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Fostering Hi-Tech and a Fully Integrated Economy To Maintain Israel's Competitive Edge
Speaker: Orni Petruschka, Former Co-founder and CEO of Chromatis Networks, Co-founder and Senior Manager, Precede Technologies |
While Israel's hi-tech sector continues to perform well relative to other countries, some Israeli economists such as Daniel Ben David at Tel Aviv University suggest that the rest of Israel's economy has not been keeping up and is in danger of becoming uncompetitive. As a country dependent on exports to maintain its economic health, how can Israel's economy continue to grow, evolve and maintain its competitive edge in the world marketplace.
Orni Petruschka, one of Israel's most accomplished business leaders and hi-tech innovators, is a visionary in Israel's development of green and solar technology. He was co-founder and CEO of Chromatis Networks, a company he started in 1997 to develop optical equipment for the telecommunications market. Chromatis was sold to Lucent Technologies in May 2000, for $4.75 billion after establishing itself as a world leader in its field.
Prior to founding Chromatis, he co-founded and served as CEO of Scorpio Communications Ltd in 1993 and managed it until it was sold to US Robotics in 1996. Prior to founding Scorpio, Petruschka served as the head of Systems Engineering at ECI Telecom optical communications line, and held various positions at Telcordia (formerly Bellcore).
Precede Technologies, which Mr. Petruschka co-founded, is today an entrepreneurship and investment firm which teams up with scientists and inventors to establish well-funded start-up companies. Precede focuses on IP-intensive technologies in high-growth markets, such as the Cleantech industry.
A former fighter pilot in the Israeli Air Force, he holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the Technion in Haifa, Israel and a Masters degree in engineering from Cornell University.
Orni is also is Chairman of The Abraham Fund – Israel, and Co-Chairman of its International Executive Committee. In addition to The Abraham Fund, Orni provides volunteer leadership to various charitable activities in Israel including Chairman of The People's Voice, a public initiative promoting a permanent peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians. He serves on the boards of several technology companies and has advised Israeli political parties on economic and business matters.
Orni was recently mentioned in the Israeli business magazine, The Marker. He is one of the most influential philanthropists in Israel this year.