Bob Drake is the Vice Chairman of the Executive Board of the Weizmann Institute of Science and the Chairman of the European Committee of the Weizmann Institute of Science.
He holds a BSc in Animal Behavior from Bucknell University in Pennsylvania and later studied at the Programme International de Gestion General at INSEAD in Fontainbleau in 1980. From 1993 to 1995 studied for his MBA/MBI from Erasmus University in Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Bob Drake is presently the Director of NGM International BV which is the General Merchandise Division of the Nidera Group. He is also the Director of Nidera Capital, the holding company of Nidera BV. Nidera is an international trading and shipping group created (amongst others) by his grandfather in 1920. Today the group trades worldwide.
He speaks English, French, Dutch, German, Portuguese and Spanish. He is the past president and past mentor of Loge Hollandia of Bnai Brith in Holland. In 1990 he founded the Friends of the Israel Cancer Association in Holland, which he has chaired since its inception. He was a member of the Board of Keren Hayesod in Holland for more than 10 years and is presently a member of the Advisory Board of that institution. He is Chairman of the Dutch Friends of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra and Chairman of the Dutch Maccabi Organization. He was Chef de mission for the Dutch teams to Rome and Israel in 2007 and 2009 respectively.
Bob Drake first visited the Weizmann Institute in 1985 but heard about it from his parents many years earlier. His mother, Erica Drake received a PhD honoris causa in the year 2000. Bob has since become a keen advocate for the Weizmann Institute. He is deeply involved in the Institute's governance, its science and its people. He faithfully attends Institute events, both in Israel and abroad, and takes every opportunity to promote the Institute's interests.
He was elected to the International Board in 1999 and to the Executive Board in 2000. From 2002 to 2008 he served as Deputy Chair of the International Board and in 2008 he was elected Vice Chair of the Executive Board, a position he still holds today. He received an honorary PhD in the year 2008 and was elected Chairman of the European Committee of the Weizmann Institute of Science in 2013.
Bob Drake enjoys tennis, skiing, scuba diving, squash, swimming and bridge - and has captained the Dutch bridge team to both the Israeli and European Maccabi games.
He is married to Renée, and has 4 children.