As CEO, Avi charts Start-Up Nation Central's strategy, sets its goals, and oversees execution across multiple teams and verticals. He ensures that the 120-person organization adheres to its mission of being the prime driver and facilitator of Israeli innovation that boosts growth and generates global impact.
Avi draws on more than 30 years of innovation leadership experiences, in both the private and public sectors. Prior to his role at Start-Up Nation Central, Avi served as Chief Scientist at Israel's Ministry of Economy and Industry and as the Founding Chairman of the Israel Innovation Authority, the government agency tasked with planning and executing innovation policy in Israel and a key driver of the Israeli innovation ecosystem’s rise to dominance over the past decade.
Additionally, Avi spent more than a decade as an early-stage investor at venture capital firms Gemini Israel Funds and Emerge, identifying promising startups and helping them scale.
After completing his military service in the IDF’s 8200 intelligence unit, Avi spent the first decade of his career working for several communication technology companies.
Throughout his career, Avi was a member of the leadership and advisory teams of several for-profit and non-profit organizations. He currently serves on the board of directors for the Sheba Medical Center, SpaceIL, and Tower Semiconductor, recently acquired by Intel.
Avi holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics and Middle Eastern Studies and an MBA, both from Tel Aviv University.
Giora leads Start-Up Nation Central’s business activities including Business Development, Sectors Development, Innovation Diplomacy, and Global Partnerships.
Giora brings with him vast entrepreneurial, managerial, and business execution capacity having previously served as General Manager Cyber at Cognyte (Previously Verint) a global leader in Cyber Intelligence, managing a division of several product/business units. Prior to that he was the CEO of RDC (Rafael Development Corporation) an accelerator and venture arm of Rafael and Elron; the CEO of Jetro Platforms, a Cyber security startup that built the first Secure Browsing Gateway; Founder and CEO of WorkplaceIQ, a global B2B SaaS EFM company headquartered in Boston USA; Co-founder of AirSphere, a SaaS B2B platform for the aviation industry; and Co-founder of GeoCAD, a leading engineering system house, providing CAD technologies to design offices.
Giora studied Industrial Engineering & Information Systems at Ben Gurion University.
As Chief Product Officer, Noga creates customized and scalable solutions for Start-Up Nation Central’s clients helping them to effectively address their main challenges. She brings to the role a wealth of experience from both the public and private sectors, with a background in strategy, finance, product, innovation, and business development leadership. Prior to joining Start-Up Nation Central, Noga established and led the TLV Innovation Hub of the Boston Consulting Group, where she created opportunities for BCG’s global clients to effectively engage with the Israeli Tech ecosystem. Before that, Noga served as VP Products and Solutions at Leumi-Tech, the high-tech arm of Israel’s premier banking group. Early in her career, Noga held key positions in Israel’s Ministry of Finance where she managed various large scale government projects.
Noga earned a BA in Business, Economics and, Communication and an MBA (both Sum Cum Laude) from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.
Chico manages the day-to-day administrative and operational functions of the organization, including overseeing the work of the Finance, HR, Legal, IT, Knowledge Management, and Productions departments.
Chico joined Start-Up Nation Central after having worked for more than 20 years as a reporter and senior editor in Israel’s top news organizations. Prior to joining Start-Up Nation Central, Chico managed Israel Broadcasting Authority’s news radio station, and served as deputy editor-in-chief at the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation (IPBC). During his years in journalism, Chico covered a variety of topics, including foreign relations, health, environment, transportation, and aviation for Israeli television stations Channel 2 and Channel 10.
Chico completed his Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and Media Studies & Management at The College of Management in Israel, his Master’s Degree in Law at Bar Ilan University, and his Executive MBA at Tel Aviv University.
As the Chief Marketing Officer Aliza is responsible for creating and accelerating the company’s marketing strategy and brand recognition across the globe.
Aliza is an experienced senior executive, having served in multiple leadership positions at tier-1 global corporations.
Before joining Start-Up Nation Central Aliza was the CMO of OptimalPlus. Before, she headed the Business Support organization at Microsoft UK. She also served as the Global VP of Marketing at NICE, CMO and VP of Strategy at Netafim, and held a 17-year tenure at Microsoft in various management positions, including Director of Worldwide Strategic Planning at the company’s Redmond headquarters.
