Board Of Directors
Eric Benhamou, Chairman and CEO, Benhamou Global Ventures
Eric Benhamou is chairman and CEO of Benhamou Global Ventures, LLC. Benhamou Global Ventures, started in 2003, invests and plays an active role in innovative high tech firms throughout the world. Mr. Benhamou is also the chairman of the board of directors of 3Com Corporation. He is an adjunct professor of Entrepreneurship and Family Enterprise at INSEAD. He is also a visiting professor at Ben Gurion University. He served as chairman of the board of directors of Palm, Inc. from 1999 until 2007 and as chief executive officer of Palm from 2001 until 2003. Benhamou served as chief executive officer of 3Com Corporation from 1990 until 2000. Previously, he held a variety of senior management positions at 3Com. In 1981, Mr. Benhamou co-founded Bridge Communications, an early networking pioneer, and was vice president of engineering until its merger with 3Com in 1987. In 2003, Mr. Benhamou was appointed to the Joint High Level Advisory Panel of the U.S.- Israel Science and Technology Commission by U.S. Commerce Secretary Donald Evans. He currently serves as chairman of the board of Cypress Semiconductor and as a member of the board of RealNetworks, Inc and of Silicon Valley Bancshares. He serves on the board of directors of several privately held companies. Mr. Benhamou serves on the executive committee of TechNet. He is the chairman of the Israel Venture Network, a venture philanthropy organization for a stronger Israeli society.
Thomas J. Gill
During 2008, Thomas J. Gill served as chairman and CEO of Violin Memory, Inc., a developer of computer memory and storage products. Since 2003, Mr. Gill has served as the Managing Partner of SALTT Development Co., LLC, a real estate development and construction company. From 2000 to 2004, Mr. Gill served as the Managing Partner of G4 Partners, LLC, an early stage private equity fund. From 1998 to 2000, Mr. Gill served as Chief Executive Officer and President of FORE Systems, Inc., a designer, developer and manufacturer of high speed networking equipment. From 1993 to 1998, Mr. Gill held various positions at FORE Systems, Inc., including Chief Operating Officer, Chief Financial Officer and Vice President of Finance. From 1991 to 1993, Mr. Gill served as the Vice President of Finance at Cimflex Teknowledge, Inc., a designer and manufacturer of automated factory systems. Prior to serving as Vice President of Finance, from 1987 to 1991, Mr. Gill served as Director of Finance at Cimflex Teknolwedge, Inc. Mr. Gill has served on the board of directors of several companies, including, from 2003 to 2004, FreeMarkets, Inc., a publicly-traded company that provides business-to-business online auctions and sourcing software and solutions, from 2002 to 2004, PrintCafe Software, Inc., a publicly-traded company that provides print management software, which was acquired by Electronics for Imaging, Inc. in 2003, and, from 2002 to 2004, WaveSmith Networks, Inc., a provider of multiservice switching solutions. In addition, from 1998 to 1999, Mr. Gill served on the board of directors of FORE Systems, Inc. Since 2001, Mr. Gill has served on the board of directors of Helium Networks, Inc., a mobile and wireless solutions company, which he co-founded in 2001, and, from 2004 to 2008, Mr. Gill served on the board of directors of SEEC, Inc., a provider of software solutions. From 2001 to 2008, Mr. Gill served on the board of trustees of Sewickley Academy, an independent college-preparatory day school in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and was appointed Vice Chair in 2004. Mr. Gill holds a B.Sc. in Business Administration from the University of Pittsburgh.
Dr. Shuki Gleitman, Managing Partner, Platinum Venture Capital
Dr. Shuki Gleitman is Managing Partner at Platinum Venture Capital (PVC). Prior to his position at PVC, Shuki was the Chief Scientist and Director General of Israel's Ministry of Industry and Trade where he managed all of the Government of Israel's technology programs. In the course of his four year tenure, Shuki was responsible for allocating over $1.5 billion in grants in the framework of promoting R&D activities in the Israeli high-tech industry. Prior to his term at PVC, he also served as the CEO of Ampal Investment Group (NASDAQ: AMPL), where he was responsible for the investment of over $200 million in high-tech ventures. During his tenure at Ampal, Shuki led a $330 million joint venture with Motorola Israel founding Mirs Communications Ltd., Israel's fourth largest cellular operator. Shuki holds a Ph.D. (with distinction), M.Sc. (with distinction) and B.Sc. in Physical Chemistry, from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Ronnie Kenneth, Chairman and CEO, Voltaire
Ronnie Kenneth is Chairman and CEO of Voltaire, a position he has held since early 2001. Mr. Kenneth is responsible for setting Voltaire's strategic direction and managing its global operations. He has been involved in the management of high growth, high technology companies internationally for more than 15 years.
