Where did you and your wife, Tobi, grow up? We met in junior high school and began dating while Tobi. They were Holocaust survivors who emigrated from Radom, Poland, in 1949, and settled in Wilmington, Delaware. My family had assimilated earlier. My father actually played football on the practice squad as a replacement player for the Philadelphia Eagles and was a high school coach in Wilmington. Tobi and I lived there until graduating from college. What made you move to New York? I graduated from Wilmington University with a degree in Accounting and Business Management. I also have a degree as a Chartered Certified Forensic Accountant from American University and have been involved in conducting criminal investigations and providing expert testimony in fraud cases. Tobi earned degrees in Special Education from West Liberty State College and the University of Delaware. We realized the opportunities would be greater in New York. My first job was at Gertz Department Stores in Jamaica, where I became an accounting manager. We bought a house in Bellmore where our kids attended Mepham H.S. Just what were some of the things you did as a management consultant? In 1994, I started my own consulting firm, TMH Management, helping companies improve profits, through store operations, supply chain and customer service, among other methods, and in recent years, improving information technology. After a few years, my company went international, but at a price. What do you mean, “at a price”? Between 1994 and 2010 my company had grown to such an extent that I was called upon to solve problems on a global basis. This involved long flights and time away from my young family. By then, we had three active sons and Tobi was left to raise them, happily married, but often as a single parent. How does a descendant of grandparents who’s mother’s family goes back to the mid-1800’s in Delaware, and who’s father’s parents were sharecroppers in New Jersey, grow up to become an executive with such major companies as Macy’s Bloomingdale’s and Estee Lauder? Young Toby Horowitz was born and raised in a small town in the second smallest State in the Union and became a nationally recognized consultant & partner at KPMG Peat Marwick, whose clients included Bed, Bath & Beyond, Sports Authority, Eckerd Pharmacy stores, among dozens more. His success in implementing technology solutions to improve company profits, and his facility with specializing in uncovering management theft and fraud could be the focus of a TV series. As an experienced executive with 34 years in accounting, technology, audit and loss prevention, Horowitz was the “go-to” person in big business, acquiring the title “The Ultimate Problem Solver.” How did that change? One morning in 2010, while getting out of bed, I fell flat on my face. I had no feeling from my waist nerves to be pinched, so that I couldn’t walk. This started a course of pain management medications that I am still on. Being able to sit on a plane for hours was out of the question. I was placed on disability. Soon I did everything “virtually” from home. Home Depot and the City of Detroit pension system became my customers. Soon, other major firms hired me and I learned to work long distance. There were also other life changes. What else changed in your life? When our second son, Jonathan, was born with a handicap, my perspective changed. We became focused on using all available resources to maximize his potential. Also, through Tobi’s influence, Judaism became more important in our lives. My abilities as a problem solver were now directed toward my family. What are your family members doing now? My oldest, Michael, lives and works in two continents. His wife and three children are mostly in West Hempstead, but his business and much of his time is spent in Hong Kong. One of his three sons prepared for his bar mitzvah at a Hong Kong yeshiva. Another son is nicknamed MIC because he was “Made (born) In China.” We’re proud of our middle son, Jonathan, who is highly functioning Down’s Syndrome, living in a group home, and working twice a week. Ian, our youngest, married, lives in New York City, and does tax reporting for off-shore companies with JP Morgan Chase. How did you get involved in the NST Men’s Club? I was approached by our late president, Al Fuchs, when the club was first being formed. I thought I was too young and it would be a group of cigar-smoking men telling dirty jokes. Was I wrong! It has grown to more than 100 members, looking for a more active life-style. We’ve gone on trips, dined in interesting restaurants and enjoyed stimulating speakers. I helped write the group’s charter and became the vicepresident. With Al’s sudden and tragic passing, I was thrust into the leadership role as the presiding president, with a dynamic executive board supporting me. What’s on your “bucket list?” Tobi has been involved in Special and Bilingual Education in Westbury schools, something she’s found very rewarding. Her plans include a well-deserved retirement soon. At that point, we hope to do some longpostponed travel, now that I am feeling better. Whenever asked if I’d be interested in running for the NST Board of Directors, I smile and say, “Perhaps after we satisfy our travel dreams.” 4 North Shore Towers Courier n June 2016 TOBY HOROWITZ: The Ultimate Problem Solver students at P.S. DuPont H.S. By coincidence, her parents named her down—both my hips were gone. I had severe spinal stenosis, causing my Toby & Tobi Horowitz October 2014 Toby & Tobi Horowitz Wedding High School 1967
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