Advisory Board and Organizing Team: |
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Sharona Justman - STEP Strategy Advisors |
CO-CHAIR / CO-FOUNDER |
Sharona Justman is the Managing Director of STEP Strategy Advisors, an acquisitions advisory and strategic planning firm supporting the identification and facilitation of business and acquisition partners for companies across many industries.
Sharona specializes in developing the strategic direction for a company and facilitating key business transactions from business development through acquisition incorporating a clear plan of action that addresses tactics to support revenue focused and market positioning activities that will yield measurable successes.
Sharona co-founded Rubenstein / Justman Management Consultants (www.RJMC.net) in 1986 providing information technology and operations improvement management consulting services to middle market companies in the industries of distribution, manufacturing, financial services, entertainment, and large non-profit organizations. RJMC provides project management for enterprise-wide projects involving information technology evaluation, selection, and integration as well as operations improvement consulting and business process reengineering services.
Sharona Justman began her career at PricewaterhouseCoopers and is a CPA. Sharona is an alumna of Hebrew University of Jerusalem and California State University, Northridge with a BS in Accounting and Economics.
STEP is a Strategic Business Advisory firm founded in 2001 (www.STEPstrategy.net). The STEP team is comprised of experienced CEOs and senior executives who have developed significant and successful companies who focus on providing advice on strategic direction, business alliances, market positioning, revenue growth, mergers and acquisitions, and the development and execution of strategies to achieve significant results. STEP works with emerging growth companies to build their brand value and to develop and facilitate significant business transactions. STEP has offices in Los Angeles and Tel Aviv. |
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Yossi Vardi - International Technologies |
CO-CHAIR |
Yossi Vardi is one of Israel's early entrepreneurs and has co-founded, lead, and participated in building over 60 high-tech companies.
Yossi co-pioneered instant messaging as the founding investor and the former Chairman of Mirabilis Ltd., the creator of the highly popular instant messaging program ICQ now sold to AOL. Yossi Vardi has an extensive government and public career, holding the position of Director General of the Ministry of Energy and Chairman of Israel's National Oil Company and Chairman of the Jerusalem Foundation.
Many of Yossi Vardi's investments have resulted in the company going public such as answers.com, Scopus, Granite, and Lasers with many being acquired. Yossi Vardi sits on the advisory boards of 3i and Amdocs and has served on boards of numerous state and private corporations including Bezeq, Israel Electric, and the Bank of Israel. He has also been an advisor to the CEO's of AOL, Amazon, and Allied Signal.
Yossi Vardi has received many awards, including the Prime Minister of Israel Hi-Tech Award for life achievements on two occasions, the Industry Prize, the Ramniceanu Prize and C-E-O's Entrepreneurs Hall of Fame.
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Isabel Maxwell - CommTouch |
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Isabel Maxwell is a Technology Pioneer of the World Economic Forum and co-founder of The McKinley Group, creator of the pioneering Magellan online search engine that was successfully sold to Excite. She is president emerita of CommTouch (NASDAQ:CTCH).
Isabel Maxwell brings over fifteen years of international journalism and entertainment experience with accomplishments including production/direction for the Yorkshire and Southern Independent Television networks in the UK and feature film production for New World Pictures. She was a founding director serving on the Board of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts-LA from 1986-1998 and is a long-time member of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ), U.K. Isabel Maxwell holds honor moderations in Jurisprudence and a B.A. and M.A. in history and modern languages from Oxford University. She has divided her time for the past 15 years between Los Angeles, Israel and Silicon Valley.
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Chagai Stern - Olimi Holdings Group |
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Chagai Stern is the Founder and President of Olimi Holdings Group. Chagai is an international businessman with years of experience in both commercial and non-profit sectors.
Chagai Stern previously headed the European Center for Jewish Studies (ECJS), one of the most influential Jewish student organizations in Europe. He also helped with the founding of the Israel Lobby in the EU parliament where he continues to be involved in its activities. Mr. Stern also privately represents several large companies in Israel and abroad.
In addition, he served as a general consultant for CDI (Centrum Development and Investment), one of the largest commercial real estate company's in Poland and as an international consultant for EMF (Empik, Media and Fashion), the largest non food retail company of central and eastern Europe.