Aliza studied Environmental Studies at Tel Aviv University and is a graduate of the Executive Management Program at Wharton Business School.
Michal leads Start-Up Nation Central’s resource development work, including partner cultivation, retention, and support. Prior to joining Start-Up Nation Central, Michal headed the Rashi Foundation's Partnerships Department, developing and overseeing strategic partnerships and managing dozens of philanthropic partners - organizations, Jewish federations, and foundations in Israel and abroad – in initiatives to drive social mobility. Previously Michal served as the CEO of the Nadav Foundation and as director of marketing and investor relations at the venture fund JVP.
Michal earned her BA in social work from Bar Ilan University and a Master’s degree in Public Administration from Clark University.
Yariv manages Start-Up Nation Central’s flagship online business innovation platform, Finder, overseeing the work of the Technology & Development, Data & Insights, and Product & Users teams. Yariv previously served as Managing Director of Value-Focused Investments, an investment banking boutique dealing in cross-border, mid-market mergers and acquisitions focused on Israel and China. Prior to that, he founded and ran the first Corporate Venture Capital arm of one of the largest insurance groups in Israel. Yariv served as Executive Chairman of Shiluvim, the Alumni Association of the Faculty of Engineering at Tel-Aviv University (TAU), and also on the Steering Committee of the Industry Affiliates Program of the Faculty of Engineering at TAU.
Yariv completed his BSc. in Industrial Engineering at Tel Aviv University and his MBA at Brunel University in London, where his thesis addressed Venture Capital Investments in Life-Science Companies.
As VP of Business Development, Jeremie is Start-Up Nation Central’s global ambassador, scouting for business opportunities and partnerships all around the world. Jeremie is an entrepreneur with technological expertise in consumer electronics, software, and 3D imaging industries, who possesses a deep familiarity with Israel’s innovation and commercial capabilities. Prior to joining Start-Up Nation Central, Jeremie served as the Director of Worldwide Business Development at PrimeSense (acquired by Apple). A serial entrepreneur, he founded two of his own startups and mentored founders, VCs, and accelerators.
Jeremie co-founded GameIS, the Israeli Digital Game Association. He has authored six standalone board and card games that can be found on the shelves of specialty shops around the world.
As VP of Innovation Diplomacy, Yariv manages Start-Up Nation Central’s relations with government partners around the globe, overseeing a team of regional managers with a focus on the U.S., MENA countries, and developing countries. Yariv employs the skills he gained during his 13 years in public service at the Ministry of Economy and Industry to enable Israeli technology companies to penetrate foreign markets and expand their international business operations. A former Commercial Attaché to the UK and the US Midwest, Yariv knows exactly how to promote Israeli innovation and technology internationally and assist foreign corporations and governments to tap into the innovation ecosystem in Israel. Prior to his governmental roles, Yariv spent eight years at one of Israel’s leading cyber security companies as a part of the Credit and Collection Team, and later as a Partner Alliance Manager.
Yariv completed his BA in History at Tel Aviv University and his MBA at Ono Academic College.
Eliran leads Start-Up Nation Central's ecosystem development efforts, overseeing the work of both the locally-focused sector leads and the internationally oriented Global Partnerships teams. A former business consultant and diplomat, he brings his years of experience in government and private sector roles to bear in his work managing Start-Up Nation Central’s relations with its most valued partners. Eliran previously ran a private consultancy for Israeli startups wishing to operate in developing markets such as China, India, and the Commonwealth of Independent States, served as the Israeli Ministry of Economy and Industry’s Head of Branch at the Bilateral Trade Agreements Department, and later as Commercial Attaché at the Israeli Embassy in Beijing, where he leveraged his fluency in Chinese to promote Israeli business interests.
Eliran completed his BA in International Relations and East Asian Studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and his GMBA at the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya (IDC).
