Born in 1935 in Havana, Cuba, to Polish immigrants, Mr. Feldenkreis began his import company in Miami selling Japanese automobile and motorcycle parts. This led him to form his first company, Carfel, Inc., which put him in on the ground floor of the Japanese-made auto parts industry long before Toyota and Honda became household words in the United States.

In the late 1960s, he and his brother Isaac started Supreme International, importing guayabera shirts—the pleated, four-pocket shirts favored by Hispanic men—and earning him the nickname, “Guayabera King.” In 1980 his son, Oscar, joined Supreme International and pushed his father to expand the company's scope beyond private-label distribution. The two have aggressively grown the company over the past decade. Their biggest acquisition came in 1999 with the purchase of the rights to the Perry Ellis trademark.

Today, Supreme International is one division of the publicly traded Perry Ellis International. “We have grown from a small private label manufacturer of the Latin Guayabera shirt to the highest levels of fashion, swimwear and active wear,” he states. The company features a stable of leading brands including Perry Ellis, Perry Ellis America, Nike swimwear, Tommy Hilfiger ladies swimwear, and PING collection. Recent acquisitions include such major brands as Munsingwear, John Henry, Manhattan, and Jantzen swimwear.

For his entrepreneurial savvy and business successes, Mr. Feldenkreis was awarded Business Man of the Year in 1998 by Ernst & Young. And according to Forbes magazine, Perry Ellis International ranks among the 200 best small companies in America.

While it is his accomplishments as a businessman that have brought him public recognition, his biggest achievement has been as a dedicated husband, father, grandfather, friend and community leader. He supports numerous organizations, including the Jewish Federation; he received the Lincoln-Marti award for his role in the Cuban Refugee Program; and he has been honored with the David Ben-Gurion Award, sponsored by the State of Israel and Temple Beth El.

A member of the University of Miami’s Board of Trustees since 1997, he has supported such efforts as Project: New Born, Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, and scholarships for student-athletes. 

In 2001, he established the George Feldenkreis Endowment Fund, which created the George Feldenkreis Distinguished Scholar, a permanent professorship in the Sue and Leonard Miller Center for Contemporary Judaic Studies. The first Feldenkreis Distinguished Scholar will be Professor Yaffa Eliach, a pioneering scholar in Holocaust studies who will teach at the University of Miami during the spring 2004 semester.

Established in 1998, the Sue and Leonard Miller Center for Contemporary Judaic Studies is the only university-located academic and research center in the United States to focus primarily on twentieth and twenty-first century Jewish studies as well as trends affecting the future of the Jewish people. Through its academic and research activities, the Miller Center provides an objective, in-depth exploration of the issues which have affected the Jewish people over the last one hundred years. It also aims to provide a relevant interdisciplinary educational experience to students of all faiths and the South Florida community.

“George is certainly among a handful of top leaders in fostering and leading a community among the Cuban Jews who came to Miami after Castro came to power,” says Maxine Schwartz, Director of Development and Outreach for the Miller Center. “He has one of the most prodigious memories I have ever encountered. When he tells stories about his life in Cuba, he not only remembers everyone's first and last name, he remembers their exact address!”

Mr. Feldenkreis’s support of the Miller Center strengthens its position as a leading center for the study of modern Jewish society and culture, ensuring that the momentous events of twentieth century Jewish experience are not forgotten.

- D'Ann Tollett