Dorit Banet is founder and CEO of the Eilat Eilot Renewable Energy Initiative. She is also Co-Chairwoman of the conference. Among her many roles, Dorit manages the Eilat-Eilot administration, energy efficiency projects in Eilat and Hevel Eilot, education programs, and cooperation with the European Union. Prior to her position here, Dorit was the head of Hevel Eilot’s environmental unit for 8 years. She holds a Masters degree in Geomorphology from Ben Gurion University and a BA in geography from Haifa University.

Noam has been with Capital Nature since its inception, active in its establishment.
Previously, Noam founded and managed Eilat-Eilot Renewable Energy Initiative, a comprehensive model for for solving the energy crisis by advancing all necessary components and generating substantial regional development. The project received wide recognition by government and the public.  Among his roles, Noam was in charge for setting up the Eilat Eilot Renewable Energy Technological Center, was material in the establishment of the Timna 200MW Solar Park, and in bringing leading pilot projects to the region.  Noam serves as chair of Eilat-Eilot Renewable Energy Conference, one of the world’s leading RE events.  In 1995 Noam Founded and managed Cortext Ltd., one of Israel’s first Internet related software companies, later acquired by VCI a NASDAQ traded company.
Noam possesses deep Knowledge of RE markets & technologies.
He holds a BA degree in Business Administration; MA in Environmental Studies (Tel-Aviv University)

Roi Feder serves as the managing director of APCO Worldwide in Israel. APCO is one of the largest global public affairs and strategic communications firms.  Roi serves as an adviser to some of the world’s largest corporations in the fields of high-tech, financial services, energy, and healthcare. Additionally, he oversees APCO’s role in the Israeli government’s "China, India, Japan Fund,” a program set up to support the increase of trade between Israel and its key target markets. Over the past few years, Roi has worked with some of the largest Chinese renewable energy companies, supporting them in managing issues and challenges in global markets.

Mr. Feder holds a Master of Arts in Public Policy from Tel Aviv University School of Government. He earned his Bachelor of Arts in International Relations and East Asian Studies from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Mr. Feder is fluent in English and Hebrew, and has basic competency in Mandarin Chinese.

Ms. Zviya Baron, an Energy Innovation and Policy expert, serves as Principal at PetroQuantum. She serves as Director of Alternative Energy and leads this activity in Israel and internationally. Using her 15 years of energy experience, she is specializes in designing policies and strategies to promote energy innovation, at the country level and at the corporate level. Her major assignment is as the advisor of the National Energy committee at the Israeli National R&D Council. Ms. Baron earned her BA at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and her MBA at the Erasmus University of the Netherlands. 

Eitan Parnass is the founder & Director General of the Green Energy Association of Israel (formerly REEEAI Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency Association of Israel), the main green energy lobbying group organization in Israel.  Established in 2009 by Parnass, GEA-IL promotes the implementation of renewable energy electricity production and energy efficiency in Israel, using the professional industry knowledge & skills.  One of the main objectives of GEA-IL is providing decision makers with the necessary information and tools to achieve national goals and set enabling policy to foster green energy sector growth.  GEA-IL was involved in the formation of the various renewables & Energy Efficiency regulations, acting for the Israeli green energy industry from the launch of the first Solar PV regulations (2008) and has marked many achievements promoting local Renewables market.

Parnass is also a public pro-sustainability activist involved in numerous initiatives to promote sustainable economy in Israel and worldwide, including the formation of the Global Solar Council, launched at Paris COP21, where he serves as board member and secretary.  Parnass has served as Board Member to various NGOs including the Israel Sustainable Energy Society (ISES), serves as Vice President of GIREC (Israel-Germany Renewable Energy Committee), member to the National Green Growth Round Table and is a notable speaker at the academy, industry, local & international conferences and seminars.

Eitan Parnass was born in Jerusalem in 1971, he holds Honours law degree from the University of Warwick UK and LL.m law degree from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Daniel studied Law, Economics and International Relations in Berlin and Washington DC. He has advised Policy Planning Council of the German Federal Foreign Office in Berlin, the European Commission in Brussels and British Petroleum in Baku, Azerbaijan on energy issues.

From 2008-2010 he served as Deputy Director of the German Chamber of Commerce in Baku, Azerbaijan. Before joining OSCE he led the oil & gas practice as Vice President of BTO Management Consulting AG in Berlin and Zürich, managing international projects in M&A, post-merger integration and optimization in the oil & gas industry.

Daniel currently serves as Senior Programme Officer for Energy Security at the Office of the Co-ordinator of Economic and Environmental Affairs (OCEEA) at the OSCE Secretariat in Vienna, advising on regional energy security issues as well as renewable energy. OCEEA has just released a handbook on Protecting Electricity Networks from Natural Hazards that serves as a guidebook for policy makers to increase networks resilience and decrease blackout rates. 

Dr. Thompson has worked on energy, development, and climate change issues for over two decades, in both government and non-government positions. Dr. Thompson currently is Director of the Office of Electricity and Energy Efficiency at the U.S. Department of State. In that position he is responsible for establishing and managing the strategic direction and programmatic implementation of the Office’s mission in advancing U.S. foreign policy and national security goals in priority countries through the promotion of electricity system reforms and functioning power markets; promoting increased access to clean and affordable energy services; and, supporting USG climate change goals by creating the regulatory and electric utility system frameworks necessary for investment in clean energy and energy efficiency. 

Before becoming the Office Director in the Bureau of Energy Resources, Dr. Thompson served as Senior Program Manager in the State Department's Climate Office. Attendant duties included: 

• U.S. Government lead negotiator on Technology within the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) 
• U.S. Government representative on the International Steering Committee of the Renewable Energy Policy Network of the 21st Century (REN21), Paris, France 
• U.S. Government representative on the Governing Board of the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP), Vienna, Austria 
• Lead U.S. Negotiator for Energy at the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development, New York City 

Before coming to the State Department, Mr. Thompson served as Director of the Office of Energy at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and before that, as Senior Policy Analyst at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). 

Mr. Thompson has a B.A. in English from Gonzaga University and a Ph.D in Political Philosophy from Georgetown University. 

Nurit Gal is the director of electricity and regulation division at the Electricity utility authority in Israel. In this capacity she is responsible for IPPs and renewable energy regulation and tariffs. Prior to that, Mrs Gal was the director of system analysis department at the IDF general staff, holding the rank of a colonel.

Mrs Gal holds 3 master degrees in operations research, in public administration and in energy policy, and she is a Phd candidate at Tel Aviv University. Her PHd title is: "The effect of natural gas price volatility on Electricity capacity investment".

Deputy and acting mayor of Eilat since 2004 (third term with the serving mayor Meir Yitzhak Halevy). Resident of Eilat since 1962, married to Naomi, father of three, and grandfather of ten grandchildren. Bachelor’s degree in economics and management, graduate of courses in shipping and ports, shipping agents, and training for directors.