P. Kevin Kilroy
P. Kevin Kilroy is currently retired after serving from 2001 to 2008 as a Partner at Baker Capital. From February 2001 to September 2001, Mr. Kilroy served as the Vice President and General Manager of HP Middleware Division at the Hewlett-Packard Company, a global information technology company. Prior to that, from 1997 to 2001, Mr. Kilroy was Chief Executive Officer and Chairman for Bluestone Software, Inc., a provider of Internet software platforms, tools and technologies for Internet transactions, which was acquired by Hewlett-Packard in February 2001. Since 2001, Mr. Kilroy has served on the board of trustees of North Carolina Wesleyan College. Mr. Kilroy holds a B.A. in Political Science from North Carolina Wesleyan College.
Yaffa Krindel, General Partner, Tamarix Ventures
Yaffa Krindel is a general partner in Tamarix Ventures, a private venture capital fund headquartered in Herzeliya, Israel. From 1997 until 2007, Ms. Krindel served as managing partner in Herzeliya and later as a partner of STAR Ventures, a venture capital fund headquartered in Munich, Germany. Between 1992 and 1996, before joining STAR Ventures, Ms. Krindel served as Chief Financial Officer and Vice President – Finance of Lannet Data Communications Ltd., then a publicly traded company on Nasdaq and now part of Avaya, Inc. From 1993 until 1997, she served as Chief Financial Officer and a director of BreezeCOM Ltd., which is now part Alvarion, Ltd. Prior to joining Lannet, Ms. Krindel held several executive positions in companies and banks in Israel. Ms. Krindel currently serves on the board of directors of several publicly traded and privately held companies.
Rafi Maor, President and CEO, ECI Telecom Ltd.
Rafi Maor is President and Chief Executive Officer of ECI Telecom Ltd., a global telecommunications company that was publicly traded on Nasdaq until September 2007, when it was acquired by the New York-based Swarth Group and the London-based Ashmore Fund. Mr. Maor Joined ECI in September 2004 as Chief Operating Officer, and was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer in January 2006. Prior to joining ECI, Mr. Maor spent nine years at Indigo N.V. where he served as the company's President and Chief Operating Officer and was a member of the management board of Indigo’s Board of Directors. Following Indigo’s acquisition by Hewlett-Packard Company in March 2002, Mr. Maor served as General Manager of HP/Indigo Division and Vice President at Hewlett-Packard with worldwide responsibility for the Indigo product line. Prior to joining Indigo, Mr. Maor was employed by Israel Aircraft Industries Ltd. for twenty years, where he served in senior managerial positions.
Chemi Peres, Managing General Partner, Pitango Venture Capital
Chemi Peres is a true pioneer of the venture capital industry in Israel. In 1992, Mr. Peres founded and managed Mofet Israel Technology Fund. In 1996, he co-founded Pitango Venture Capital (formerly Polaris originating in Israel) and he opened the Pitango Venture Capital (formerly Polaris originating in Israel) office in Silicon Valley in 1998. Mr. Peres is one of the founders of the Israel Venture Association. He holds an MBA degree and a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Engineering and Management from Tel Aviv University.
Yoram Oron, Founder and Managing Partner, Vertex Venture Capital
Yoram Oron has an impressive record as a founder and manager of several successful high technology companies. He was previously President and CEO of Aryt Industries; Co-Founder, President and CEO of Reshef Technologies; and Co-Founder and Chairman of Telegate Ltd. Mr. Oron graduated with a B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering from the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology; he has an MBA from Tel Aviv University, Israel and participated in post-graduate studies at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, USA.