Gideon Maltz

Jewish Values

“Tikkun olam – ‘repairing the world’ – is at the heart of Tent’s work. At a time when refugees are fleeing conflict and persecution in historically high numbers, I’m privileged to be leading Tent’s work in helping hundreds of thousands of refugees find decent work, stand on their own two feet again, and flourish in their new lives.”

Global Impact

The global refugee crisis is at an all-time high, with more than 43 million refugees fleeing their home countries due to persecution, conflict, violence, and more. As refugees resettle in new countries, they critically need decent employment – to restart their lives, to put down roots, to provide for themselves and their families. However, refugees everywhere struggle to find decent employment, despite the skills and qualifications they bring – encountering common barriers such as lack of local language proficiency, transportation gaps, confusion around local labor market norms, and an absence of social and professional networks.

And yet, this all plays out in a range of high- and middle-income countries that have declining birth rates, aging populations, and severe labor shortages in key sectors. In the United States for example, there are around 8 million job openings; in Germany, 1.7 million unfilled positions; and in Mexico, 75% of employers say they are struggling to find workers.

Tent’s work under Gideon’s leadership as CEO is to mobilize the world’s largest employers to harness their growing demand for talent to hire refugees at every skill level into their workforces. This laser-focused mission is based on the understanding that not only is a job the most important milestone for a refugee to restart their life in a new community, but also that integrating refugees into labor markets at scale is the surest way to lay the groundwork for countries to welcome more refugees. To date, Tent member companies have pledged to help hundreds of thousands of refugees enter the labor market across the Americas and Europe including over 240,000 refugees through employment and over 180,800 refugees through job preparation.

In galvanizing the international business community and growing its network to over 400 of the biggest employers and counting – such as Amazon, Marriott International, McDonald’s, and Pfizer – Tent has created a global movement where companies around the world have not only stepped up to engage with the refugee crisis, but sustainably and at scale. In 2024, Tent was named to the TIME100 Most Influential Companies list – making it one of the smallest ever and first-ever refugee-focused organization to earn this honor. It’s just one reflection of how, under Gideon’s leadership, Tent has created a unique and leading model that is compelling, effective, impactful, and scalable.

A native of South Africa, Gideon came to the United States in 1996, earning a Bachelor of Arts from Yale University and a Juris Doctor from Stanford University Law School. Prior to Tent, he served in the Obama Administration and also briefly left Tent to serve in the Biden Administration. He also worked at Hogan Lovells and McKinsey. Gideon has published widely on refugees, human rights, and business, including in CNN, Politico, Fortune, Quartz, Business Insider, Euractiv, Americas’ Quarterly, Current History, and the Journal of Democracy.