Advisory Board and Organizing Team: |
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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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Sharona Justman - STEP Strategy Advisors |
CO-CHAIR / CO-FOUNDER |
Sharona Justman is the co-Founder of The Israel Conference which launched in 2009 from an idea to expand the conversation between the business community and the exciting happenings in the entrepreneurial Israeli market. Sharona sees the great opportunity to bring corporate America to Israel by hosting a mega-networking event in one of the largest US cities and bringing the top CEOs and leadership of Israel-facing companies together.
The Israel Conference inspires Israeli entrepreneurs and US investors and the international corporate world to meet, ideate, and create new ventures together. Companies enjoy presenting their technology, products, and services that innovate and open new markets. The Israel Conference is a business event to showcase the innovative spirit of the Israeli market and has enjoyed presentations from hundreds of CEOs and leaders of companies that do business in Israel. The Israel Conference is the result of efforts from many in the business community who collaborate to bring the best companies to the stage. Yossi Vardi and Sharona Justman are the co-Chairs of this annual event in Los Angeles.
In addition to organizing The Israel Conference, Sharona is a businesswoman known for connecting companies and leaders to align in creating rich opportunities for business. Sharona combines a strong business background with a solid tech understanding and adds a dash of marketing flair which positions her as a top advisor to many companies.
Sharona is the Managing Director of STEP Strategy Advisors (www.STEPstrategy.net), a strategic planning and acquisition advisory firm that facilitates expanding the growth of companies through market entry planning and execution as well as an advisor to facilitate growth through acquisition working with some of the largest Private Equity firms in the US.
Sharona co-founded Rubenstein / Justman Management Consultants (www.RJMC.net) providing enterprise-wide information technology and operations improvement management consulting services to middle market companies in technology, distribution, manufacturing, financial services, entertainment, and consumer product markets.
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 in Accounting and Economics.
When not obsessively planning The Israel Conference or managing STEP Strategy Advisors, Sharona plays music, writes poetry, watches classic movies, and practices speaking Hebrew, Spanish, and English.
The Israel Conference is the place for executives to come together, talk, eat, think, idea-generate, and gain an insider's understanding of the success of Israel-facing companies. Conference co-Chairs are Yossi Vardi and Sharona Justman. We are more than a business conference, we are an experience! |
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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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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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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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Zohar Levkovitz - Space IL |
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Zohar Levkovitz is the Chairman of SpaceIL. Zohar founded Amobee and led the company through its recent acquisition by SingTel. 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.
Space IL's mission is to make Israel the 3rd country to land on the moon. Space IL is a non-profit organization established by a multidisciplinary team of Israeli space enthusiasts to compete with privately-funded space teams in the Google Lunar X Prize.
The Google Lunar X Prize is a global race of lunar exploration offering the largest international incentive prize of all time: a total of $30 million.
The challenge is to become the first team to successfully launch, fly and land a robotic spacecraft on the Moon. The team must operate the spacecraft across the lunar surface and transmit video, images, and data back to Earth. Our spacecraft of choice is a nanosatellite carrying the Israeli flag. |
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Eran Wagner - Gemini Israel Funds |
CO-FOUNDER |
Eran Wagner joined Gemini in 2011 with a rich entrepreneurial as well as executive background and over 20 years of experience in developing and scaling businesses in the high-tech industry from building, focusing and motivating teams to fund raising, bringing new solutions to market and implementing exit strategies.
Throughout his career Eran focused on selling to large enterprises with deep knowledge and expertise in the various segments of the telecommunication industry including telco/wireline, mobile, cable, satellite, content and Internet providers.
In his last role Eran was the President, North American Operations at cVidya Networks where he built the company's business in North America including direct as well as channel sales, marketing and the creation of new, cloud based offerings.
Prior to his role with cVidya, Eran was VP, Portfolio Strategy and Planning, Amdocs Products Group where he was responsible for developing Amdocs' overall product strategy. Eran co-founded, in 1997, XACCT Technologies, where he served as the Executive Vice President of Technology, responsible for the definition, creation and market introduction of all XACCT products, and for strategic alliances. XACCT was sold to Amdocs in 2004. Before starting XACCT, Eran co-founded the Xpert Group in 1993, and served as president and CEO. Xpert was sold in 2005 to One in Israel.
