Israeli-American Council CEO Elan Carr, who steered the organization through the fraught post-Oct. 7 period, will step down on Sept. 30 after nearly three years in the role, the organization announced. The group’s board is launching a search for his successor.

Carr, whose father helped found the IAC, took the helm on Oct. 4, 2023. Carr, who served as U.S. special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism in the first Trump administration, is credited with leading the organization through its efforts to combat antisemitism and the delegitimization of Israel in the period that followed the Oct. 7 terror attacks. 

In his announcement, Carr did not say where he would be heading after leaving IAC.

“Having served as CEO for the past three years, I believe this is the right moment to seek new challenges, continue growing, and explore exciting opportunities ahead,” Carr wrote in a statement, in which he also thanked his IAC colleagues and volunteers, as well as the “visionary generosity of the remarkable Adelson family.” 

Carr’s three-year tenure is notably shorter than that of his predecessor, Shoham Nicolet, who first led the organization for five years from 2006 to 2011 as its first CEO, followed by Sagi Balasha, who served as CEO between 2011 and 2015. In 2015, Nicolet returned for an eight-year tenure as CEO before Carr took over in 2023. 

Board co-chairs Tal Shuster and Dr. Avi Almozlino hailed Carr for leading the organization in the wake of the Oct. 7 attacks — a particularly jarring and trying moment for Israeli expats in the United States. 

“Elan’s unwavering commitment to our mission, community, and team has left a lasting impact. Following Oct. 7, Elan led our organization with remarkable strength, vision and compassion, guiding our community through one of the most challenging periods in its history,” Shuster and Almozlino said in a statement. 

“Our empowered and growing IAC eagerly anticipates welcoming a new CEO and continuing to build upon the organization’s achievements. The board is fully committed to further advancing the IAC mission and broadening its impact in the years ahead,” they said.