Attention to Detail

Bakst doesn’t decide who receives the financial gifts, but as director of Philanthropic Operations, he manages the business end of the organization. He makes sure the numbers work, tax implications and regulations are followed, bills get paid, and more. In essence, he oversees the business end of philanthropy, the dotting of every “i” and crossing of every “t.”

“This job—it is exciting, and I work for a couple who really tries to do good in the world,” says Bakst, 50, of Ackman and his wife and Co-Trustee Neri Oxman. “I love coming into work in the morning. This is literally my dream job!”

Bakst began the journey toward his ideal post at Touro University, from which he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in finance.

“The program is made to fit a student’s schedule,” he says. “Flexible hours, great professors, great education. Students and professors are serious. It is no joke; the point is to prepare students for a complete start to their careers.”

For a decade before landing at Pershing Square Philanthropies in 2021, the Brooklyn native, and father of seven, worked at the Ford Foundation as director of Investment Accounting, Reporting & Tax.

“The wide variety of finance-related coursework I took at Touro provided me with the broad and solid foundation that was critical to my success,” says Bakst. “My Touro education truly helped in my transition from a narrowly focused trading role to the diverse accounting/finance/tax/investment/operational position I took on at the hedge fund, then at Ford, and in my current role.”

At his current job, Bakst is experiencing how good it feels to help pay it forward.

Pershing Square Philanthropies has committed over $800 million since inception and grants over $50 million annually to innovative leaders, nonprofits and mission-driven companies seeking to solve humanity’s most challenging problems. Among the fund’s recipients are promising young researchers searching for treatments and cures for cancer and neurological diseases, small scale agriculture groups in Africa, environmental programs, criminal justice reform, and more.

“It’s a rewarding job beyond what I could have imagined,” says Bakst. “Let’s just say I sleep very well at night.”