Alex Von Furstenburg and his family charity is seen in their contribution to the care and protection of New York’s Central Park. Perhaps the most iconic monuments of the Big Apple, it is important that the public continues to enjoy the open space right in the middle of a hectic metropolis. There is perhaps no other place that residents and visitors alike can get to relax and get in touch with nature right in the middle of a bursting city life.
Alex Von Furstenburg also serves on the board of Aids Community Research Initiative of America (ACRIA). This is a community research project that was formed in 1991 when a group of doctors, community activists and people living with HIV/AIDS came together convinced that government funding for HIV research was too slow and insincere at best. Its foundation was pioneering in the sense that it was the first time that activism was evident in the area of drug research for HIV. Since its founding, it has been credited with bringing a measure of relief to countless AIDS patients.
It is hard to find someone who takes on their corporate business responsibilities as well as their cherished philanthropic endeavors with an equal measure of grace as Alex Von Furstenburg. His is a profile of astuteness in corporate management and charity work quite unlike another.