Executive Committee
Officers selected from within the Board of Directors lend their expertise to the ongoing success of the American Watch Association’s endeavors.
David Perlman is the immediate past Chair of the American Watch Association where he has held various Board positions and been an active member for more than four decades. He also serves on the Board of Directors of the Jewelers Vigilance Committee.
Most recently, Mr. Perlman held the position of Senior Vice President and General Counsel at Citizen Watch Company where he served in that capacity for more than 25 years. Prior to Citizen, he held the position of Corporate Counsel and Secretary for North American Watch Corporation (now Movado) from 1979 to 1988.
Mr. Perlman is a long time member of the Executive Committee of the Corporate Counsel Section of the New York State Bar Association. He was formerly Chairperson, Delegate to the House of Delegates, and Chair of the Antitrust and Trade Regulation Committee of the Section. Mr. Perlman was a Contributing Editor to the Section’s Corporate Counsel’s Guide on Engagement Letters, Planning and Budgeting, Litigation Management, and Outside Counsel Bills for Corporate Clients. He has served as Co-Program Chair and as speaker at programs presented jointly with the Intellectual Property Law Section and Commercial & Federal Litigation Section of the NYSBA.
Mr. Perlman is a member of the American Corporate Counsel Section, has served on numerous Section speaker panels, and was a contributing author of the ACCA Small Law Department Practitioner’s Desk Manual.
Mark Goldberg is a member of the Rolex Watch Board of Directors and as CFO, oversees several operational and strategic functions in addition to finance. He joined the company in 2005.
Mr. Goldberg began his career in public accounting with PKF O’Connor Davies and PriceWaterhouseCoopers. He later held finance positions in the manufacturing and pharmaceutical industries.
Mr. Goldberg serves as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of St. Christopher’s Inn in Garrison, NY, a temporary homeless shelter dedicated to the rehabilitation of men in crisis. He is also an active member of the Board of Directors of the Jewelers Vigilance Committee, the American Watch Association, and the Fifth Avenue Business Improvement District.
For the past two decades Philippe Bonay has served “La Grande Maison” in a variety of capacities across the globe: in marketing for Piaget in North Asia; launching and nurturing Panerai in the USA and Canada; and turning around the A. Lange & Söhne brand in the Americas. In 2010 he was appointed President of Jaeger-LeCoultre North America, responsible for it its stewardship in the USA and Canada. Prior to joining Richemont, Philippe held positions in Strategic Planning and Account Management in the advertising and communications industries.
Philippe serves as a Mission Delegate of the Foundation de la Haute Horlogerie.
He lives with his wife and three children in New York City.
Michael Kaplan is the President and CEO of Rocket Jewelry Packaging and Displays, a fourth generation family owned manufacturer of packaging for watches, jewelry and cosmetics. He is an active Board Member of many industry associations and has held the positions of Treasurer of the American Watch Association, Vice President of the Jewelers Board of Trade, Chairman of the Jewelry Division of the American Jewish Committee, and Treasurer of the Women’s Jewelry Association.
Mr. Kaplan devotes much of his time to philanthropic organizations. He currently serves on the Board of the WJA Scholarship Fund and MJSA Educational Foundation, and is a past honoree of the United Jewish Appeal and ORT, the world’s largest Jewish education and vocational training non-governmental organization. He was also Co-Chairman for the National Foundation for Jewish Genetic Diseases.
Mr. Kaplan was awarded the Jewelry Industry Award by Henry Kissinger. He is also a past President of the Plumb Club, and former President and Chairman of the New York 24K Club.