Ari serves as Start-Up Nation Central’s VP of Strategy, in charge of shaping and implementing its long-term goals in cooperation with the senior management team. Ari has an extensive background in designing and managing market approaches, product launches, sales force strategies, and new strategic plans and operating models for Fortune 500 companies. Prior to joining Start-Up Nation Central he was an independent consultant for Israel Impact Partners and previously served as Managing Consultant at Capgemini Consulting. He was also the CEO of the Israel Tennis and Education Centers, and Chief Commercial Officer for a sports-tech startup.
Ari completed his Bachelor’s Degree in Business and Managerial Economics at the University of Washington and his MBA at the Cornell Johnson Graduate School of Management.
Dana is responsible for all the HR activities of Start-Up Nation Central, including recruitment, training, employee and management development, welfare, and HR strategy.
Dana previously worked for eight years at Gvahim as the VP of Human Resources and head of the careers program, assisting immigrants to Israel in their professional integration. Prior to that, she served for five years as Recruitment Manager for the technology unit of the Office of the Israeli Prime Minister, and also held a senior HR management position at Keinan-Sheffy, a leading recruitment agency in Israel.
Dana holds a B.A. in Sociology and Human-Resources from Haifa University and an M.A. in Labor Studies from Tel-Aviv University.
Uri is the founding CEO of the Start-Up Nation Policy Institute, a think tank that seeks to provide Israeli decision makers with data-based research and policy recommendations on a range of innovation-related topics. He is also chairman of the board of Scale-Up Velocity, a human capital operations platform under the Start-Up Nation Central umbrella that specializes in high-tech training programs.
Uri is the former Co-General Manager and VP of Strategy of Start-Up Nation Central, prior to which he served for seven years as the Chief Strategy Officer and Head of the Strategy and Economic Division in the Israel Innovation Authority (IIA). He has led the division since its establishment in October 2011, focusing on strategy, evaluation, budget planning, and research. For five years prior, he was a senior economist at the National Economic Council in the Prime Minister’s Office, leading the Macroeconomic team at the National Economic Council. In addition, he teaches courses focusing on the economics of innovation and theoretical economics.
Uri completed his Bachelor’s in Economics and Computer Sciences and his Master of Economics specializing in game theory at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Wendy was an integral part of building Start-Up Nation Central’s infrastructure and professional team, and in connecting Israel’s innovation ecosystem with government and business leaders around the world.
Singer previously spent 23 years at AIPAC, including 16 years as Director of the organization’s Israel Office, where she and her team curated educational seminars in Israel, maintained relationships with Israeli ministers and senior government leaders as well as US diplomats and Palestinian officials, and reported to AIPAC-Washington on policy, security, and political developments in Israel. As a registered lobbyist on Capitol Hill, Wendy was the lead contact for 90 Members of Congress and served as a staff aide for three Members of Congress, focusing on foreign policy issues.
Wendy completed her Bachelor’s Degree in American Government and Politics at Brandeis University.
Terms and Conditions
Welcome to www.startupnationcentral.org (together with its subdomains, the “Site“, and together with the Content, Marks (defined below) and any services, the “Service”).
Please read the following Terms of Use carefully before using this Site so that you are aware of your legal rights and obligations with respect to Start-Up Nation Central Ltd. (CC) (“Start-Up Nation Central“, “we“, “our” or “us“) and/or the Site. By accessing or using the Site, you expressly acknowledge and agree that you are entering a legal agreement with us and have understood and agree to comply with, and be legally bound by, these Terms of Use, together with the Privacy Policy (the “Terms“). You hereby waive any applicable rights to require an original (non-electronic) signature or delivery or retention of non-electronic records, to the extent not prohibited under applicable law. If you do not agree to be bound by these Terms please do not access or use the Site.
Last updated: January 2018
At Start-Up Nation Central Ltd. (CC) (“Start-Up Nation Central”), we recognize that your privacy is very important and take it seriously. This Privacy Policy describes Start-Up Nation Central’s policies and procedures on the collection, use and disclosure of your information when you use the Start-Up Nation Central Service. We will not use or share your information with anyone except as described in this Privacy Policy. This Privacy Policy does not apply to information we collect by other means (including offline) or from other sources. Capitalized terms that are not defined in this Privacy Policy have the meaning given them in our Terms of Service
How We Protect Your Information
Start-Up Nation Central uses commercially reasonable physical, managerial, and technical safeguards to preserve the integrity and security of your personal information. We cannot, however, ensure or warrant the security of any information you transmit to Start-Up Nation Central or guarantee that your information on the Service may not be accessed, disclosed, altered, or destroyed by breach of any of our physical, technical, or managerial safeguards.