Mr. Stern is actively engaged with international philanthropy aimed at Israel and other countries. In 2010, when The European Friends of Israel (EFI) brought 400 parliament members and decision makers from Europe to Israel for a 3 day policy conference, Mr. Stern was the Israeli Chief of Staff of the EFI Policy Conference.
Chagai Stern holds a BA in Economy and Logistics and a Masters in Law. Chagai teaches at Bar Ilan University "Entrepreneurship and Law" for the Executive L.L.M. program.
Olimi Holdings Group is a global platform that connects Investors, Entrepreneurs, and Service Providers. Olimi Holdings Group currently has over 5,000 registered users including over 3,500 entrepreneurs and start-ups looking for investments, over 700 investors representing total investment capital of over half a billion dollars, and over 600 service providers offering a variety of business-related services. |
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Jeff Pulver - Pulver.com |
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Jeff Pulver is the Chairman and Founder of pulver.com, and one of the true pioneers of the VoIP industry and a leader in the emerging TV on the Net industry. Leveraging well over a decade of hands-on experience in Internet/IP communications and innovation, Mr. Pulver is a globally renowned thought leader, author and entrepreneur. His blog is well read within the IP Communications Industry and in high-tech communities around the world. He is the publisher of The Pulver Report and and creator of the industry standard Voice on the Net (VON) events. Additionally, Mr. Pulver is the founder of FWD, the VON Coalition, PrimeTimeRewind.TV, Vivox and is the co-founder of VoIP provider, Vonage. On February 12, 2004, Mr. Pulver's petition for clarification declaring Free World Dialup as an unregulated information service was granted by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). This landmark decision by the FCC was the first decision it made on IP communications to date. Now referred to as "the Pulver Order", the ruling provides important clarification that computer-to-computer VoIP service is not a telecommunications service. By doing this, the FCC delivered a strong signal to consumers and capital markets that the FCC is not interested in subjecting end-to-end IP Communications services to traditional voice telecommunications regulation under the Communications Act.
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Eran Wagner - cVidya Networks |
CO-FOUNDER |
As President, North America Operations for cVidya Networks, Eran Wagner is working to develop the company's business in North America including direct sales, channel sales, marketing and new product creation.
Prior to his new role with cVidya, Eran was VP, Portfolio Strategy and Planning, Amdocs Products Group where he was responsible for developing Amdocs' overall product strategy, including portfolio planning, foundational products, product integration, demo capabilities, and the development of targeted solutions. Eran Joined Amdocs in 2004 following the successful acquisition of XACCT Technologies, a company he founded, by Amdocs.
Prior to Amdocs, Eran co-founded in 1997 XACCT Technologies Inc, where he served as the chairman of the Board of Directors and the executive vice president - Technology, responsible for the definition, creation and market introduction of all XACCT products, and for strategic alliances.
Before XACCT, Eran co-founded the Xpert Group in 1993, and served as president and CEO. The Xpert Group specialized in system integration projects for corporate and service providers networking and Internet/intranet environments. The Xpert Group was sold in 2005 to One.
Prior to Eran's initial business venture, he worked as a software engineer. He holds a Bachelors of Science degree from Tel-Aviv University. Eran is the inventor of multiple granted patents. He is based in San Jose, California.
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Jacob Segal - Investor Research Group |
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Jacob Segal, Principal of Investors Research Group (IRG) is an active investor/advisor in Southern California-based companies with sales in the $3M-$10M range. His investment experience includes transactions with companies in the airport concessions business, financial service marketing, wire and cable manufacturing, radio programming distribution, bakery equipment, and medical devices.
Jacob Segal is and has been an investor in Creative Host Services, Thaya Communications, Suede AM Pack, American Equity Trust, and Rhythm Radio. Additionally, Mr. Segal participated in the acquisition, management and disposition of over $200M in real estate investments including apartment buildings, shopping centers, and office buildings.
Jacob Segal received his Bachelor's in economics and statistics from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and his MBA from UCLA.
Jacob Segal is an Executive Board Member of the Southern California Israel Chamber of Commerce
Investors Research Group (IRG) is a private investment group that invests in Southern California-based companies with sales in the $3M-$10M range and in real estate investments in the $1M-$50M dollar range.
