Alex Ryvchin climbs to 19th on Sydney Power 100 list

Alex Ryvchin, co-chief executive of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ), has been ranked 19th on this year’s Daily Telegraph Sydney Power 100 list, rising 19 places from his debut at number 38 last year.

Ryvchin, a Kyiv-born refugee who came to Australia as a child, has led ECAJ with Peter Wertheim since 2018 and is a regular commentator on antisemitism, Israel and social cohesion in Australian and overseas media.

His higher ranking comes after a year in which he and his family were directly targeted. On 17 January, his former home in Dover Heights was attacked in an antisemitic arson and vandalism incident in which cars were torched and hate graffiti sprayed on the property. Police established a strike force and have since charged several men, describing the attack as part of a pattern of antisemitic crime in Sydney’s east.

Speaking to The Daily Telegraph about the incident, Ryvchin said it was immediately clear why it had happened. “It was obvious at the time it was a targeted attack and it’s since been confirmed as such by the police,” he said. “We weren’t targeted because of a financial debt or personal dislike; it was because of what I stand for and what I’m seen to represent.”

Ryvchin stated that the attack has only strengthened his determination to speak for a community still dealing with the massacre of about 1200 Israelis by Hamas on 7 October 2023 and the long hostage crisis that followed. Ryvchin stated that the 13 October 2025 release of the last living hostages under a US-brokered deal was a “beautiful moment” and an “incredible day” for the Jewish world.

He has also continued to represent the community in national forums, including as co-host of the Sky News antisemitism summit in February, which brought together political leaders and community representatives to respond to rising antisemitic incidents.

Several other high-profile Jewish Australians appear alongside Ryvchin on this year’s Power 100.

Gina Cass-Gottlieb

Australian Competition and Consumer Commission chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb is listed at 27, holding her position from last year. Her influence

has grown as the ACCC prepares to implement a new merger test and stronger scam enforcement powers. She has spoken publicly about using data tools and international experience to uncover cartel conduct. Cass-Gottlieb, the granddaughter of Jewish refugees, has longstanding links with Jewish community organisations.

 

Harry Triguboff

Property developer Harry Triguboff appears at 62 on the list, six places lower than last year. Now 92, he continues to run the Meriton group, which has built tens of thousands of apartments across Sydney, and last December released his authorised biography, “High Rise Harry”.

Triguboff spent his early years in a Jewish community in northern China before settling in Australia and has been a major supporter of Jewish causes, including funding the Triguboff Institute and projects that help immigrants from the former Soviet Union settle in Israel and connect with the Jewish community.

 

 

 

Jessica Fox

Olympic canoe slalom champion Jessica Fox is ranked 59, down six places. She was selected to carry the Australian flag in Paris and won gold in both C1 and K1 canoe slalom. Unfortunately, she was forced to withdraw from the 2025 world championships at Penrith following surgery to remove a benign kidney tumour. She serves on the International Olympic Committee and the Brisbane 2032 organising committee.

 

Sharri Markson

Journalist and broadcaster Sharri Markson enters the list for the first time at position 91. As host of the evening programme, Sharri, on Sky News, she has reported extensively on a range of Jewish topics since October 2023 and organised the February antisemitism summit in partnership with ECAJ. Markson has said she was “aghast, dismayed, angry and upset at how quickly our country was changing” and felt compelled to act as antisemitic incidents escalated.

Together, their inclusion on the Telegraph Sydney Power 100 highlights the reach of Jewish Australians in public life, from national advocacy and regulation to business, elite sport and the media, at a time when questions of safety, social cohesion and community leadership remain front and centre.