About Us
IBF Programming Board: (From left to right) Gadi BenMark, Oz Benamram,
Gil Galanos, Ranan Lachman, Eliad Josephson
The Israeli Business Forum of New York (IBF) is an apolitical, nonprofit organization established in October 2002. Our mission is to facilitate quality business discussions among Israeli professionals in New York. Through our programs we enable a group of professional Israelis to interact on a regular basis and exchange ideas about Israeli related issues. The IBF encourages meaningful discussions and business interactions among our members in order to promote their contribution to Israeli society and economy.
IBF PROGRAMMING BOARD
Ranan Lachman - Co-Chair
Mr. Lachman has over 12 years of transaction experience with private companies as Investment banker and venture capitalist. Prior to joining GreenCrest he was a Senior Vice President at SecondMarket’s private company division where he was involved with executing numerous secondary transactions in companies such as Facebook, Twitter and others. Prior to that Mr. Lachman worked as Executive Director at Oppenheimer & Co. Investment banking providing advisory services to emerging growth private companies in the technology and healthcare sectors, including private placements. Mr. Lachman’s experience includes working as an associate at a venture capital firm, performing valuations and portfolio due diligence on start-ups and negotiating M&A transactions.
Mr. Lachman earned his MBA from Warwick University and Duke University, Fuqua Business School, and a BS in Computer Science from the Israel Open University in Tel-Aviv.
Oz Benamram - Co-Chair
As the firm's first Chief Knowledge Officer, Mr. Benamram provides White & Case strategic direction on knowledge management and technology and leads the Knowledge Management department in developing and implementing the systems and processes that enable the firm to use its collective knowledge to benefit its clients worldwide.
Mr. Benamram is a globally recognized thought leader and a frequent speaker on legal technology and knowledge management subjects. He has won numerous awards for the design and development of AnswerBase, an intelligent search system that offers attorneys and staff a powerful one-stop source for finding, understanding, and using the vast array of information needed to serve clients.
Born in Jerusalem in 1967, Mr. Benamram received his BA in Economics from Tel Aviv University Faculty of Social Sciences, magna cum laude, and his LLB from the Tel Aviv University Law. He clerked for the Honorable Justice Mishael Cheshin of the Supreme Court of Israel and was a Major in the Israel Defense Forces, where he served as a Tank Company Commander.
Mr. Benamram is a member of the New York State Bar, the Israel Bar, the Board of Directors of the America-Israel Chamber of Commerce and the International Council of the New Israel Fund. He can be contacted at: ozb@israelibusinessforum.org.
Tsvi Gal - Director
Tsvi Gal has over 25 years
of investment and operational experience in global corporations, with a
focus on financial services, media & entertainment and information
technology. He is currently a
partner at a private equity firm Exigen Capital. Prior to that, Tsvi was
the Chief Technology Officer for Deutsche Bank Asset Management and
Investment Banking. Previously he served as as CIO and Head of Business
Development at Time Warner Music Group. He played a key role in WMG's
leveraged buyout and subsequent public offering. Tsvi also led the
public offering for Memco and its $550 million acquisition by Computer
Associates. As President and Chief Operating Officer of AT&T’s ATT.COM,
Tsvi tripled the group’s revenue to $390 million per year. His previous
experience includes C-level roles at Merrill Lynch, Wells Fargo, ABN
AMRO Bank and Bank of America, as well as General Partner in GBS, a $1
billion USA/Japan private equity fund. In addition, he has advised on
numerous mergers and acquisitions as well as public offerings for such
companies as Skynet, Ksolo and Vizible.
Currently, he is the New
York Chapter President of the Society of Information Managers (SIM), a
CIO association with more than 3,500 members. He is also the author of
"Distributed Computing Management" and served on the USA technology
delegation to the G7. In 2001, he received the Einstein Award from the
President of Israel. Tsvi serves on the boards of FundTech, Expand,
Cardean University, Perfomania and Venotion and is an advisor to the
president of Rutgers University.