The Southern California-Israel Chamber of Commerce (SCICC) is dedicated to fostering bilateral business, trade, and investment opportunities between Southern California and Israel. With its extensive, dynamic network of companies, business executives and political leaders, the SCICC has served as a facilitator of joint venture programs between the two countries for over twelve years. Through networking events, mentorship programs, investment forums, educational seminars and industry-specific meetings, the SCICC contributes to stronger business alliances between Southern California and Israel. |
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Glenn Yago - Milken Institute |
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Glenn Yago is Director of Capital Studies at the Milken Institute. He specializes in financial innovations, financial institutions and capital markets. Yago has extensively analyzed public policy and its relation to high-yield markets, initial public offerings, industrial and transportation concerns, and public and private sector employment.
In the area of capital access, Yago is creator of the Milken Institute's Capital Access Index, an annual survey that measures access to capital for entrepreneurs across countries, and co-creator of the Opacity Index, a measure of the openness of financial markets around the world, critical factors in determining a nation's economic health. Both indexes are referenced regularly in academic and business venues.
Yago has worked on financial innovations transfer and privatization projects in the Middle East since 1996, primarily in Israel and Jordan, and in cooperation with the Palestinian Authority. His efforts were instrumental in the issuance of the first municipal bond in Israel's history to finance a development project in Tel-Aviv, and in spurring significant legislative amendments to democratize Israel's capital markets.
In the area of environmental finance, Yago's work focuses on developing financial innovations that monetize environmental goods and services. He organized "Financing Our Global Environmental Future," a 2001 conference co-sponsored by the Milken Institute, the U.N. Foundation and The Nature Conservancy; authored Financing Global Environmental Futures: Using Financial Markets and Instruments to Advance Environmental Goals (Milken Institute Policy Brief, 2001); and teaches Environmental Finance and Urban Economic Development courses at the Tel Aviv University Recanati School of Business Administration. A central component of the 2002 environmental course was a feasibility study for financing restoration of the Yarqon River, an urban waterway that runs through seven municipalities in the most densely populated area of Israel. Yago is also a member of the California State Teachers' Retirement System Clean Technology Advisory Board, breaking new ground in the arena of environmental investing.
Before coming to the Institute, Yago was director of the Center for Capital Studies in New York, which he founded in 1992 to develop insight into the process of capital access and ownership change. He was a faculty member of the City University of New York Graduate Center Ph.D. Program in Economics, and a senior research associate at the Center for the Study of Business Government at Baruch College City University of New York.
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Erez Shachar - Evergreen Venture Capital |
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Erez joined Evergreen in the beginning of 2004 as a managing partner. He focuses on Evergreen's investments in the Software, Internet and New Media sectors.
Erez joined Evergreen from NUR Macroprinters Ltd. (acquired by HP), where he served as CEO and President since 1997. Under his direction, NUR increased its revenues sevenfold by significantly penetrating global markets. Company sales increased from $16M to over $120M per year in less than four years. From his position as the CEO of a publicly-traded company on NASDAQ and a world-wide leader in its field, Erez has significant operational and managerial experience as well as first-hand experience with international capital markets. Prior to joining NUR, Erez held several senior managerial positions at Scitex Corporation (NASDAQ: SCIX), where he began as a software engineer.
Erez holds a B.Sc. in Mathematics and Computer Science (Magna Cum Laude) from Tel-Aviv University and has an MBA from INSEAD. Erez is the chairman of the International Relations Committee of the Israeli High Tech Association (formerly the Israeli Venture Capital Association). Erez was Evergreen's representative on the Boards of Traiana, which was sold to ICAP for $251M and of Identify, which was acquired by BMC Software for $150M. Erez is currently acting as a board member in Taboola, Varonis, Press-sense, e-Glue, Aniboom and Peer39.