As deputy and acting mayor, responsible for the economic and financial fields, and serving as chair of the Municipal Tourism Corporation, chair of the public road safety committee, and chair of the public committee for preserving the VAT exemption. Between 2010 and 2013, also served as chair of the Eilat Economic Company. Between 1997 – 2008, manager of Dizengoff (Zim) Eilat.

In the framework of his public position, leads many measures together with the mayor to develop the status of the city of Eilat as Israel’s fifth metropolis. Among these are promotion of the “Southern Gateway” plan to create a vast logistic transport hub, including moving the airport and port of Eilat out of the city to a location 18 km to the north, with a connection to the railway line, and at the same time freeing up land reserves for the development of the city. Leading Eilat as an international tourism and sports destination, a city of conferences and festivals, an academic city, a solar city, a smart city. As chair of the Tourism Corporation, works to position Eilat as an international tourist destination, Israel’s vacation capital, with investments in tourist infrastructures, tourism education, and marketing.

Eliad Peretz serves as NASA Space Technology Research Fellow at Goddard Space Flight Center. He was named by the Hertz Foundation as one of the most promising scientist in the USA for the year of 2015.

Mr. Peretz Has received many awards for is work through NASA, NSF and Cornell university. His research interest include computer optimization, prediction and fabrication of nanostructures with the goal of enhancing the performance of materials for clean energy applications. Mr. Peretz Holds a ground breaking patent for a new nano-3D printing method, which enables fast printing times, sub 50 nm resolution and printing a wide array of materials.

Mr. Peretz was recommended both by NASA and Cornell University to become a candidate for the next recruitment cycle of astronauts by the agency. Mr Peretz leads a team of M.S and B.s student as part of the Cornell Helios Energy Lab in an effort to develop groundbreaking renewable energy concepts and devices.

Mr. Peretz received his B.S in Aerospace engineering from the Technion – Israeli institute of technology, and is currently a PhD candidate working with Prof. Tobias Hanrath at Cornell University in Ithaca NY.

Mr. Peretz work is supported by:

Dr. Rona Sarfaty Gradueted and spent more than 15 years in research in the Solid State Physics and the Microelectronics Research Center in the Electrical Engineering Department, Technion. During subatical period in CALTECH/ORTEL she developed one of the best and first GaAs based QW diode laser. Later she was involved in the start-up industry (mainly in Optoelectronics) for 5 years. In 2005 she became academic staff member and Head of the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering in ORT Braude College in Karmiel. During this period she was principal researcher in the project  “High Voltage Photovoltaic Vertical Cells”. This research was done in cooperation with Prof. Y Rosenwaks and Prof. A. Kribus, Department of Engineering, Tel-Aviv University.

Feb.2014-present - Manager R & D Programs, Ministry of National Infrastructures, Energy& Water Resources, Office of the Chief Scientist, Israel.  

Honi Kabalo is an economist (M.A) specializing in energy and environment, serving as the Head of Renewable Energy in the Israeli Electricity Authority (PUA) since 2012.

In his current position Honi is leading the implementation of the Israeli renewable energy scheme in the PUA - including the setting of tariffs, the Net Metering program, and the design of the coming solar tenders.

Honi also serves as Vice Chair of MedReg's Working Group on Environment, Renewable Energy Sources and Energy Efficiency.

Before 2012, Honi worked as a Senior Economist in the Israeli Ministry of Environmental Protection, where he was heading the economic analysis on: air quality, renewable energy, transport, biodiversity, land remediation and climate change.

Ron has served in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs since 1990. During his first period at the ministry he was personal assistance to the Director General and dealt mainly with the Oslo process and the economic peace with the Palestinians. In 1997 he started a long and interesting period of 15 years dealing with all aspect of the United Nations. He started in New York, serving as counselor for economic and social affairs at the Permanent Mission of Israel. In 2004, two years after his return from NY, he became the director of the UN Department at the Foreign Ministry and engaged mainly with the efforts to promote the relations between Israel with the United Nations, as well as the image of the UN among the Israeli public. As part of these efforts he initiated the UNGA resolution on Holocaust Remembrance and the International Commemoration Day. He served as a member and the chairman of a UN committee on Program and Coordination and at the same time promoted an ODA law in the Knesset. In 2008 Ron started his post as Deputy Ambassador of Israel to the UN in Geneva where he was in charge on the relations with numerous International Organizations and Specialized agencies, such as the  ILO, WHO, UNEP, UNHCR, IOM and ITU. Upon his return to Israel Ron has engaged in the Specialized agencies such as UNESCO. Later on he became the director for the OECD membership of Israel, and now also the Energy file in the MoFA, including the relations with the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) in Abu Dhabi. 

Peter Lammers is Research Professor in the School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment at Arizona State University. Current funded research addresses renewable energy production with an emphasis on a mixotrophic extremophile known as Galdieria sulphuraria. A second focus area is  for mixotrophic wastewater treatment.  Lammers is Principal Investigator for two Department of Energy awards: “Realization of Algae Potential” (2014-2016) and “A Novel Platform for Algal Biomass Production using Cellulosic Mixotrophy (2016-2018). Lammers is also the Chief Scientist for the Algae Testbed Public Private Partnership (ATP3). He serves as associate editor of the journal Algal Research.  Previous positions include Vice President for Biotechnology at Solix Biosystems (2009-2010), Research Professor at New Mexico State University (2010-2014) and Asst., Assoc. and Full Professor of Biochemistry at New Mexico State University (1985-2009).   

In recent years, responsible at the Office of the Chief Scientist for policy design and implementation aimed at the continuous development of a knowledge-based industry in the Energy and Cleantech sectors, including innovative technologies for oil & gas sector, renewable energies, alternative fuels, energy efficiency, water technologies, reducing GHG emissions, green growth strategy and more.

Before that represented Israel at OECD's Committee for Scientific and Technological Policy (CSTP), was involved in designing and launching various new incentive programs, including encouragement of institutional investments in the high tech sector, incentives for investments in the field of alternative fuels, programs to foster innovation and R&D in traditional industries. Involved as well at cross sector OCS activity to encourage and support technological and commercial cooperation activity with international partners.

Before that have been head of the economic and commercial departments at Israel's embassies in New Delhi, Madrid and Lisbon, assisting Israeli companies and service providers to penetrate local markets and forming collaborations with local partners as well as attracting investments to the Israel.

Previous to that worked as an economist in the Investment Center of Ministry of Industry, Trade & Labor and as an economist in the Logistic and Technology department of the IDF (Israeli Defense Force).

Holding Masters in Business Administration (M.B.A.) and B.A. in Economics and the Studies of the Middle East, both from Bar Ilan University, Israel. Speaking fluently Hebrew, English, Spanish, Portuguese and French, with some basic communication skills in other languages. 

