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Ronny Bruckner, also known as Yaron Bruckner (31 March 1957 – 4 August 2013), was a Belgian businessman.


Career

Bruckner started his career aged 20, as director of Zidav, a company specialising in establishing trading partnerships with Romania, Poland and the former Yugoslavia. In 1981, he founded the company that is now called Eastbridge, and became its CEO. Eastbridge is a private company with more than 40 working subsidiaries in Europe and the United States, employing more than 10,000 people. The company specialises in several areas, including property (the company notably acquired a 25% share in Immobel SA, a property developer listed on
Euronext Euronext N.V. (short for European New Exchange Technology) is a European bourse that provides trading and post-trade services for a range of financial instruments. Traded assets include regulated equities, exchange-traded funds (ETF), warrant ...
since September 2010), leisure, media, fashion and private educational firms. In March 2011, Bruckner was appointed a non-executive member of the board of directors of
Ageas Ageas is a Belgian multinational insurance company co-headquartered in Brussels. Ageas is Belgium's largest insurer and operates in 13 countries worldwide. The company was renamed from Fortis Holding in April 2010 and consists of those insuranc ...
for a period of three years, until the conclusion of the shareholders' annual general meeting in 2014. Bruckner's name was put forward by Cresida Investments, a shareholder with at least 1% of the capital. In 1994, with Eastbridge, Bruckner bought out
Empik Empik (stylised as empi̓k) is a Polish commercial chain selling books, international Print media, press and media products (including film, music, and software). The chain also owns a photo company, Empik Foto, as well as a foreign language schoo ...
(a national chain of specialised multimedia shops similar to FNAC), which as of May 2009 had 134 shops in
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
and 23 in
Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...
. From 2003 until his death in 2013, Bruckner, through a series of companies he controlled, built a portfolio of rental residential properties in the
Financial District A financial district is usually a central area in a city where financial services firms such as banks, insurance companies, and other related finance corporations have their headquarters offices. In major cities, financial districts often host ...
of
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
. His concept was to convert outmoded office buildings into luxury residential rental apartments. His holdings included several notable addresses including
63 Wall Street 63 Wall Street, originally the Wall and Hanover Building, is a 37-story skyscraper on Wall Street in the Financial District of Manhattan in New York City. Built in 1929, it was designed by Delano & Aldrich as the headquarters of Brown Brothers ...
, 67 Wall Street,
20 Exchange Place 20 Exchange Place, originally the City Bank–Farmers Trust Building, is a skyscraper in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan, New York City. Completed in 1931, it was designed by Cross & Cross as the headquarters of the City Bank–Farm ...
, and
70 Pine Street 70 Pine Street (formerly known as the 60 Wall Tower, Cities Service Building, and American International Building) is a 67-story, residential skyscraper in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S. Designed by ...
. He utilized a combination of equity and debt provided by US and European Banks. All of his NY debt financing was arranged by The Singer & Bassuk Organization LLC


Charity work


Poland for Europe

Between 1996 and 2000, Brucker founded and chaired the non-profit organisation ''Poland for Europe'' to promote Poland's membership of the European Union, through development and a better understanding of Polish art and culture in Europe. Patrons of Poland for Europe include: * Aleksander Kwasniewski as honorary chairman (President of Poland from 1995 to 2005) *
Jacques Delors Jacques Lucien Jean Delors (; 20 July 192527 December 2023) was a French politician who served as the eighth president of the European Commission from 1985 to 1995. Delors played a key role in the creation of the single market, the euro and th ...
(former president of the
European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...
) * Felipe Gonzalez (former prime minister of Spain) *
Wilfried Martens Wilfried Achiel Emma Martens (; 19 April 1936 – 9 October 2013) was a Belgian politician who served as prime minister of Belgium from 1979 to 1981 and from 1981 to 1992. A member of the Flemish Christian Democratic and Flemish, Christian People ...
(former prime minister of Belgium) * Mario Soares (former prime minister of
Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...
) *
Hans-Dietrich Genscher Hans-Dietrich Genscher (21 March 1927 – 31 March 2016) was a German statesman and a member of the liberal Free Democratic Party (FDP), who served as Federal Minister of the Interior from 1969 to 1974, and as Federal Minister for Foreign Affa ...
(former German foreign minister) * Stuart Eizenstat (former American ambassador to the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
) ''Poland for Europe'' was dissolved in 2000 when Poland officially became associated with the European Union.


PlaNet Finance

Bruckner had been the chairman of the board of trustees of PlaNet Finance since it was founded by
Jacques Attali Jacques José Mardoché Attali (; born 1 November 1943) is a French economic and social theorist, writer, political adviser and senior civil servant. A very prolific writer, Attali published 86 books in 54 years, between 1969 and 2023. Atta ...
in 1998. This international non-profit organisation aims to reduce poverty through the development of microfinance. Patrons of PlaNet Finance include: * Edouard Balladur (former prime minister of France) *
Muhammad Yunus Muhammad Yunus (born 28 June 1940) is a Bangladeshi economist, entrepreneur, and civil society leader who has been serving as the Chief Adviser of Bangladesh, Chief Adviser of the Interim government of Muhammad Yunus, interim Yunus ministry, g ...
(founder of the
Grameen Bank Grameen Bank () is a microfinance, specialized community development bank founded in Bangladesh. It provides small loans (known as microcredit or "grameencredit") to the impoverished without requiring collateral. Grameen Bank is a statutory ...
/ Grameen Group and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate) *
Boutros Boutros-Ghali Boutros Boutros-Ghali (14 November 1922 – 16 February 2016) was an Egyptian politician and diplomat who served as the sixth Secretary-General of the United Nations from 1992 to 1996. Prior to his appointment as secretary-general, Boutros-Gha ...
(former secretary general of the United Nations) *
Jacques Delors Jacques Lucien Jean Delors (; 20 July 192527 December 2023) was a French politician who served as the eighth president of the European Commission from 1985 to 1995. Delors played a key role in the creation of the single market, the euro and th ...
(former president of the European Commission) *
Shimon Peres Shimon Peres ( ; ; born Szymon Perski, ; 2 August 1923 – 28 September 2016) was an Israeli politician and statesman who served as the prime minister of Israel from 1984 to 1986 and from 1995 to 1996 and as the president of Israel from 2007 t ...
(President of the State of Israel and Nobel Peace Prize laureate in 1994) *
Michel Rocard Michel Rocard (; 23 August 1930 – 2 July 2016) was a French politician and a member of the Socialist Party (France), Socialist Party (PS). He served as Prime Minister of France, Prime Minister under François Mitterrand from 1988 to 199 ...
(former prime minister of France)


Arts

Bruckner was one of the Friends of Musica Mundi, an initiative set up to develop the talent of young musicians aged 10 to 18 through courses that allow them to meet other musicians who have already acquired a certain renown, and which holds an international chamber music festival. Bruckner was also a sponsor member of the Festival de Musique de Menton (in France), which was held for the 62nd time in 2011.Menton Music Festival
''Avignon et Provence'', 2011


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bruckner, Ronny 1957 births Businesspeople from Brussels Burials at the Jewish cemetery on the Mount of Olives 2013 deaths Belgian Jews