Our Board.
Leo Bakman, PhD
CEO
A serial entrepreneur with more than 20 years' experience, Leo has been deeply engaged in the digital transformation of diverse fields including healthcare, manufacturing, food and agro-tech & government. An innovation policy expert, initiating and consulting in different innovation policy programs in Israel and abroad, Leo has focused on the impact of digitalization on global challenges and socioeconomic needs. Leo was awarded a PhD from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem in Business Strategy concentrating on the evolution process of knowledge-intensive industries.
Dan Vilenski
An entrepreneur, long-serving member of the Board of Governors of the Technion and the Israel National Nanotechnology Initiative, and former Chairman of the Board Applied Materials Israel, Dan continues a distinguished professional and volunteer career.
Leon Kempler OAM
In addition to his various business activities, Leon’s honorary roles include: National Chairman of the Australia-Israel Chamber of Commerce; Chairman of the Questacon Advisory Council (National Science and Technology Centre); Director of Wonderment Walk Victoria, and Director of the General Sir John Monash Foundation.
Nicole Hod
Nicole is the Executive Director of Merage Foundation Israel (MFI), where she is leading a transformative regional economic development process in the Negev Region, as well as a variety of high impact programs throughout Israel. She is passionate about solving complex global problems through innovation and strategic management. She is an expert in designing and implementing scalable community building and economic development strategies to bring about inclusive growth. She is a systems thinker and believes in the power of diversity, gender equality, cross- sector collaboration and private sector integration to catalyze sustainable change. As the top executive for the Merage Foundations in Israel, Nicole serves to build strategic partnerships and trusting relationships with key leaders in government, philanthropy and the private sector to advance MFI’s mission. Nicole has a comprehensive international experience in social innovation, international development and philanthropy, working in the US, Latin America and Israel. Nicole is a Wexner Israel Fellow. She has a BA in Political Science from NYU and a master’s degree in Public Administration from Harvard Kennedy School, concentrating in Management, Leadership, and Decision Sciences.
Amalya Oliver
Amalya L. Oliver is a Full Professor of Organizational Sociology at the Hebrew University. She graduated from UCLA in 1993. Her current research focuses on innovation and entrepreneurship, networks for collaborations, social entrepreneurship, and platforms for enhancing inter-organizational learning and knowledge sharing. She was the chair of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at the Hebrew University, founded and coordinated for 14 years the Hoffman Leadership and Responsibility program for doctoral students at the Hebrew University, was the Chair of the Library Authority at the Hebrew University and served as a member of the Hebrew University Executive Board. She has published over 70 articles and wrote 5 books.
Boaz Mamo
Boaz is a serial entrepreneur who was one of the founders of the ever-growing mobility ecosystem in Israel. Prior to founding Navmatic, Boaz was the Co-founder and CEO of Drive TLV, a mobility hub for promising early-stage startups in Tel Aviv.
He was also the founder of EcoMotion, the Israeli Smart Mobility community since 2012, and Capsula, the first mobility incubator in Israel at Tel Aviv University. Boaz is a co-founder of the Israel Innovation Institute and holds a B.A. and an M.B.A., from the Hebrew University, Jerusalem.
Shani Zanescu
Shani Zanescu is the Founder of Isratech Ventures, connecting top-tier investors, government officials, and private entities from all around the world to Israeli tech and innovation. For nearly a decade, she has been forming collaborations and partnerships between Israel and key players in the global arena through various business development roles and initiatives. Previously, Shani was a Director of an Innovation Center, and also the Head of the Foreign Affairs Department of the British Council in Israel. She was also the Assistant Defense Attaché at the Embassy of Israel in the Netherlands. Shani holds a Master's in Diplomacy & National Security from Tel Aviv University, and a Bachelor of Communications & Business from Texas Christian University. She is also a keynote speaker on Israeli tech and a lecturer on entrepreneurship.
Doron Meller
Doron is the chief Innovation Officer at Netter Center: AgriFood & Climatech hub.
Doron was raised on a Negev Kibbutz. Throughout the years, he has worked as a business strategy and management consultant in ESG spheres at BDO Israel, where he spent several years advising large Israeli companies on business, social, and environmental issues.
Doron has joined III to lead the Israel's agri-food tech ecosystem. Doron established the GrowingIL community (Ag- tech) and two years later he was appointed as the COO of the Israel Innovation Institute. Doron holds M.A. in Management (Cum Laude) from BGU University and for several years has volunteered as a strategic consultant for Israeli's NGO's