Casper Van der Tak (50) is a Dutch economist with wide-ranging experience. His work in the last 20 years has concentrated on the issues of environment, energy and climate change, In his core field of climate change, Casper is best known for the founding and management of Caspervandertak Consulting from a single person company to one of the leading developers of Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects, with 168 United Nations registered projects to date. Casper is an acknowledge expert is this field and has been asked to provide expert witness reports to several cases that came before international courts of arbitration.

Casper has managed several large and complex projects for international organizations. From 1999-2003 he was international project director of a project on sustainable industrial development with the Chinese national planning commission, managing and providing guidance to a series of research teams and experts working on different aspects of sustainable industrial development and creating inputs to China’s 10th Five Year Plan. From 2013-2015, Casper was senior climate technology policy specialist and team leader at Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) Climate Technology Finance Center, focused on introducing climate technologies in policies, planning, and investment pipelines. Currently Casper is responsible for significant parts of the ClimaSouth project dealing with climate change mitigation and finance.

Currently Casper is advising private sector and public sector clients on using climate finance and other financial mechanisms to support investments in climate relevant projects.

For years, Leehe worked with E+CO – a pioneer renewable energy impact investment firm focused on off-grid clean energy ventures which address “access to energy” challenges in developing countries. Working from Amsterdam, Ghana and Tanzania, Leehe managed E+Co's Africa portfolio of 67 clean energy entrepreneurs and structured E+Co’s African renewable energy impact fund.

Today she continues to work with international development and RE agencies and financiers from around the world, including the EU, SNV, the African Development Bank, UNDP, GiZ, and others.

Since 2013, Leehe is actively involved in developing innovation for developing countries in Israel. She works with government agencies, accelerators, academia, Israeli ventures and funds related to development challenges (with a focus on sustainable development challenges such water, energy and agriculture) to help them develop solutions, technologies, partnerships, business model and fundraising strategies.

Prior to E+Co, Leehe worked in the global microfinance investment sector, in the Israeli non-profit sector, and for the Israeli Discount Bank (IDB). She has a BA in Political Science, Philosophy and Economics from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and an MPA from Columbia University's School of International and Public Administration.

Avi joined Capital Nature in 2012, bringing extensive experience managing and founding activities in the public sector, and vast experience in leadership of entrepreneurship and startup projects.

In his previous role, Avi was the Founder and Director of the Regional Development Center at the Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Labor (MOITAL) and Israel's delegate to the LEED and TDPC Executive Committees in the OECD. In this position, Avi led policy creation, design of new economic development models, budget planning, and promotion of programs (such as industrial parks, national research institutions, and special R&D programs for technology start-ups and SME’s).

Prior, Avi served as the Deputy Legal Advisor at MOITAL and Legal Advisor to the Chief Scientist, and was responsible for major legislative reforms as well as the design and implementation of policies and incentive programs for capital investments. Avi also served as director at the Governmental Start-Up Fund and of the Israeli Industry Center for R&D (MATIMOP).

Avi holds a LL.B. from the College of Management’s Law School, LL.M. from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem and EMPA from Syracuse University, NY. on a Fulbright scholarship, and graduate the Economic Attaché's course at MOITAL.

Oded Distel is the founder and director of "Israel NewTech" - The Israeli National Energy & Water Program at the Ministry of Economy & Industry. The program is leading the Israeli water and energy eco-system, since 2007. "Israel NewTech" brings all stakeholders – Start-ups, entrepreneurs, companies, multinationals, academia, regulators, policy makers and investors to cooperate and work together in order to deliver smart solutions to global challenges in the CleanTech arena.

Oded plays a pivotal role leading the program, and he is very much recognize with the global branding of the Israeli water and energy industries.

In 2015, Oded was selected one of the one hundred most influential people in the Israeli Hi-Tech, by the prestigious "Geek Time" website.

Prior to his current positions, Oded was the Israeli Commercial Attaché in Greece where he formed and implemented Israel’s foreign business policy as well as assisted Israeli companies in developing their business in the Greek market. One of his major achievements was the initiation of contracts and business cooperation totaling over 200 million Euros for Israeli companies around the Athens 2004 Olympic Games. 

Oded holds a B.A in business administration and an MBA, both from the School of Business Administration at Tel Aviv.

Greg is a Partner at Generation Investment Management, where he is focused on making growth equity investments in companies transforming entire industries with innovative and more sustainable solutions.

Prior to Generation, Greg led the Clinton Foundation’s global solar program where he worked with various national governments to assist them in developing large-scale solar programs. 

Before that, he spent eight years at Goldman Sachs in the Special Situations Group, where he was Vice President in the Alternative Energy Investing business.

Greg graduated from The George Washington University with a BBA in finance, and was awarded the CFA charter.  He serves on the boards of TerraLUX, M-KOPA Solar, and Friends Of Hudson River Park.

Ross is a senior industry analyst of smart energy systems at Frost & Sullivan  with over a decade of consulting experience in the energy and environment sectors. Ross has been engaged in industry analysis and strategy consulting for leading global industrial players, manufacturers, retailers, regulators and governments in the energy storage market with a particular focus on distributed battery energy storage systems. Ross has conducted global consumer research studies into key buying motives and customer decision making criteria in purchasing home energy storage; published global analysis of key international residential, commercial and utility-scale battery storage markets; and has substantial experience in the analysis of global microgrid and smart grid management markets. Ross has further delivered on focused work into global balancing markets as it relates to the potential for battery storage for use in ancillary services. As part of his on-going work into the cleantech market, Ross has covered new technological developments in grid management and the future convergence of the industry towards highly flexible and responsive ICT enabled grid infrastructure.

Paul van Aalst has over 20 years of experience investing in emerging markets.

He has been a director of an American investment company for renewable energy in emerging markets, and of a Dutch investment fund for SMEs in Ghana.

He was the lead developer of the Global Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Fund (GEEREF), a EUR 110 mln fund managed by the European Investment Bank, targeting emerging markets..

He has been engaged in investing seed capital and growth capital to entrepreneurs, including sectors like solar, hydro power and healthcare.

As a consultant his themes are financing of innovative businesses in emerging markets.

For the World Bank he is currently developing the Ghana Climate Venture Fund, a fund providing early-stage capital to innovative companies in agriculture, clean energy and forestry. Paul currently also leads the Finance Catalyst team of the RECP program. The Finance Catalyst team links renewable energy projects in sub-Saharan Africa to finance opportunities, targeting projects in the range of 0.5MW–50MW. The team of experts is available to assist with financial structuring and connect project developers and financiers.

Bert holds a Master of Business Administration degree from the Maastricht School of Management, The Netherlands. He has worked in finance and enterprise development for more than 30 years in both advisory and management positions in East and Southern Africa, the Balkans, and the Netherlands. Since joining SNV he has been involved in a wide range of capacity development programmes working with private and public sector actors on economic development, entrepreneurship training and coaching, market linkages, strategies for innovation, value chain development and market based solutions to poverty. Enterprise development and innovation are his passion which he is actively pursuing is his current position at the African Biogas Partnership Programme, facilitating demand led market development for the installation of 100,000 household bio-digesters in Kenya, Ethiopia Tanzania, Uganda and Burkina Faso. Bert strongly believes that vibrant entrepreneurial societies are needed to reduce poverty sustainably.