Gil Galanos – Director
Gil Galanos is the
founder and president of U.S. Israel Business Council (www.usibc.org <http://www.usibc.org/>
), a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing together investors, senior
executives and entrepreneurs who are engaged in business and commercial
activities for the purposes of designing and implementing investments in, and
trade programs between, the United States and Israel.
Between the years 2006 and 2010, Gil served as the Deputy Economic Minister to
North America for the Government of Israel Economic Mission. In this position,
he formed and organized business delegations to and from Israel, provided
advisory services to Israeli companies in the U.S., served as a key liaison
between Israeli companies and American investors, and developed strategic
partnerships between Israeli and U.S. companies and organizations.
Mr. Galanos came to the Economic Mission with broad experience in the Israeli
high-tech arena, working for companies such as Comverse Technologies (CMVT) and
Intel Corporation (INTC).
From 1992-1999, he served in a number of positions for the Israel Ministry of
Defense including two years at several locations in Europe.
Mr. Galanos received his B.Sc. in Information Systems Engineering from
Ben-Gurion University.
Sasson Darwish - Director
Sass Darwish is a Managing Director and Head of the Americas Technology Investment Banking Group at Nomura. Prior to that, he has been with Bank of America Merrill Lynch where he covered a variety of technology companies both in the United States, Europe and in Israel. His areas of focus are telecom equipment, software and internet infrastructure. Prior to that, Sass was a managing director at DS Advisory Group, a corporate finance advisory firm to telecom equipment and software companies. Until 2003, Sass served as President of Emblaze Systems and was responsible for all U.S. operations, including sales, business development, marketing and finance. Prior to that, Sass was a Vice President with Lehman Brothers Investment Banking Global Technology Group. Sass served six years in the Israeli Defense Force in various positions and completed his service with the rank of Captain.
Sass holds a B.A. in Economics and Management from Tel Aviv University and an MBA from Yale School of Management.
Gadi BenMark - Director
Gadi BenMark is the SVP of Client Development at NMIncite. NM Incite is a joint venture between The Nielsen Company and
McKinsey & Company that helps businesses harness the full potential of
social media intelligence to drive superior business performance across their
organizations. Prior to NMIncite, Mr. BenMark wasChief
Revenue Officer at TurnTo Networks, where he led TurnTo’s sales, marketing, and
business development activities. Gadi
was a VP/CBE (client business executive) at Amdocs (NYSE:DOX) in charge of
digital advertising and commerce, and a VP/General Manager at Intergraph where
he managed Intergraph’s transportation and photogrammetry global business unit.
Prior to Intergraph Mr. BenMark led LocatioNet Inc’s operations in the
Americas. LocatioNet is an Israel based technology provider of mobile
location-based service solutions. He joined LocatioNet after a number of years
with McKinsey & Co.
Mr. BenMark, a Canadian Israeli worked with the
McKinsey telecom practice both in North and South America and in Europe. He was
responsible for developing global mobile strategies for clients.
Mr. BenMark holds an MBA from the Harvard Business
School (Baker scholar), a law degree (University of Tel-Aviv), and a BA in
economics and Business (Hebrew University of Jerusalem). He was a captain in
the Israeli Air-Force and is a member of the New-York legal bar.
Natalie Yazovitsky - Executive Director
Natalie Yazovitsky is a Master of International Affairs candidate at Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) concentrating in International Finance and Economic Policy. At the Israeli Business Forum Natalie is responsible for the daily activities of the organization such as events coordination and set up, IBF member relations, communications to the board of directors and financials. Prior to that Natalie worked as a Private Banker at Citi. She delivered wealth management solutions in the areas of banking, lending, investments and financial planning and acted as a relationship manager and a trusted advisor to high net worth clients. Natalie served as a Social Services Commander in the Israeli Armor Forces and holds a B.S. in Finance from Long Island University. She also studied Law and Business at the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya
OBSERVERS
- Ili Cohen: Co-founder
- Eliad Josephson
BOARD OF ADVISORS
- Mr. Chemi Peres
- Mr. Zohar Zisapel