A Life's Mission Continues from a Different Chair

“Think about what we’re really giving future generations. We have to give them a world with lions and tigers and jaguars and leopards. We have to.”

Those are the words of a man I will always consider my brother, the late Dr. Alan Rabinowitz. They encapsulate perfectly what drove Alan, my wife Daphne and me to found Panthera some 15 years ago. Of course, many organizations doing admirable work to protect the planet and wildlife already existed, but wild cats needed a highly focused champion of their own. We saw ourselves ultimately taking on all of the challenges to all wild cat species — big and small. And together we agreed that there simply would be no excuses for failure. As Edward R. Murrow expressed so pointedly, and as indeed I cited in my first-ever Chairman’s Letter: “‘Difficulty’ is the one excuse that history refuses to accept.”

I have always endeavored to follow the guidance of Marcus Aurelius to not behave “as one that hath ten thousand years to live.” My business career, my human-focused philanthropy and advocacy and my efforts to bring, as Rodin put it, “the colossus of art” Rembrandt to build bridges to new global audiences: they all pale in comparison to the pride I feel about the mission and impact of the “niche” non-profit that I started with just my wife and my greatest friend by my side. From truly humble beginnings, Panthera, now a brand name, has become the premier conservation organization in the world protecting and advocating for wild cats — from the tiniest sand cats to the mightiest tigers. From the jagged crests of Chilean Patagonia to the lush jungles of Malaysian Borneo, Panthera’s running cat logo stands for scientific excellence, a brand of conservation led by and directly benefitting local and Indigenous people and, above all, a future for the world’s most iconic species.

As an Arabian leopard cannot change its spots, neither do my passions shift away from that which I truly love. All who know me appreciate that. In fact, as part of a conversation series for Bloomberg TV, David Rubenstein once asked me if I happened to have a greater passion than for Rembrandt — and I answered that I did: wildlife conservation. The easiest promise that I can make in my life is that I will continue to dedicate each and every day of the rest of my time on this planet to saving the 40 wild cat species from extinction.

I am so proud of the impact that Panthera has had for wild cats over the last 15 years. The organization has given me immense joy and defined my greatest purpose. It is thus with tremendous hope and unalloyed faith in what is to come that I announce my stepping down as the Chair of Panthera’s Board of Directors. I use the words hope and faith because, in my place, a singular force for cat conservation is rising. From our very first telephone call, in Jonathan Ayers I had quickly recognized a kindred spirit. As Alan and I used to say, one knows such people when one first encounters them. Our hearts beat on the same exact rhythm when we see a wild cat, and our excitement grows the more we speak about our mission to save them. Panthera could not have found a better shepherd for its next evolution.

As Heraclitus put it: “Character is destiny.” And Jon certainly possesses that rare character and personality that made him destined to assume this new role, along with an equally precious combination of passion, talent, vision, discipline and know-how. These attributes will take us into every landscape where wild cats need us, in order to deepen our knowledge, expand our programmatic reach and put Panthera’s name on the lips of every cat lover. Jon’s record of leading complex organizations to wild success is unimpeachable. He consistently saw around corners in the veterinary landscape, leading IDEXX to almost ten-fold revenue growth and overseeing a stock that has outperformed the blue-chip tech companies that dominate headlines. Jon is the embodiment of “ambition meets proficiency” — a mixture that he clearly saw mirrored in Panthera’s leaders and staff.

Our incoming Board Chair fully appreciates the monumental challenges facing cats as well as the fierce urgency needed to protect them. But he also knows that the dedication, ingenuity and skills of Panthera’s staff and partners can overcome those challenges with the necessary support. Jon proved his bona fides on the financial front earlier this year when he joined The Global Alliance for Wild Cats with a $20 million pledge in support of wild cats, with a focus on small cats. And, even prior to his official acceptance of these new responsibilities, he was providing invaluable guidance on how to improve the organizational infrastructure that supports the world’s most respected cat scientists and conservationists. Combined with the phenomenal leadership of Panthera’s President and CEO, Dr. Fred Launay, who has so beautifully stepped into Alan’s rather gigantic shoes, there truly is no limit to what Panthera can accomplish in the future.

I will remain on our Board of Directors and shall maintain my support of Panthera and the other conservation organizations near and dear to my heart — including Oxford University’s Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU), the Orianne Society and the Indian Ocean Tortoise Alliance (IOTA). With Jon’s arrival, I can now spend more time doing what I do best — namely, promoting Panthera far and wide. I will be supporting Jon’s leadership by recruiting others into our cause and working with Panthera’s Conservation Council — a body composed of more than 60 luminaries from the worlds of business, law enforcement, government, fashion, media, entertainment, tourism, the military and the arts — to preach wild cat conservation to their spheres of influence and beyond.
 

I will also take on a new role as the Chair of The Global Alliance for Wild Cats, a coalition of the world’s most ambitious wild cat philanthropists that I helped found in 2014, together with His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed of the United Arab Emirates and Hemendra Kothari of India. Its members, which now include the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Ayers Foundation, must pledge at least $20 million over ten years to wild cat conservation. The Global Alliance was formed because the conservation needs of wild cats are grand, urgent and complex; and thus because the survival of wild cats (and our planet) depends on champions stepping forward who can pledge transformational and sustaining support. As Chair of the Global Alliance, I am challenging my philanthropic peers — from Europe to China and Russia — to significantly step up their funding of environmental conservation, especially species conservation, which today receives a paltry percentage of global philanthropy. I tell them all that there is no greater psychic gratification than knowing that a species did not blink out because of what one did...and that the mysteries of space are no comparison whatsoever to the sheer euphoria elicited by the sight of a jaguar or a lion in the wild.

There are countless ecological benefits to protecting cats as apex predators and charismatic umbrella species whose safety guarantees the health of entire ecosystems. The “Apex Predator” strategy really does work. But I am a historian by training, not a scientist. And as a historian, I submit that no collection of creatures has enjoyed even a fraction of the cultural and spiritual impact that cats have had on Homo sapiens in our short history on this planet. Even today, as we evolved from cave paintings to NFTs and conquered nature so scrupulously that we now consider sojourns into wild habitats as recreation, wild cats still loom large in our cultures and imaginations. We have become thoroughly civilized, yet we still express our power and individuality with leopard print and still feel a shiver hearing a lion’s mighty roar — even if from our phone speakers.

My colleagues and I founded Panthera to ensure that our own species never forgets the awe and inspiration of the natural world so perfectly epitomized by cats. Assuredly, we have made an impact. But there is still so much more work to do. My optimism for the Felidae family, now that Jon has taken over the reins, is nevertheless unlimited. My congratulations go out to him. I have no doubt that he will find this journey the single most rewarding one of his life. As I leave this particular role, I also wish to thank every donor, partner, and colleague — especially my wife Daphne, all of my fellow members on the Board of Directors past and present and of the Global Alliance for Wild Cats, past and present staff of Panthera as well as the members of Panthera’s Conservation Council and Science Council — for everything we have accomplished in these last 15 years. Most of all, I want to thank Alan, whose memory and spirit still fuel my every action as I strive to be a voice for the wild. Though there is presently no shortage of bad news about our planet, hope will forever endure as long as spots, stripes and manes grace the Earth. May Panthera continue to serve as that most consequential guardian for wild cats.