Evergreen Venture Partners was established in 1987 as one of Israel's first venture capital firms. Evergreen invests in early-stage Israeli and Israel-related companies in the following fields: software, internet & media, communications and healthcare. Evergreen's $650 million of venture capital funds under management represents one of the largest portfolios in Israel with investments in over 120 technology start-ups. Evergreen has exited successfully 35 portfolio companies through IPOs and acquisitions. Some of these companies include Traiana, Colbar, Identify, BigBand, P-Cube, Actona, Backweb, Exalink, Radvision and Radware. Evergreen is currently investing from its fifth generation fund, Evergreen V, a $200M fund. |
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Sigal Admony-Ravid - Economic Mission of Israel |
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Sigal Admony-Ravid is the Israel Consul for Economic Affairs to the West Coast. Her office is responsible for enhancing bi-national trade relations between the local and Israeli business communities across a broad spectrum of industries.
Sigal began her career at the Ministry of Industry and Trade in the Foreign Trade Administration as the Deputy Director of the North American Department. Afterwards, she was assigned the duties of overseeing a national program that promoted the international commercialization of alternative energy technologies.
Before joining the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Sigal worked as an attorney for a leading Israeli firm specializing in intellectual property. She also worked as an attorney for the State Advocacy Fiscal Department within the Ministry of Justice.
Sigal was an officer in the Israeli Defense Force and received her degree in law from The Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Sigal also holds a bachelor's degree in economics from Tel Aviv University's Eitan Berglas School of Economics.
The role of the Economic Mission at the Consulate General of Israel is to advance Israel's economy through local resources and potential partnerships in the Southwest. We support this mission by promoting business relations, trade, investments and cooperation between the State of Israel and the Southwest states. American companies trying to do business in Israel, or Israeli companies trying to expand to the US Southwest region, use our expertise and connections to open doors in those markets. |
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Brian Sagi - Cerian Technology Ventures |
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Brian Sagi, President and CEO of CERIAN Technology Ventures, LLC, is a dealmaker, entrepreneur and technologist. Brian has an extensive background in selling and purchasing technology companies and intellectual property, in management of technology, in taking new products from concept to market, and in research and development.
At CERIAN Technology Ventures, Brian heads a team of advisors, helping companies maximize the value of technology in mergers, acquisitions, intellectual property sales, and licensing transactions. Since its founding in 2001, CERIAN has been providing sell-side and buy-side advice to clients ranging from venture-backed startups to Fortune 500 companies. CERIAN also provides valuations and analytical services.
Prior to CERIAN, Brian served as Vice President of Business Development at ideaEDGE Ventures - a venture capital fund focused on early-stage investments in the wireless sector. Brian has founded several high technology companies in the software, communications and wireless industries.
Brian earned an MBA from the University of San Diego and a Masters of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of California, San Diego. He also earned a BSC in Electrical Engineering and a BSC in Computer Science from the Technion, Israel Institute of Technology.
CERIAN Technology Ventures, LLC advises companies how to maximize the value of technology in mergers, acquisitions, asset sales and licensing transactions. Intellectual property assets such as designs, algorithms, software, semiconductors, circuits, patents and trademarks represent the most significant and valuable possessions any technology company owns, and the key driver in technology-based transactions. CERIAN facilitates identification, valuation, due-diligence, positioning, marketing, negotiation and consummation of transactions designed to realize maximum value. |
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David Ben-Ami - MacroCure |
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David Ben-Ami is a key player in the life sciences industry in Israel with activities in management, business development, and corporate strategy. David Ben-Ami is currently the Chairman of Macrocure, a companty that develops cell therapy products for chronic wound hard to heal wounds.
Previously, David Ben-Ami was Country Director of Boston Scientific Israel and Director of Business Development of Teva Israel. David Ben-Ami serves as a board member in Meytav Technological Incubator, winner of the 2005 outstanding incubator award, and in several other medical device companies.
David Ben-Ami received his MBA degree and BA in Economics & Management from Tel-Aviv University.
MacroCure is a biotechnology company focused on the development and commercialization of advanced cell therapy products. The company's first focus of interest is in the arena of wound care. The technology employs activated white blood cells obtained from young (18-40 yrs old) healthy donor blood. The activated cells provide the natural environment for wound healing, and ensure that necessary cell activities and factor secretions are maintained as required for wound healing. This novel concept is the first of its kind in the field of wound therapy. |
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Baruch Littman - The Jewish Community Foundation |
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Baruch S. Littman is the Chairman of the California Capital Summit, a professional business association attracting financiers in California.