Itamar serves as Head of Applied Research at Bloomberg New Energy Finance. He works with the firm's sector experts and economic modelling teams, providing customized research on renewable energy, commodity markets and business strategy. His recent work included market outlooks for solar energy, strategic analysis for major energy companies and an assessment of business models in off-grid solar markets.

Itamar previously worked in the investment banking and wealth management division at UBS. Itamar holds an MSc in Environmental Policy and Regulation from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

David Arfin, Creator of SolarLease^®, Founder and CEO of First Energy Finance

David Arfin is driven to create innovative finance offerings that will accelerate the adoption of renewable energy, energy efficiency and other clean technologies. David invented SolarCity's SolarLease, the game-changing solar financing program that enabled over 300,000 homeowners, commercial and government customers to adopt solar power and drove SCTY to a market capitalization of $2Billion.  He received the first ever Innovation in PV Financing Award from the Solar Energy Industry Association.  He is a Partner and Co-Founder of Ener-Pacte (France), SolarVento (Mexico) and Certain Solar (Boston), and currently serves on the Board of Directors of Simpa Networks (India) andWattzOn (Palo Alto), and is an Advisor to Everyday Energy (San Diego), United Wind (New York), and Ethical Energy (Washington, DC).  Previously, David served as a Consultant to the US Department of Energy’s SunShot initiative and as Entrepreneur-In-Residence at Israel Cleantech Ventures.

He has authored US Patent 7,904,382 “Methods for Financing Renewable Energy Systems” and 8249902 “Methods of Processing Information in Solar Energy System.”

Prior to SolarCity, David was co-founder and CEO of GlooLabs, (acquired by Cisco Systems), co-founded Flywheel Communications, and was founder and CEO of CLE Group (acquired by PLI). Prior to launching companies, David was a lobbyist for the Association of American Universities, a Coro Fellow in Public Affairs and an Intern in the Israeli Knesset. He received an MBA from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business, an MA in Public Policy Analysis from the Claremont Graduate University, and a BA in Political Science from UCLA where he was graduated phi beta kappa.  

Col (Res) Itai Peleg is a 27 year veteran of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), including 21 years in the Home Front Command. As a current reserve officer in the Israel Home Front Command, Col Peleg is a District Commander in the Southern arena of Israel adjacent to the Gaza Strip. Following his retirement from the IDF, Col Peleg began a career as an Emergency Management and Societal Resilience consultant in Israel. Col Peleg has consulted for numerous Israeli Government ministries including the Ministry of Home Front Defense, as well as for municipal governments and the business community. Col Peleg has been involved in numerous Israeli International Humanitarian Aid Missions (eg, Turkey, Greece and Kenya) as well as been involved in all of the major Israeli Civil Defense exercises in the last decade, either as a planner or as part of the exercise audience.

Professional: 

• 2015-Today: Senior advisor ASERO 
• 2009-Today: Senior advisor Israteam 98 Ltd.
• 2010-Today: Israel Min of Defense - Coordinate exercise goals and scenarios for the different government ministries and critical infrastructure companies. Write Israeli regulations for emergency management and preparedness training and exercises.
• 2010-Today: Multiple Municipal Governments-Responsible to write and update the emergency scenario for the municipalities. Prepared the municipalities SOP's for dealing with emergency situations. Coordinated the company's emergency procedures with the relevant governmental and regulatory agencies.
• 2012-Today: IDF Home Front Command - Reserve Service, Military commander in the Lahish district, preparing for, and during emergencies and disasters
•  2012-Today: A number of Major Industries- Responsible to write and update the emergency scenario for the companies. Prepared the companies SOP's for dealing with emergency situations. Coordinated the company's emergency procedures with the relevant governmental and regulatory agencies
• 2014-2016: Israel Min of Interior, and the Min of welfare: Responsible to write and update the emergency scenario and conduct seminars for the ministries.
• 2013-2016: Israel Port Authority - Responsible to write and update the emergency scenario for the authority.
• 2013-2016: Shufersal Corporation- Responsible to write and update the emergency scenario for the company. Prepared the companies SOP's for dealing with emergency situations. Coordinated the companies emergency procedures with the relevant governmental and regulatory agencies
• 2012-2014: Israel Min of Home Front Defense - Executive Assistant to the Director General
• 2012-2014: Israel Prison Authority- EM trainer in all Prison Authority Officer's Courses  
• 2009-2014: Israel HFC National representative to EU project PPRD South.
• 1989-2009: Israel Defense Forces - Career Service- Multiple command, staff and training positions in the Home Front Command

Limor Nakar-Vincent is the Director of U.S. Business Development & BIRD Energy at the BIRD Foundation.

BIRD Foundation (www.birdf.com) was established in 1977 by the U.S. and Israeli governments to develop and fund industrial Research & Development partnerships between companies from both countries on a project specific basis. Located in Israel, Ms. Nakar-Vincent is responsible for initiating business matchmaking activities between Israeli and American companies, and strategic growth initiatives as well as promoting and managing BIRD Energy.

Serving in key positions both in Israel and the United States, Ms. Nakar-Vincent has extensive experience in building strategic alliances between Israeli and American companies, with strong knowledge and experience in U.S.-Israel policy and business relations.

From 2003 till September 2010, Ms. Nakar-Vincent served as East Coast and Midwest Representative of the BIRD Foundation in United States.

From 1997 to 2002, Ms. Nakar-Vincent was the Economic Consul to the Southeastern and Midwestern United States. In this position, Ms. Nakar strived to promote trade, as well as economic, technological and investment cooperation between Israel and the United States.

Prior to her appointment in the United States, Ms. Nakar-Vincent was the Director of the North American Department at the Foreign Trade Administration at the Ministry of Industry and Trade in Jerusalem. During this period, Ms. Nakar –Vincent directed the activity of Israel’s trade representatives in the United States and Canada, and coordinated the negotiations between Israel and Canada that led to the signing of the Free Trade Agreement between Israel and Canada in July 1996.

From 1992 to 1994, Ms. Nakar-Vincent was a trader and an analyst in the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange.

Ms. Nakar-Vincent holds an MBA and a BA in Economics and Management, both from Tel Aviv University. 

An energy expert with over 30 years of working experience in the field of energy policy, strategic planning and clean energy technologies, Dr. Pradeep Monga is presently working as Director of Energy Branch at United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), Vienna. 