Links to Other Web Sites
We are not responsible for the practices employed by websites linked to or from the Service, nor the information or content contained therein. Please remember that when you use a link to go from the Service to another website, our Privacy Policy is no longer in effect. Your browsing and interaction on any other website, including those that have a link on our website, is subject to that website’s own rules and policies.
User-Provided Information: You provide us information about yourself, such as your name and e-mail address, organization and job title if you register for a member account with the Service. Your name and other information you choose to add to your profile will be available for public viewing on the Service. We may use your email address to send you Service-related notices (including any notices required by law, in lieu of communication by postal mail) and to respond to “Contact Us” requests. We may also use your contact information to send you marketing messages. If you do not want to receive such messages, you may unsubscribe to such marketing messages. Please note that even if you opt out of receiving the marketing emails, we may still send you a response to any “Contact Us” request as well as administrative emails (for example, in connection with a password reset request) that are necessary to facilitate your use of the Service. If you correspond with us by email, we may retain the content of your email messages, your email address and our responses.
You also provide us information in User Submissions you post (or send to us to post) to the Service. Your questions, answers, participating in blog discussions (and corresponding social profile) and other contributions on the Service, and metadata about them (such as when you posted them), are publicly viewable on the Service, along with your name (unless the Service permits you to post anonymously).This information may be searched by search engines and be republished elsewhere on the Web in accordance with our Terms of Service.
If you choose to use our invitation service to invite a friend to the Service, we will ask you for that person’s email address and automatically send an email invitation. Start-Up Nation Central stores this information to send this email, to register your friend if your invitation is accepted, and to track the success of our invitation service.
Cookies: When you visit the Service, we may send one or more “cookies” – small data files – to your computer to uniquely identify your browser and let Start-Up Nation Central help you log in faster and enhance your navigation through the Service. A cookie may convey anonymous information about how you browse the Service to us, but does not collect personal information about you. A persistent cookie remains on your computer after you close your browser so that it can be used by your browser on subsequent visits to the Service. Persistent cookies can be removed by following your web browser’s directions. A session cookie is temporary and disappears after you close your browser. You can reset your web browser to refuse all cookies or to indicate when a cookie is being sent. However, some features of the Service may not function properly if the ability to accept cookies is disabled.
Log Files: Log file information is automatically reported by your browser each time you access a web page. When you use the Service, our servers automatically record certain information that your web browser sends whenever you visit any website. These server logs may include information such as your web request, Internet Protocol (“IP“) address, browser type, referring / exit pages and URLs, number of clicks, domain names, landing pages, pages viewed, and other such information.
Clear GIFs Information: When you use the Service, we may employ clear GIFs (also known as web beacons) which are used to track the online usage patterns of our users anonymously. No personally identifiable information from your Start-Up Nation Central account is collected using these clear GIFs. In addition, we may also use clear GIFs in HTML-based emails sent to our users to track which emails are opened by recipients. The information is used to enable more accurate reporting and make Start-Up Nation Central better for our users.
Analytic Services: Start-Up Nation Central may use various tools which analyze users on the Service, including a tool called “Google Analytics” to collect information about use of Start-Up Nation Central’s Site. Google Analytics collects information such as how often users visit the Site, what pages they visit when they do so, and what other sites they used prior to coming the Site. We use the information we get from Google Analytics to maintain and improve the Site and the Service. We do not combine the information collected through the use of Google Analytics with personally identifiable information. Google’s ability to use and share information collected by Google Analytics about your visits to the Site is restricted by the Google Analytics Terms of Service, available at https://www.google.com/analytics/terms/us.html, and the Google Privacy Policy, available at https://www.google.com/policies/privacy/. You may learn more about how Google collects and processes data specifically in connection with Google Analytics at https://www.google.com/policies/privacy/partners/. You may prevent your data from being used by Google Analytics by downloading and installing the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on, available at https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout/.
