Aaron Feuerstein

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Aaron Feuerstein (born 1925) was the third-generation owner[1] and CEO of Malden Mills in Lawrence, Massachusetts.

When the Malden Mills factory burnt down on December 11, 1995, Feuerstein decided not only to use his insurance money to rebuild it, but to also pay the salaries of all the now-unemployed workers while it was being rebuilt. Feuerstein spent millions keeping all 3,000 employees on the payroll with full benefits for 3 months. By going against common CEO business practices, especially at a time when most companies were downsizing and moving overseas, he achieved a small degree of fame.

Feuerstein claimed that he couldn't have taken other course of action due to his study of the Talmud and the lessons he learnt there:

"I have a responsibility to the worker, both blue-collar and white-collar. I have an equal responsibility to the community. It would have been unconscionable to put 3000 people on the streets and deliver a deathblow to the cities of Lawrence and Methuen. Maybe on paper our company is worthless to Wall Street, but I can tell you it's worth more."

—(Parade Magazine, 1996)

While it would cost Aaron Feuerstein $25,000,000 to 'do the right thing' as well as the turmoil of a November 2001 filing for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, it appears that applied ethics in business has positive consequences as Malden Mills continues to garner lucrative Department of Defense (DOD) contracts for 'smart' products that interweave fiber optic cabling, electronic biosensors, and USB ports into polar fleece fabric. Malden Mills was awarded a $16 million dollar DOD contract in 2006[2].

Feuerstein is an alumnus of Camp Modin in Belgrade, Maine. and was the keynote speaker at the 75th annual reunion in 1997.