Prior to joining UNIDO in 2001, Dr. Monga worked with UNDP for over five years overseeing their energy and environment portfolio in India. Before starting his UN career, Dr. Monga has held senior positions in the Government of India, and undertook several international assignments with the World Bank, FAO and other multi/bi-lateral organizations. A Fulbright Scholar, Dr. Monga has been a visiting Fellow at TERI, New Delhi, and World Resources Institute, Washington DC, and completed leadership and change management programme at the Harvard Business School. He is closely involved in strengthening of global partnerships and networks on energy such as UN Energy, Global Bioenergy Partnership, REEEP, REN 21, and has been closely associated with the global initiative on Sustainable Energy for All (SE4ALL) launched by UN Secretary General at Rio + 20 in June 2012.

Dr. Monga has presented technical papers in over 45 international seminars and workshops in the field of energy, environment and sustainable development focusing on energy policies, technology transfer and capacity building issues in developing countries and economies in transition. He has several technical papers to his credit, and has organized several global forum activities. He has co-authored three books namely (a) Rural Energy Alternatives in the Hilly Areas; (b) Energy, Environment and Sustainable Development in the Himalayas; and (c) Renewable Energy and Environment - A Policy Analysis for India, and working on his fourth book on Renewable Energy for Industrial Applications: A Case Study of India.

A typical product of the Rochester Ph.D. program of the late 1980's, Itai Sened is currently Professor of the Department of Political Science at Washington University in St. Louis. His main interests are theory of institutions, game theory and applied mathematical modeling. His book The Political Institution of Property Rights, was published by Cambridge University Press in 1997. His second book, Political Bargaining: Theory, Process and Practice with Gideon Doron was published in 2001 by Sage Publications. His third book, Multiparty Parliaments, with Norman Schofield is forthcoming with Cambridge University Press. He is the co-editor, with Jack Knight, of Explaining Social Institutions from The University of Michigan Press (1995, now in a paperback new edition). He has also published articles in The American Journal of Political Science, The Journal of Politics, The Journal of Theoretical Politics and numerous other refereed journals as well as different edited volumes. He is currently working on several different projects, most notably two: (1) A book manuscript entitled Uncovering Politics: Political Bargaining and Majority Rule?s Principle Constraint, with William T. Bianco and (2) A series of articles on development and economic growth in transition democracies.

Esa Härmälä graduated in agricultural economics from the Helsinki University in 1982.  He served Prime Minister Esko Aho as his Economic Policy Advisor 1991-93. When Finland applied for accession to the EU he was nominated to the Finnish accession negotiation delegation and was in charge of agriculture. From 1994 till 2006 he was President of the 
Central Union of Agricltural Producers and Forest Owners  (MTK). Years 2006-2010 he was in Brussels as Director General of FertilizersEurope. He returned to Finland 2011 as he was nominated as Director General (energy) in the Ministry of Employment and the Economy. 2014-2016 he was Director General of Metsähallitus, the state enterprise in charge of forestry and protected areas. 2016 he established Frostia Oy and is now acting as an indpendent consultant.

Miranda Schreurs became Director of the Environmental Policy Research Center and Professor of Comparative Politics at the Freie Universitaet Berlin in 2007. In 2008, she was appointed as a member of the Advisory Council on the Environment, a consultative committee of the German Federal government. In 2011, she became chair of the European Environment and Sustainable Development Advisory Councils, a network of advisory councils across Europe. In this year, she was also appointed by Chancellor Angela Merkel to the Ethics Commission on a Safe Energy Supply, charged with advising the German government with advice regarding energy questions in the post-Fukushima era, and later to an expert advisory body to consider paths towards sustainability. She was the 2009-2010 Fulbright New Century Scholar Program’s Distinguished Leader and in this capacity co-ordinated the program’s activities on the Role of the University as Knowledge Center and Innovation Driver.

She has extensive experience with comparative research on environment and energy policy governance. Much of her work has looked at policy making and implementation processes and the roles of various actors, including the private sector, non-governmental organizations, and citizens’ movements. 

Orit is the head of Shibolet & Co.’s Environment, Cleantech and Climate change practice. She combines her scientific, business and legal background, with an extensive global network of scientists and consultants in the cleantech and environment fields, to help her clients reach their commercial objectives.

Orit is an expert in all legal aspects of renewable energy projects (photovoltaic solar energy, wind, biogas, saving energy etc.), and in the development of global-wide projects, mainly in Africa, and in assessing risks. She is also a highly skilled mediator.

Orit regularly represents leading developers, investors, cleantech funds, entrepreneurs and other clients before the Ministry of National Infrastructures, Energy and Water, the Public Utility Authority, the Israel Land Authority and other authorities.

Uniquely, Orit has unrivalled knowledge and experience of photovoltaic solar energy projects, and is recognized as Israel’s leading expert in this field.

In the Environmental fields, Orit represents both plaintiffs and defendants in environmental lawsuits of all types and before all Courts. She has particular expertise in alternative energy and cleantech disputes.

Orit also acts on behalf of clients, mainly from the Industry, in legal issues arising from the Israeli governmental and municipal authorities’ environmental requirements, including matters before the Ministry of Environmental Protection and other environmental authorities.

Jack Jacobs, Esq. is the founder and managing partner of Cleantech Law Partners (www.cleantechlaw.com), a fullservice law firm that caters to the renewable energy industry. Before founding Cleantech Law Partners, Jack held a variety of legal, policy and business positions in the U.S. and abroad, including: an environmental law firm near Boston, a cleantech venture capital fund in Jerusalem, the Israel Ministry of Environmental Protection, and the United Nations Environment Program in Geneva. Jack also taught a graduate-level course in comparative environmental law at the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies. He holds an LL.M. degree in environmental law & natural resources from the Northwestern School of Law at Lewis & Clark College, a J.D. degree with a concentration in environmental law from Vermont Law School, and a B.A. degree in environmental analysis & planning from Frostburg State University. Jack is a member of the Massachusetts bar.

Born and raised in Montreal, Canada, Leehee holds a Law degree from the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya as well as a dual degree in International Relations and Sociology from the Hebrew University. Prior to joining the Adam Teva V’Din team two years ago, Leehee worked at the Ministry of Justice in the Department of International Law.  Leehee deals with the nexus between environment and economy including energy – such as advancing the use of cleaner and renewable energies, air quality, industry and natural resources.  

Leehee has represented Adam Teva V’Din, inter alia, in advocating for environmental concerns and the public interest during the legislation of the Sheshinski 2 recommendations, litigating the environmental aspects of Israel's "Natural Gas Framework" as well as other significant projects on behalf of the NGO - i.e. the end of the franchise of the Dead Sea and leading the planning objection regarding the expansion of the Bazan Oil Refineries compound in Haifa

ADAM TEVA V’DIN is Israel’s leading environmental advocacy organization, focusing on the human, lived-in environment. Using the power of law, science and advocacy, Adam Teva V’Din is shaping Israeli policy to protect the country’s environment, public health and quality of life. The experience and innovative advocacy of the organization’s expert team of attorneys, scientists and urban planners have significantly improved Israel’s air quality, drinking water standards, recycling practices, coastal and open space protection and have helped to strengthen Israel’s civil society.

