CEDRIC GEFFEN
Director
Cedric was born in South Africa and at the age of 14 made Aliya with his parents. He completed his high schooling in Tel Aviv, followed by 3 years’ national service in the IDF as a Paramedic Instructor and completed a BSc Ag at the Faculty of Agriculture in Rehovot. With a family history of pioneering kibbutzniks and his ideological upbringing strongly rooted in collective socialism, social justice and the connection to the land, Cedric was amongst a group of the founding members of a young kibbutz in the Galilee, Tuval, where he met his wife Ruth and raised their first child, Liron.
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The family then moved back to South Africa where Cedric completed his MBA; returning to Israel four years later building their home on the Communal Settlement, Manof, also in the Galilee where the two younger daughters, Ma’ayan and No’am were added to the family mix.
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In 2002 (in the midst of the 2nd Intifada) the family moved to New Zealand where Cedric established March of the Living New Zealand with the encouragement and support of colleagues in Australia. Cedric’s deep-rooted commitment to the program continued when he relocated with his family (barring daughter Liron who returned to Israel serving as a lone soldier and subsequently bringing to the world Cedric’s pride and joy grandchildren, Yarden and Daniel) to Melbourne in 2009 and he has been involved in March of the Living Australia ever since filling various roles including President and de-facto voluntary part time CEO for the past 13 years whilst leading MOTL Australia delegations on the program 9 times.
Throughout his active engagement with MOTL Cedric has held senior executive roles with various Ag-Tech companies, many of them Israeli and he currently resides in Mildura, Victoria.
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Cedric will be stepping off the board in November 2024 after almost 18 years of service to the organisation.