Baruch is the Vice President of Development of the Jewish Community Foundation. With more than 30 years of development and marketing experience, Littman aims to increase the assets of The Jewish Community Foundation.
Prior to joining The Foundation, he served as executive director of The California-Israel Chamber of Commerce. His career includes senior positions at The Jewish Federation of Los Angeles and the American Nurses Association, as well as senior marketing and management positions at both Fortune 100 and 500 corporations.
Baruch Littman earned his bachelors degree from Long Island University and his masters degree in business administration from The City University of New York.
For more than 50 years, The Jewish Community Foundation has helped individuals, institutions and professional advisors have the greatest possible impact on both the Jewish community and the community at large.
The Foundation is the largest manager of charitable assets and the leader in planned giving solutions for Greater Los Angeles Jewish philanthropists. The Foundation currently manages assets of $700M (unaudited, as of 12/31/09) and ranks among the 12 largest Los Angeles foundations (based on assets). In 2009, The Foundation and its nearly 1,200 donors distributed $61 million in grants to hundreds of organizations with programs that span the range of philanthropic giving. |
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Moshik Raccah - IEFF |
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As a former executive at Amdocs and Microsoft and a successful entrepreneur, Moshik Raccah has been active in the Israeli and Silicon Valley investment and startup community since 1995.
Moshik is the co-founder and active manager of the Silicon Valley Israeli Entrepreneur and Founders Forum. The IEFF is a networking group for Israeli executives and entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley with approximately 400 local members.
The IEFF is a platform for networking, ideas exchange and mutual assistance for Israeli executives and entrepeneurs residing in the Silicon Valley. If you'd like to join please ask an existing member to sponsor you for membership. |
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Yair Landau - Mass Animation / Bedouin Media |
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Yair Landau is the former Vice Chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment and President, Sony Pictures Digital. Landau formed Sony Pictures Digital in 1999, bringing together all of Sony Pictures' digital artists and software engineers from Sony Pictures Imageworks, Sony Online Entertainment and Columbia Tristar Interactive into one division.
Landau supervised production of Imageworks' first animated short, THE CHUBB CHUBBS, which won several awards including an Academy Award for Best Short Film (animated) in 2003. Landau has grown Sony Online Entertainment into the worldwide leader in massively multiplayer online gaming building upon EverQuest, the most successful MMO PC game in the United States with Star Wars Galaxies launched in partnership with Lucas Arts in 2003.
Through Sony Pictures Digital, Landau developed the technology and formed the five-studio Movielink partnership, the first major studio Internet movie download service, launched in 2002. Most recently, he reorganized Sony Pictures Digital Networks to focus on emerging mobile entertainment, broadband video delivery and media software.
A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Chicago, Landau earned his MBA at the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
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David Blumberg - Blumberg Capital |
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David Blumberg brings more than 24 years of investing experience in venture capital backed technology companies including Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (CHKP), Teva (TEVA), Creo - acquired by Eastman Kodak (EK), DSP Group [DSPG], Electronics For Imaging (EFII), AbirNet - acquired by Computer Associates (CA), Conduct Software and Allerez - both acquired by Hewlett Packard (HPQ), Vista Research - acquired by McGraw Hill (MHP), and IP Infusion - acquired by ACCESS Co., Ltd. (TSE: 4513).
Prior to founding Blumberg Capital in 1991, David managed technology investments with Claridge Investments, Adler & Co., Apax, and T. Rowe Price Associates. David launched the business development efforts for Check Point Software Technologies.
David earned his AB in Government, cum laude, from Harvard College and his MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business and INSEAD. David speaks French and is proficient in Hebrew and Spanish.
David serves as a member or observer on the Board of Directors of CaseStack, DoubleVerify, Siperian, and Correlix. He is a member of the Pacific Council on International Policy.