Assaf’s position as CTIO’s main goals are the search for and introduction of innovative, market-disruptive technologies into the company’s line of products, supporting the ongoing processes of business core definitions , as well as facilitating organization-wide change towards future challenges.

For the last 10 years Assaf played a leading role in several large-scale, technologically advanced R&D and production initiatives – involving robotics, automation and autonomy, control systems, user interfaces development for mobile applications, sensor integration within hybrid eco-systems – spanning land, sea and air platforms. Several international patents are a direct derivative of these projects.

Some of Assaf’s academic collaborative efforts include an innovative task planning methodology together with Prof. Dori of the Technion, and DARPA’s robotic challenge ROBIL team.

Assaf holds a bachelor’s degree in industrial design from HIT.

Ariella is the Innovation Manager at General Motors Israel where she leads all activity related  to identifying, analyzing and integrating mobility related innovation from the local Israeli ecosystem into GM. 

Prior to joining GM, Ariella was an associate with ICV, a cleantech focused venture capital fund and also voluntarily co-organized CleanIsrael, the largest cleantech professional network in Israel. Before ICV, Ariella worked at the environmental law department of Yuval Levy & Co.  Ariella holds an LL.M degree from Georgetown University, an MSc in Environmental Change and Management from Oxford University and an LL.B in a combined program of Law and Environmental Studies from the Hebrew University. Ariella is an alumni of an elite intelligence unit of the IDF.

Alexis Abramson, professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at CWRU, is the director of the Great Lakes Energy Institute.

Dr. Abramson has been with the Case School of Engineering since 2003, where she has focused her research on novel techniques for thermal characterization of nanostructures; the design and synthesis of unique nanomaterials for use in alternative energy applications; virtual energy audits for building energy efficiency; and strategies to accelerate technology commercialization at universities and research institutions.

On temporary assignment to the federal government from 2011-2013, Dr. Abramson provided strategic leadership and oversight to the Emerging Technologies Team at the Department of Energy’s Building Technologies Office, which invests about $90 million per year in the research, development and commercialization of energy-efficient and cost-effective building technologies that are within five years of being market-ready. Dr. Abramson’s work focused on public engagement, peer-reviewed quantitative analysis and a re-structured prioritization of federal investment projects.

From 2006 to 2009, Dr. Abramson was a Senior Fellow at NorTech, Northeast Ohio’s tech-based economic development organization. There, she focused on enabling economic development in Northeast Ohio by leveraging technology development and commercialization opportunities at companies and academic institutions in the region.

Dr. Abramson received her Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley and her B.S. and M.S. degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Tufts University in Medford, MA.

David Waimann is an experienced technical entrepreneur who has started more than 7 start-ups with 3 exits. He has degrees from Rochester and Cambridge.

In recent years, he has concentrated on the renewables field and he founded companies in PV, Lithium batteries, tidal energy, and now energy efficiency which is his new love.  he is now CEO of Elencon.

Gili is the Managing Director, Strategic Growth of SynTech Bioenergy, LLC, a sustainable clean energy company that is penetrating the Israeli market.  Gili serves on the Board of Directors of the B’nai B’rith of Denver and consults for the Boomtown Accelerator in Boulder. Gili is an Israeli lawyer, worked at Ernst & Young (in TA and SF) as a VC Tax Consultant and was the founder and CEO of wordprom.com. Gili earned her LLB and BA (in Law and Business) from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and her MBA from Stanford University. With the founding of an Israel–Colorado Innovation Fund, a partnership with Innosphere, a 17-year old accelerator based in Colorado and the technology incubator of NREL, Gili’s goal is to provide US market access to Israeli startups in the Energy, Water and Transportation sectors, and position them as global players.

Jason is an experience project manager with an emphasis on military power systems. As Project Director, Jason manages all projects for SynTech Bioenergy globally.  Prior to joining SynTech, Jason gained extensive manufacturing experience as an Area Manager for Edward C. Levy Steel Mill Services Company.

Jason began his professional career in the US Navy and a Diesel Engine Mechanic and Gas Turbine Systems Technician.  He then acted as a Surface Warfare Officer and a Foreign Area Officer specializing in the East Asian area of operations.  Jason Earned a B.A. from Old Dominion University, PMP certified. And holds an MBA from UNC’s Kenan-Flagler School of Business. 

Mike Freeman is the CEO of the Innosphere, a 501(c)(3) technology incubator with more than 40 client companies working in key technology sectors: cleantech, biosciences, digital health, and enterprise software. Innosphere’s incubation program focuses on ensuring companies are investor ready, connecting them with experienced advisors, and making introductions to corporate and strategic partners.  One of the major roles Mike plays at Innosphere is helping emerging technology companies get connected with expertise they need to raise capital, refine their business model, or shape their strategy.  Mike became Innosphere's CEO in 2012. He previously served as chief financial officer for the City of Fort Collins and president of Local Government Solutions Group, a consulting company focused on the unique needs of local governments.

Dr. Jörg Wind has studied physics at the Technical Unversity of Munich (TUM). After doing his Ph.D. in the field of semiconductor physics and sensor technology at the TUM in 1992, he started working in the field of fuel cells and hydrogen. As a project manager, he was responsible for material development for high temperature fuel cells and exhaust aftertreatment at DASA and DaimlerChrysler from 1992 until 1998. From 1998 until 2002, he was responsible for  PEM stack development at DaimlerChrysler. Since 2002, he is responsible for  strategic energy projects and EC funded projects, comprising projects in the field of fuel cell vehicles and battery electric vehicles (including energy systems analyses and WTW-analyses). He has been involved in the setup of the FCH JU from the beginning on and is currently vice chair of the NEW-IG transportation committee.

Co-Founder of the GreenFunding Global initiative.

Amnon Samid, a visionary technology entrepreneur, with leadership experience in start-ups and emerging growth companies, always driven to contribute to global sustainability and posterity, and as such involved in research, development and implementation of innovative technologies, while contributing to solving social, economic as well as environmental challenges. Amnon is currently taking advantage of his entrepreneurial success. Besides assisting hi-tech start-ups at board levels, he is leading the implementation of innovative solutions for the benefit of 3 billion low income people, as well initiating the Green Funding initiative, a mechanism to draw money from the communities who will benefit from a clean environment in order to fund the facilities that would bring it about, leveraging Digital and Tethered Money technologies for minting Energy backed Green Digital coins. 

Rafi Rich- CEO of SUiTS (Smarter Urban iT & Strategies), Israel’s leading smart city initiative providing cutting-edge practices and solutions for Smart Cities, working with cities, governments, startups and solution providers  to create lean and tailor-made sustainable solutions for urban challenges in secondary cities and the developing world.
R. Rich has a BA in Architecture and MA in public Policy and is also a Senior Lecturer for Urban Planning and Smart Cities at the Technion, Haifa and Chief Urban Advisor the Haifa’s CityTechLab. Untill 2012  served as  senior director for building at the Israeli ministry of interior and prior to that  he lead Urban-Giraffe, a sustainable planning & design practice and was a founder of the Israeli green building council.  

