Our Team

David Lifschitz is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and President of The Gehr Group, overseeing all business aspects of The Gehr Group’s four principal business units – Gehr International, Gehr Hospitality, Gehr Industries, and Gehr Development. Mr. Lifschitz joined The Gehr Group 27 years ago, in 1995, as Chief Financial Officer and Chief Information Officer, whereupon he worked closely with the company’s founder, Mr. Norbert Gehr, as his second in command. In 2009 Mr. Lifschitz was appointed as Chief Operating Officer, in 2010 he became President, and in March  2015, upon Mr. Gehr’s departure, he was appointed as CEO. Mr. Lifschitz is also a member of The Gehr Group’s Board of Directors.

As CEO and President, Mr. Lifschitz directs the company’s business operations, as one of only two executives with oversight across all divisions, with the objectives of growing all business units while attaining optimal efficiencies and generating high returns on invested capital. He actively directs all business strategy and is involved in all major business activities and operations at the divisional levels.

Prior to joining The Gehr Group, Mr. Lifschitz spent a decade at the Enterprise Group of Arthur Andersen, advising public and privately-held and fast-growing companies in the entertainment, broadcasting, manufacturing, publishing, high-tech, wholesale distribution and retail industries. Mr. Lifschitz received his MBA from University of Southern California (USC), and his BA in Psychology from University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), and he is a CPA (Certified Public Accountant).

Mr. Lifschitz serves as a trustee for the Gehr Family Foundation, and is involved with numerous charitable and civic causes. He is a native of Tel Aviv, Israel, and he served in the IDF prior to pursuing his academic studies in the United States. A father of five children, he lives with his wife and younger children in Beverly Hills, California.

Mr. Leo Gehr is the Director of Finance and Administration of Gehr International & Cia Ltda. in
Brazil.

Mr. Gehr has a Law Degree, and over 28 years of experience in sales and marketing. He is a successful entrepreneur, with strong ties to various governmental departments in Brazil, as well as the Commanders of the Brazilian Armed Forces.

Mr. Leo Gehr joined Gehr Enterprises in 1978 and, along with his brother, the late Norbert Gehr, co-founded Gehr International Brazil.

Mario Yanigiharo is the Vice President Controller for The Gehr Group. He oversees consolidated financial reporting for Gehr’s 19 entities and cash flow management for the company.

Prior to joining Gehr, Mario served several rolls at GE Brazil, including Accountant, Cost Accountant, and Financial Planning & Analysis Manager. Mario completed the Financial Management Program (FMP) at GE Brazil and holds a BA in Business Administration from Pontifical Catholic University of Sao Paulo – Brazil.

Mark Goldman is Chief Counsel and Chief Operating Officer (COO) of The Gehr Group. Mr. Goldman joined The Gehr Group in 2012, after previously serving for 28 years as outside counsel and close advisor to the company’s founder, Mr. Norbert Gehr.

As COO, Mr. Goldman works closely with the company’s CEO, as one of only two executives with oversight across all divisions. In his role as Chief Counsel, Mr. Goldman oversees all legal matters for The Gehr Group and its four principal business units – Gehr International, Gehr Hospitality, Gehr Industries, and Gehr Development, as well as all work conducted by outside law firms pertaining to business transactions, contracts, and legal disputes.

Mr. Goldman has over 50 years of experience working on complex business transactions and sophisticated legal cases in entertainment, family, and real estate, as well as advising in numerous real estate transactions.

Mr. Goldman is a member of The Gehr Group’s Board of Directors, and he also serves as a trustee for the Gehr Family Foundation.

Prior to joining The Gehr Group, Mr. Goldman was the owner of his own law firm, Goldman & Kagon Law Corporation. He also served as in-house counsel for Mapleton Investments, where he handled all acquisition, divestitures, legal contracts, and agreements for the private venture capital firm. Mr. Goldman received his Juris Doctor (JD) from the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) School of Law, and also received a BA in economics at UCLA.

Max Paetzold is the CFO for The Gehr Group. He oversees all finance and accounting related functions, including accounting, financial reporting, tax, compliance, credit & collections and internal
controls. His responsibilities also include financial aspects of modeling for sales, procurement, inventory management and overhead.

Prior to joining Gehr, Mr. Paetzold held leadership positions at several companies, including at The Honest Company, where he was VP Financial Operations and VP Corporate Controller, at JR286 Inc., where he was Director of Finance, and at 20th Century Fox, where he was Senior Vice President Finance for International TV Distribution.

Previously, Mr. Paetzold was an Experienced Manager with the Enterprise Group at the Los Angeles office of Arthur Andersen, providing accounting and financial advisory services to middle-market private and public companies in the professional services, consumer products, retail, entertainment, advertising, hi-tech, real estate, food services, and manufacturing and distribution industries.

Mr. Paetzold is a (Certified Public Accountant) CPA and holds an MBA from UCLA’s Anderson School of Management and a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from Loyola Marymount University.

Navy Captain Milton Ferreira joined Gehr International in 2002 and is currently the General Manager of Gehr International & Cia Ltda., the Brazilian branch of Gehr International Inc.

He oversees the commercial and technical operations for projects in Brazil. Prior to joining Gehr International, Captain Milton graduated from the Brazilian Naval Academy as Navy Officer, from the University of São Paulo (USP) in Electrical Engineering.

He has a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from the Naval Post Graduate School (NPS) in Monterey, California, being approved with distinction. He also holds an MBA degree from Fundação Getulio Vargas, in Brazil.

Captain Milton served in several departments of the Brazilian Navy, including the Navy Shipyard, Naval Weapons Systems Directorate.

At the Brazilian Navy, Captain Milton was responsible for the procurement, contract negotiation, supervision, and execution of many Navy contracts throughout his career.

Due to Captain Milton´s well-established Naval career and expertise in contract, materiel, and logistics, he has been successful in the civilian sales and marketing profession.

Admiral Primo joined Gehr in 2019 and thus, he is very current to all Navy programs.

A decorated naval aviator, Admiral Primo has a 42-year career with the Brazilian Navy.

Throughout his impressive career, Admiral Primo has held numerous leadership positions, including Defense and Naval Attaché in Germany and the Netherlands, Director of Strategic Navy Projects, and Director of Navy Aeronautics, where he oversaw major contracts such as the EC-725 with Airbus / Helibras, the modernization of the A-4 with Embraer, the S-2 / COD-AAR with Marsh Aviation / ELBIT Systems of America (ESA), and the modernization of Lynx helicopters with Leonardo.

Adm. Primo was also responsible for including and presenting the results of the technical feasibility study for the operation of a modified version of the SAAB aircraft Gripen for operation on board the Brazilian Aircraft Carrier, as an offset in the contract for the acquisition of the Brazilian Air Force FAB aircraft.

Admiral Primo has great experience with all Navy intricate meanders and its interactions with Brazilian and International companies, what has great value to expedite negotiations and proposals.