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Zohar Levkovitz - Amobee |
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Zohar Levkovitz is the CEO of Amobee. Zohar has been at the forefront of mobile and internet technology development for over 10 years. As former CTO of Comverse 3G, MMS and WAP Push activities, Zohar led the development and compilation of several architectures and concepts, currently accepted as standards by the global telecom industry. During his tenure at Comverse Mr. Levkovitz held several key positions in the standardization bodies: Member at the 3GPP2 SC (TIA / EIA), chairperson for a strategic technology committee at OMA (WAP Forum), specification author for 3GPP. In addition, Mr. Levkovitz has gained experience in the online advertising arena as General Manager of Smartshopper.com and as a VP of Product Development at Hotbar.com Inc.
Amobee is the first company to deliver a unified, telco-grade system for funding mobile content and communications through advertising revenues. Amobee is the most deployed operator centric ad-serving solution in the world, dynamically inserting relevant, interactive advertisements into all types of mobile entertainment and communication channels, including videos, music, messaging, games, and WAP, using a single, telco-grade ad-serving infrastructure. Headquartered in Redwood City, California, the company enjoys financial backing from some of the biggest names in venture capital: Accel Partners, Sequoia Capital, and Globespan as well as strategic investments from Motorola, Cisco and two leading operators: Vodafone and Telefonica. |
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Avi Yaron - Visionsense |
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Avi Yaron is the CEO and Founder of Visionsense. Avi's 20 years of management and innovation experience evolved from the communications world, first as an officer in the Israeli intelligence forces and later in Eldat Communications, an Infrared diffused wireless communication company. Among his initiatives, he founded MotoTech, which developed advanced ignition systems for motorcycles, and was among the developers of Tel-Aviv University's microprocessor lab. Due to a brain tumor that was detected by coincidence, Avi Yaron became deeply involved in the minimal invasive surgical field. This personal experience led him to found Visionsense.
Avi Yaron has a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Tel-Aviv University, and an M.S. in Management from Boston University. He holds several patents in the field. He is a visiting lecturer in the MBA entrepreneurial programs of MIT and Babson College.
Visionsense has developed a patented technology, which provides surgeons with real-time, high-resolution, natural stereoscopic vision for Minimal Invasive Surgery applications. The design of the proprietary single sensor is based on multidisciplinary technologies combined with sophisticated image processing algorithms. |
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Jason Nazar - Docstoc |
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Jason Nazar is the co-founder and CEO of Docstoc.com, the premier marketplace to buy and sell professional documents, a top 500 worldwide website that reaches over 20M people a month.
Jason was previously a partner at Venature LLC, a consulting group focused on accelerating the growth of new ventures. There he worked with dozens of tech companies to improve their strategy, sales, and prepare them for financing.
He previously worked in start ups as both a founder and head of sales and marketing. He holds an JD/MBA from Pepperdine University and a B.A. from the University of California at Santa Barbara where he served as the student body president of both universities.
Docstoc is the premier online community and marketplace to find and share professional documents. Docstoc provides the platform to upload and share documents with the world, and serves as a vast repository of free and for purchase legal, business, financial, technical, and educational documents that can be easily searched, previewed and downloaded.
Docstoc, Inc was founded by Jason Nazar (bio) and Alon Shwartz (bio). The company was selected in September of 2007 to debut its product at the prestigious TechCrunch40 Conference. The product was subsequently launched to the public in November 2007.
Docstoc is a venture backed company (Rustic Canyon) and received funding from the co-founders/investors in MySpace, LowerMyBills, Mp3.com, PriceGrabber and Baidu. Their legal counsel is DLA Piper. The company is located in Santa Monica, CA. |
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Yaacov Ben-Yaacov - Catch Media |
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Yaacov Ben-Yaacov is the CEO and Founder of Catch Media. Yaacov has over 20 years working in high technology companies. Yaacov co-founded PictureVision in 1994 to facilitate showing, moving, and printing pictures across a network. In 1998, Kodak bought PictureVision for approximately $200M.
Catch Media has developed software in its Israeli research facility to diversify the platforms on which media content is made available, such as computers, TVs and mobile phone. Catch Media creates convenience for the consumer while creating a profitable on-going revenue stream for content owners, carriers, and distributors.