Shai is a technological executive with over 20 years of experience in solar and energy technologies R&D and engineering.
Prior to Tamuz-Energy Shai served in several managerial roles in SIEMENS CSP (2007-2013 formerly Solel Solar Systems). Shai last position in SIEMENS was Head of Solar Thermal Storage department, there he established thermal energy storage (TES) R&D, and managed several researchers and engineers teams for four multidisciplinary innovative R&D projects.

Prior to that, Shai was head of thermal management in ECI Telecom, were he was in charge of the company thermal design management – design, simulations and experimental teams.

Shai holds several patents in the solar thermal and energy disciplines.

Shai holds a B.Sc in mechanical engineering follows by M.Sc studies in inter-disciplinary engineering & management both at Tel Aviv University.

Emeritus Professor of Marine Phycology

Ami Ben-Amotz received his B.Sc. & M.Sc. degrees at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the PhD at Weitzman Institute of Science (WIS), Israel, the last on studies related to the halotolerant alga Dunaliella. After post doctorate studies at Brandeis University, USA, on hydrogen production by marine algae Prof. Ben-Amotz returned to Israel and initiated academic and research activities at the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) and at the WIS with the late Prof. M. Avron to study the biology, physiology, biochemistry and biotechnology of marine microalgae with emphasis on Dunaliella. The fruitful cooperation opened the way to establishment of the commercial Dunaliella production plant in Eilat, known today as Nature Beta Technologies Ltd., (NBT) Israel, a subsidiary of Nikken Sohonsha Co., Japan. Along his extensive career with marine microalgae, Prof. Ben-Amotz served as Head of the Department of Marine Biology at the NIO and Head of the Dunaliella Section at the WIS. He is now serving as the Chief Scientist of NBT and Chief Scientist of Nikken Sohonsha Co., Japan.

Ami Ben-Amotz has more than 150 scientific publications including 3 books on aspects related to marine algae, natural products and algae & environment.  

Dr. Hanna Rosenfeld has been a director of the National Center for Mariculture (NCM; a branch of the Israel Oceanographic and Limnological Research Ltd.) since 2013, and has been employed by this non-profit governmental corporation since 1992. Hanna has gained her BSc, MSc and PhD at the George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, specializing in studying molecular and biotechnological aspects of plants (MSc) and fish (PhD). Hanna leads the NCM's department of fish & shellfish reproduction since 2001, working in a close cooperation with national and international universities, research institutes and commercial companies, on reproductive endocrinology of aquatic species under domestication. Among the recent achievements of Rosenfeld's research group are the development of bioactive recombinant proteins, which are therapeutically useful to alleviate reproductive dysfunctions in captive fish, and the establishment of technologies for an efficient broodstock management of various economically important finfish, including the Atlantic bluefin tuna.

In addition, Dr. Rosenfeld teaches courses (since 2007), in a specialized graduate program in  Marine  Biology and Biotechnology, at the Eilat extension campus of  Ben Gurion University of the Negev, and has been a Member of the Board of Directors of "Ein Netafim" (Eilat Water and Sewage Corporation) since 2006. 

Dr. Mohammad K. Al-Zibdah received his bachelor degree in Biological Sciences from Jordan University at 1978. From 1993 to 1996 a Master of Fishery from Nagasaki Univ. and a Ph.D of Fishery from Kyushu University, Japan.

He is at present a Professor of marine biology at Jordan University of Aqaba and a Senior researcher of marine bio-resources and aquatic environment at the Marine Science Station of Aqaba-Jordan. His Responsibilities includes: Mentoring a courses to undergraduates and graduates at the faculty of marine sciences in Jordan University of Aqaba, carrying out studies on fish stocks and assemblages of fishes, conducting studies on spatial and temporal surveillances for fish community structure and potential benthic fauna and flora. He is a Principal investigator and coordinator of national and international research projects (e.g. ENPI-CBC EU, GEF, UNDP, MERC-USAID, SRF-Jordan, Academic Research-Jordan), and Jordan’s focal point in the MoU of the Indian Ocean and South East Asia (IOSEA) for conservation of marine turtles and the MoU of Migratory Sharks (UNEP- CMS). He is also PI in the ongoing monitoring program for the coral reef ecosystem and sea grass beds in Gulf of Aqaba, Red Sea.

Maya holds an MA in Public Management from the IDC, an MA in International Affairs and Political Science from Columbia University and a BA in communications and Jewish History from Tel Aviv University. She is the Directing Manager of Zalul during the past 5 years, during which she led the NGO to many achievements and into new fields, including responsible offshore drilling for gas and oil and decreasing plastic pollution.

Before running “Zalul” she was the Director of Communications and Public Affairs at the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, a M100$ foundation. 

Maya has over 15 years of experience in media advising, lobbying and campaign management for the public and Third Sectors. She has served in the past as spokesperson and part of the close staff of Prime Minister Ehud Barak, as Chief Information Officer for the Israeli Consulate General in NY, and as Chief Representative of the Geneva Initiative in North America. As owner of MJ Media Solutions she provided PR, Lobbying, fundraising and networking services to Americans in Israel and to Israelis in the US. Upon her return to Israel in 2005, served as Director for the Sheatufim Center for Philanthropy and later as independent social-investment consultant for philanthropists, politicians and organizations. Her clients included the Interdisciplinary Institute in Hertzlia, the Kadima Party, the Reut Institute and many more.

Hagai Stadler is the CEO of Algatech, a leading international biotechnology company in the micro-algae industry. Hagai is also a partner in A.P. Partners, a private equity house focused on Israelis SMEs. Prior to that, Hagai was Grovepoint partner in Israel; Executive adviser to the CEO of Mekorot; and Commercial lawyer at Lipa Meir and Co.
Hagai holds an MBA and an LLB, both from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, as well as a BA in Economics and Logistics from Bar-Ilan University, all awarded with distinction.

Director of Zenovar since 2008. B.A in economics and history and an M.A in economics from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Since 1992 has held various strategic planning and techno-economic positions in the following fields: infrastructure, environment, agriculture and water.

Ralf Fücks was born in 1951 in Edenkoben (Palatinate). While at university, studying social sciences, economics, and political science, he was active in the student movements in Heidelberg and Bremen.

Ralf Fücks joined the Green Party in 1982. In 1985 he was elected to the Bremen state parliament. He served as Co-President for the national Green Party in 1989/90. During this period he strongly advocated transforming the Greens into a reform party which, jointly with the social democrats, should be striving for new political majorities and coalitions.

He returned to regional politics in Bremen in 1991, serving as Deputy Mayor and as Senator for Urban Development and Environmental Protection. He held that position until 1995 when the green-liberal-social democrat coalition collapsed due to fundamental different positions with the Liberal Party on urban development.