Eran started his career as a software engineer. He holds a Bachelors of Science degree from Tel-Aviv University and is the inventor of multiple granted patents.
Gemini Israel Ventures is a Seed and Early Stage VC investor focused on investing in Israel-based companies in the fields of Communications & Wireless, Consumer Electronics, Enterprise Software, Internet, and Semiconductors. Founded in 1993, Gemini now manages over $700M in committed capital across five funds. |
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Ross Avner - Yahoo! |
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Ross Avner has over ten years of experience in the technology, media and entertainment industry where he's served in key product and business positions developing consumer Internet products. Ross offers a rare blend of drive, creativity, and operations strength, all of which enabled him to execute go-to market strategies that impact bottom line results. In his day-to-day, Ross works closely with product teams to launch new products and services, monetize audiences and user behaviors, and strike measured business partnerships.
Ross started his career as a journalist at CNN as part of the crew at CNN Headline News, later forming CNN Interactive when it was getting off the ground. He continued his career with start-up Exent Technologies where he was responsible for creating strategic and business partnerships in North America. Today, Ross is part of Yahoo!'s business development and partnerships group focusing on consumer verticals and building upon Yahoo!'s values to bring best-in-class products and services to Internet users worldwide.
Yahoo's vision is to deliver your world, your way. Yahoo uses technology, insights, and intuition to create deeply personal digital experiences that keep more than half a billion people connected to what matters the most to them across devices, on every continent, in more than 30 languages.
Yahoo! Games allows users to play games either with other users or by themselves. Yahoo! Games also includes Yahoo! Video Games, which provides news, previews and reviews of currently available or upcoming First Party games and Yahoo! Games on Demand which provides free demos and full-size downloads of full PC games for a charge. |
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David Lonner - Oasis Media Group |
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David Lonner is the founder of Oasis Media Group, a management and production company based in Los Angeles. Under Oasis' banner, Lonner represents writers, directors, and producers in the film, television, and online content arenas. Prior to founding his own company, Lonner was a talent agent at William Morris Agency from 2003-09. He was previously a partner at Endeavor where he established their Motion Picture division. Lonner also spent several years at Creative Artists Agency and began his career at ICM. Lonner is a committed philanthropist working with numerous organizations. He serves as a former board member of the Early Childhood Center at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles and former chairman of the entertainment division of the United Jewish Fund. Additionally, he is a board member of the Phase 1 Cancer Institute, American Pardes Foundation, and Entertainment Industry Foundation. Lonner graduated from Tulane with a BA in Sociology.
Oasis Media Group is a Management and Production Company based in Los Angeles |
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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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Frank Williams - Irvine Global Innovation Group |
Advisor |
Frank Williams is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Irvine Global Innovation Group. He believes in inspiring an innovation-driven partnership between Israeli institutions and the University of California Irvine (UCI). Currently Frank is pursuing his undergraduate degree in Political Science and International Studies at UCI. His role requires active engagement with multinational corporations, universities, and governments. The shift from a country-centric corporation to one that is more global in its outlook will have a radical impact on leadership development. He seeks to help students acquire a higher level of cultural and emotional intelligence; an intellectual understanding of the global business context, in other words, an ability to comprehend just how complex it can be to conduct business and/or collaborate with different people and cultures around the world. Williams has a background in mortgage banking with Capital Direct Funding, private money lending company. Williams as well has experience from working on various campaigns, most recently Teresa Hernandez for Congress 32nd Congressional District of California, Meg Whitman for Governor of California, and Carly Fiorina for California U.S. Senate. His experiences led him to serve on Capitol Hill for Congressman Sam Graves (M-06), Chairman of the House Committee on Small Business, and as a volunteer for the Conservative Political Action Conference, CPAC. The Irvine Global Innovation Group mentors and collaborates with undergraduate and graduate students at UCI to address generational challenges. The organization believes that our collaborative adaptive management structure between multinational corporations, universities, and governments provides the necessary opportunity to build the needed experience to be competitive in the global economy. Our organization is committed to providing students with tangible skills that will be transferable to their future career of choice.
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Opening opportunities for knowledge and networking to expand your mind and your reach.
eContact paula@theISRAELCONFERENCE.ORG 310-445-5388
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The ISRAEL CONFERENCE™
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