Catch Media is based in Los Angeles and runs a research and development center in Jerusalem. The company's "Play Anywhere" technology is being developed to help surfers access digital information stored on their home computers - from regular files to movies and music - using a range of devices, such as cellphones and car media players. Users will also be able to share their files with friends. Catch Media's investors include Jonathan Medved, former manager of the Israel Seed venture capital fund. |
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Daniel Recanati - Rhodium |
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Rhodium, through Daniel Recanati, is involved in community activities such as The Israel National Museum of Science Technology and Space (MadaTech), The Yahel Foundation and Tapuach - The Israeli Society for the Advancement of the Information Age.
Rhodium is a private investment firm. Its mission is to identify the most promising entrepreneurs and help them to build thriving companies. Rhodium focuses on high growth, cutting-edge opportunities in the fields of internet, new-media, mobile, and new technologies in general. Rhodium supports entrepreneurs and strengthens their ventures with its resources; funding, broad management expertise and an extensive valuable network of business contacts around the globe. Rhodium looks to take an active role in most of its portfolio companies. Rhodium strategically invests in a handful of promising companies each year in order to be actively involved in creating the optimal environment for them to successfully transform into world-class business ventures. Rhodium is partnering with talented entrepreneurs to turn their ideas into industry-leading companies that will make a difference in our world. |
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Adi Adam - Magento eCommerce |
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Adi Adam is the Director of Customer Relations - Enterprise Sales for Magento eCommerce.
Magento is a feature-rich, professional open-source eCommerce solution that offers merchants complete flexibility and control over the look, content, and functionality of their online store. Magento's intuitive administration interface contains powerful marketing, merchandising and content management tools to give merchants the power to create sites that are tailored to their unique business needs. Completely scalable and backed by an extensive support network, Magento offers companies the ultimate eCommerce solution. |
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Randy Ditzler - Sequoia Capital |
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Randy is a Partner with Sequoia Capital Israel and focuses on systems and software investments. Prior to joining Sequoia Capital in 2004, Randy served as the CEO of Actona Technologies (CSCO). Prior to joining Actona, Randy was the Founder & CEO of Telegis Networks. Earlier, Randy was the Founder & CEO of MarketOne Builders and before that the President & CEO of Freestone Investments.
Randy has a BS in Industrial Technology from California State University in Fresno.
Sequoia Capital in Israel caters to the founders and management who have selected us as their business partners. With offices in Herzelia and Menlo Park, Sequoia Capital has a mixture of local experience and global ties that let Sequoia work with great entrepreneurs to help build market leading companies. |
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Sharon Rechter - BabyFirstTV |
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Sharon Rechter, along with business partner, Guy Oranim, conceptualized and co-founded BabyFirstTV. In her role as executive vice president, she leads the business development and marketing activities for the company with a clear passion to bring quality, new educational programming to families of babies and toddlers.
Sharon has a broad background in television programming and recently served as the vice president and head of operations for The Israeli Network (the Israeli television channel in the U.S.). She was responsible for the general management of the network, and focused on areas including business development, advertising and subscriptions. Before entering the television broadcast industry, she headed the strategic planning department at GNS Advertising in Israel where she was responsible for developing strategic plans for a variety of lifestyle brands. Sharon received her B.A. in business administration from the Arison School of Business and her L.L.B in law from the Radziner School of Law, both at The Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya in Israel.
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Levi Shapiro - TMT |
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Levi Shapiro is a wireless industry expert having been an analyst in the mobile media sector, a lecturer, and a frequent author.
Levi founded Two Minute Television, a short-form, ad supported TV series with episodes averaging 4 million broadcast and cable TV viewers, carriage on 110 major websites, and distribution on carriers in North America, Asia and Europe. Levi founded Snack Mobile to develop proprietary software enabling a new category of mobile media- combining casual mobile gaming with live-action video.
As Director of Audience Metrics at Telephia, he developed partnerships with movie studios, TV networks, game and Internet publishers, record labels, brands and advertising agencies and was instrumental in the company's acquisition by Nielsen. He spent the early part of his career in Tokyo and Beijing with Toyota Motor Corporation and with IBM in Milan.
Levi is fluent in English, Japanese, Mandarin Chinese, Hebrew, and Italian. He holds degrees from Tulane (BA), Cornell (Asian Studies) and MIT (MBA).
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