Personally Identifiable Information: Start-Up Nation Central may share your personally identifiable information with third parties for the purpose of providing the Service to you. If we do this, such third parties’ use of your information will be bound by this Privacy Policy. We may store personal information in locations outside the direct control of Start-Up Nation Central (for instance, on servers or databases co-located with hosting providers).
As we develop our business, we may buy or sell assets or business offerings. Customer, email, and visitor information is generally one of the transferred business assets in these types of transactions. We may also transfer or assign such information in the course of corporate divestitures, mergers, or dissolution.
We may share or disclose your information with your consent, such as if you choose to sign on to the Service through a third-party service. We cannot control third parties’ use of your information.
Start-Up Nation Central may disclose your personal information if required to do so by law or subpoena or if we believe that it is reasonably necessary or helpful to comply with a law, regulation or legal request; to protect the safety or rights of any person; to address fraud, security or technical issues; or to protect Start-Up Nation Central’s rights or property.
Non-Personally Identifiable Information: We may share non-personally identifiable information (such as anonymous usage data, referring/exit pages and URLs, platform types, number of clicks, etc.) with interested third parties to help them understand the usage patterns for certain Start-Up Nation Central services.
Start-Up Nation Central may allow third-party ad servers or ad networks to serve advertisements on the Service. These third-party ad servers or ad networks use technology to send, directly to your browser, the advertisements and links that appear on Start-Up Nation Central. They automatically receive your IP address when this happens. They may also use other technologies (such as cookies, JavaScript, or web beacons) to measure the effectiveness of their advertisements and to personalize the advertising content. Start-Up Nation Central does not provide any personally identifiable information to these third-party ad servers or ad networks without your consent. However, please note that if an advertiser asks Start-Up Nation Central to show an advertisement to a certain audience and you respond to that advertisement, the advertiser or ad server may conclude that you fit the description of the audience they are trying to reach. The Start-Up Nation Central Privacy Policy does not apply to, and we cannot control the activities of, third-party advertisers. Please consult the respective privacy policies of such advertisers for more information.
Information Collection and Use
Start-Up Nation Central uses information we collect to analyze how the Service is used, diagnose service or technical problems, maintain security, personalize content, remember information to help you efficiently access your account, monitor aggregate metrics such as total number of visitors, traffic, and demographic patterns to comply with the applicable laws.
Your Choices About Your Information
You may, of course, decline to submit personally identifiable information through the Service, in which case Start-Up Nation Central may not be able to provide certain services to you. You may update or correct your account information and email preferences at any time by logging in to your account.
Children’s Privacy
Protecting the privacy of young children is especially important. Start-Up Nation Central does not knowingly collect or solicit personal information from anyone under the age of 13 or knowingly allow such persons to register with the Service. If we become aware that we have collected personal information from a child under age 13 without verification of parental consent, we take steps to remove that information.
Our California Do Not Track Notice
We do not currently respond or take any action with respect to web browser “do not track” signals or other mechanisms that provide consumers the ability to exercise choice regarding the collection of personally identifiable information about an individual consumer’s online activities over time and across third-party web sites or online services. We may allow third parties, such as companies that provide us with analytics tools, to collect personally identifiable information about an individual consumer’s online activities over time and across different web sites when a consumer uses the Service.
Deletion of Content from California Residents
If you are a California resident under the age of 18 and a registered user, California Business and Professions Code Section 22581 permits you to remove content or personal information you have publicly posted. If you wish to remove such content or personal information and you specify which content or personal information you wish to be removed, we will do so in accordance with applicable law. Please be aware that after removal you will not be able to restore removed content. In addition, such removal does not ensure complete or comprehensive removal of the content or personal information you have posted and that there may be circumstances in which the law does not require us to enable removal of content.
Changes to Our Privacy Policy
If we change our privacy policies and procedures, we will post those changes on this page to keep you aware of what information we collect, how we use it and under what circumstances we may disclose it. Changes to this Privacy Policy are effective when they are posted on this page. If you have any comments or questions regarding our Privacy Policy, or your personal information that we may be storing and using, please contact us at hello@sncentral.org.
Last Updated: January, 2018