Kutner Lands Top Spot at Federation

After a nationwide search to replace Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta CEO Eric Robbins, native Atlantan Renee Kutner, the current COO, has secured the top job, making her the first female to hold that lead executive role in the Federation’s history.

Kutner said, “I am grateful that we had a very dedicated and very considerate search committee and consultant.  They made the process as seamless as possible so that I could continue to focus on my role as COO throughout the several months of the search without things ever being too challenging or awkward.”

Although various media posted headlines about breaking the “gender glass ceiling,” Kutner doesn’t give credence to the thought that the role is gender specific.

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She stated, “I’m certainly not the first female leader of Federation, as we’ve been blessed with a number of amazing female board chairs who have helped steer our community to where it is today. My life experience is deeply rooted in Jewish engagement, education and values, and that is what matters to the job – not my gender.”

As the daughter of an Israeli, and the mother of a soon-to-be Israeli soldier, she is deeply connected to Israel. Seizing this moment in the Jewish world, she finds even more importance in her work at Federation.

She also sees Atlanta through the lens of a city with significant growth potential and still in growth mode, which creates a tableau of opportunity. She remarked, “We are blessed with a community that cares about philanthropy; but we have a significant amount of untapped potential. With Atlanta also being a ‘transplant’ city, many people still need to develop the connections to the community before they will begin their Jewish-giving journey here, and we need to enable those connections.”

Utilizing her three years as the Federation’s COO, Kutner has the bird’s eye view to contrast both that position and the future CEO role which she will assume on Dec. 1. As the former, she focused on strategic direction, leadership development, community planning and impact, internal operations and governance. As CEO, she will focus less on internal dynamics and continue to exercise more of her skills around vision, strategy and philanthropic development.

Currently, the Federation’s team consists of approximately 60 people. She believes that 2025 opportunities lay in philanthropic development, increased Jewish engagement, new education programs, and opportunities to build community through real estate.

She noted, “As well as a lot of basic needs, we must respond to our current environment of increasing antisemitism, rising security costs, and greater needs for care. The biggest focus for 2025 will be actually creating focus within all of these opportunities so that we can continue to have maximum impact in a sustainable way.”

Kutner attended Hebrew Academy from pre-K through eighth grade, attended ninth grade at Yeshiva Atlanta, and graduated from Chamblee High School. She was active at Ahavath Achim Synagogue, and its USY where she served as President for Hanegev Region. She attended Camp Ramah in New England for seven summers. She graduated from the University of Michigan (active in Hillel), and later earned a master’s in business administration at UCLA.

As a member of the Toco Hills community, Kutner loves to entertain on Shabbat, for which she spends a good amount of time cooking. She also likes reading on Shabbat and getting out for early morning runs. Kutner credits her parents, Clara and Dr. Mark Safra, an ophthalmologist who was one of the most popular mohels in the 1980s), for instilling her Jewish values.

As an inspiration to younger generations, Kutner concluded, “When I was 21, I definitely saw myself more in the traditional corporate world by day, impacting the Jewish world on the side. I’m glad that my path at Federation has enabled me to merge the two so that I can feel incredibly fulfilled in my career while also driving impact in the things I’m most passionate about full-time. I hope more young people will start to recognize this as a viable path – we need more great talent in the field!”