About

Irwin has garnered a reputation as a conscientious businessman that seeks out opportunities to both aid businesses and the global good. Before Irwin was a businessman he was a father and a rabbi. As a father of eight, Irwin wants to see his children (and 24 grandchildren) inherit a world that is on its way to a more peaceful and harmonious future. As a rabbi, Irwin believes that people have a responsibility to be kind and compassionate to each other. These are the foundations of Irwin’s business philosophy.

Irwin Katsof was the Co-Leader of the U.S. Commerce department 2008 Trade Mission to the Republic of Georgia with Under Secretary of Trade John Sullivan, US Trade Representative Larry Walther and Director of Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) Robert Mosbacher Jr.

In 2010 Irwin Katsof was the Co-leader of a US Commerce Department Trade Mission to Belarus.
Since 2010 he has been a member of the Board of Directors of IDW Media Holdings, Inc. (OTC PINK:IDWM) IDW Media Holdings is a fully integrated media company which includes the award-winning IDW Publishing, IDW Games, IDW Entertainment, Top Shelf Productions, the San Diego Comic Art Gallery and CTM Media Group, a subsidiary of IDW Media Holdings. CTM Media Group is one of North America’s largest distributors of tourism information. Distributing over 100 million brochures last year, STM’s comprehensive visitor out of home marketing network includes over 14,000 brochure information displays and 400 award winning touch screen kiosks. Katsof is a member of the Audit Committee and the Chairman of the Compensation Committee.

In 2011, he was appointed by US Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke and Ambassador Ron Kirk, the United States Trade Representative to be one of ten national energy executives to serve on the US Commerce Department Trade Advisory Board (ITAC 6) to advise the United States Government on International Energy Trade Policy.

In 2012 he was appointed to the Board of Directors of Genie Energy (NYSE-GNE). Genie Energy Ltd. is an energy company headquartered in Newark, NJ. It is a holding company comprising IDT Energy, a retail energy provider, and Genie Oil and Gas, which controls the company’s ventures in oil shale research and development in Colorado,Mongolia and Israel. Members of the strategic advisory board include former Vice President Dick Cheney, Michael Steinhardt, Jacob Rothschild and Rupert Murdoch.

In 2012 he formed Katsof Consulting and organized the first ever “Alternative Investing in Alternative Energy” U.S. Department of Commerce, Private Equity and Venture Capital Certified Trade Mission to Germany.

In 2012 he became an advisor to Forbes & Manhattan, a multi national natural resource exploration company, to assist in the raising of capital worldwide.

In 2013 he organized the first ever Certified Trade Mission to Israel hosted by U.S. Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro to help U.S. private equity, venture capital funds and real estate funds raise investments from the leading Israeli Institutions.

In 2013 he formed Trademissions.org Trademissions.org’s goal is to help US Fund managers raise capital outside of the US. It has successfully helped many of America’s fund managers get access to capital worldwide. Trade Missions are held annually in ten different countries. Countries that have hosted Alternative Asset Fund Manager Trade Missions include the UAE, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Columbia,Germany, Hong Kong, India, Israel, Japan, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, Switzerland, Taiwan and the UK.

Over 750 US Fund Managers have attended and sixty-seven trade missions have been held to introduce over 8,500 LP investors.

In 2017,he obtained a Certification as a Trauma and Tension Reducing Practitioner from Dr.David Berceli and Trauma Prevention.com

In 2018, he graduated from a four-year program to become a Certified Core Energetics Practitioner. Developed by John Pierrakos, MD., Core Energetics is a marriage of Body Psychotherapy and Spiritual Development. The work brings consciousness to how we block our energy and recreate defense patterns adapted in childhood that keep us limited and disempowered.

In 2023, he graduated suma cum laudi with honors from Atlantic University with a Masters in Transpersonal Psychology with a specialty in Applied Spirituality

On top of all of these accomplishments, he has authored three books between 1998 and 2001, and is currently working on his fourth. In 1998, he co-authored with Larry King,Powerful Prayers: Conversations on Faith, Hope and the Human Spirit with Today’s Most Provocative People, which was ranked the tenth best-selling religious book of the year according to Publishers Weekly.

His second book, How to Get Your Prayers Answered, was published in 2000 and reissued in 2002.

His third, The Words Can Heal Handbook:  How Changing Your Words Can Change Your Life, was released in 2001.

His fourth book – a memoir tentatively entitled A Time of Living Dangerously: Trying to Get Rich While Staying Connected to God – is in progress and will hopefully be published in Q1 2024.

Irwin Katsof splits his time between Rockland County, New York and Jerusalem, Israel. He has eight children and twenty-four grandchildren and has been married to Judy for forty years.