Ralf Fücks has been a member of the executive board of the Heinrich Böll Foundation since 1996. Together with his colleagues, he rebuilt the foundation completely, moving its headquarters to Berlin. In November 2011, he was re-elected for a fourth term. The primary focus of his work is on sustainable development, reshaping the welfare state, migration, the future of European integration, and on foreign policy. He is responsible for the divisions of domestic political education, Europe and North America, German-Israeli-Relations as well as for the foundation’s scholarship program.

As a member of the Green Party’s Program Commission he co-authored the new party program which was adopted in spring 2002. In 2000 the Minister for the Interior, Otto Schily, appointed him member of the non-partisan commission on migration which presented its final report in July 2001.

In 1991, he was editor of the book "Sind die Grünen noch zu retten?" (‘Is There a Future for the Green Party?’). He is a regular contributor to numerous newspapers and political periodicals and co-author to numerous books. In addition he is the author of the book “Intelligent Wachsen – Die grüne Revolution” which was published in 2013. In 2015 the book was translated to English and released under the title “Green Growth – Smart Growth: A New Approach to Economics, Innovation and the Environment”. In 2016, the Polish and Russian translation was published. 

Dr. Jonathan Aikhenbaum is iGreenpeace's campaigns manager in Israel. He is a former lecturer and teacher in Political sciences and environmental through. His main fields of expertise are climate change, renewable and dirty energy, as well as conservative agriculture and chemicals policy.

Tzipi is a partner and heads the Environmental Protection, Cleantech and Clean Energy practice area of the firm. Tzipi served as the legal counsel and CEO of The Israel Union for Environmental Defense (Adam Teva Ve'Din) in the years 1999 to 2010. In that position she has led environmental issues on the public agenda in Israel, took part in promoting various regulatory reforms on environmental protection issues, participated in the Israeli delegation to the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework on Climate Change Convention) annual meetings and acquired vast legal experience.

In addition, Tzipi serves as a lecturer on environmental regulation at several academic institutions, as a speaker at international professional conferences, and as Director of the Center for Environmental Protection at Netanya Academic College.

With respect to her public activities she has awarded inter-alia "Women of Influence" by Israeli economic newspapers Globes and DE-Marker. Tzipi also won a scholarship of excellence from Bar Ilan University for conducting a doctorate research in law.

Zvika Klier joined TIGI as CEO in 2010. Prior to joining TIGI, Zvika served as CEO of 3DV Systems, the developer of 3D video cameras, sold to Microsoft and serving as the basis for Xbox Kinect and MS HoloLens. Prior to that he was president of Arel Communications Ltd. (NASDAQ:ARLC). Mr. Klier is an MBA graduate of INSEAD, and holds a B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering from the Technion, Israel.

Assaf Sukenik received his B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and his Ph.D. at the Technion, Israel Institute of Technology. His post doctorate studies were at Brookhaven National Laboratory, USA, on acclimation of microalgae to light regime. Upon his return to Israel, he joined the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) at Israel Oceanographic & Limnological Research (IOLR) and studied various aspects of algal biotechnology with a focus on production of lipids and polyunsaturated fatty acids by marine unicellular algae. Assaf served as the head of the Department of Marine Biology at the IOLR and as the director of the Kinneret Limnological Laboratory (KLL). Currently, Dr Sukenik is a leading scientist at KLL and his research is concentrated on phytoplankton and water quality with an emphasis on toxic cyanobacteria and interspecies interactions within the phytoplankton community. Dr. Sukenik published more than 100 scientific papers and book chapters, and co-edited a monograph on Lake Kinneret. 

Dr. Doron Eisenstadt, TransAlgae’s COO, is a one of the scientific founders of TransAlgae.

He holds B.Sc, M.Sc (magna cum laude) and Ph.D. degrees from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

Dr. Eisenstadt is a phycologist with an extensive body of knowledge in microalgae cultivation with years of laboratory experience. 

Entrepreneur, cleantech & biofuel expert, business & strategy consultant in several industries and leading academic institutions in Israel. Co-founder of UniVerve Ltd., where he also acts as CTO, and ACT Ltd.(Cannabis Technology). Ra’anan holds a LLB from the University of East London and a Master's degree in Entrepreneurship & Innovation (ISEMI) from Swinbourne University in Australia. Ra’anan is a passionate inventor and has several patents on his name.

Nir is a Prof. in the Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences in the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. His research group deals with the adaptations and acclimation of photosynthetic organisms to real life environments; specifically in two major aspects:

1. bioavailability of transition metals to photosynthetic organisms and
2. dynamics of the photosynthetic apparatus under extreme conditions.

The expertise of the group is diverse and includes biochemistry, molecular biology, plant physiology, environmental biology and biophysics.

Ruslana Rachel Palatnik Ph.D. in economics, the joint program of the University of Haifa and the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, (Israel, 2008) and a Master degree in economics, the joint program of the University of Haifa and the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology. Dr. Palatnik is a Senior Lecturer in economics at the Yezreel Valley College, Israel, and the Research Fellow at the Natural Resources and Environmental Research Center (NRERC), University of Haifa, Israel. She joined Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei in 2007 in the Climate Change Modelling and Policy programme, where she was developing new integrated assessment modelling for climate-change impact and climate-change mitigation and adaptation policy evaluation focusing on agriculture, and land and water managing. In 2015-16 she was a visiting researcher at the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of California at Berkeley, where she was analyzing the economic aspects of biofuels. In addition, she developed a Computable General Equilibrium model of the Israeli economy and has been conducting climate change adaptation and mitigation policy analyses. She carried out econometric researches on external costs and economic incentives in solid waste management. Her research interests are energy economics, climate change economics, environmental policy evaluation, and water management.

In the last few years she has been involved as Project Coordinator and Co-PI in the following projects:

• "The Mediterranean Sea and Israeli Society" funded by a philanthropic organization.
• "Climate change risk assessment for European agriculture and food security"        The Ministry of Agriculture, Israel in cooperation with EU FACCE-JPI Knowledge Hub
• "Israel Climate Change Information Center: Economic Aspects of Adaptation". The Ministry of Environmental Protection, Israel.
• "Long term analysis of climatic change impacts on insurance market and the Israeli economy". The Ministry of Environmental Protection, Israel.
• "Regional Cooperation in Environment and Water" AIX group and Peres Piece Center.
• "Analysis of Climatic Change Impact on Water Management and Agriculture in Israel". Water Authority, Israel.
• "Household waste separation: multi regional survey analysis" OECD.
• "The Costs and Benefits of Green Schools in Israel" The Ministry of Environmental Protection, Israel.

Bracha is the Chief Scientist, at the Ministry of National Infrastructures, Energy and Water Resources. Dr. Halaf  holds Ph.D in Biophysics from the Weizmann Institute of Science, and M.Sc. and B.Sc. in Chemical Engineering. Bracha also serves as the Senior Manager of Oil Replacement, the Head of the National Coal Ash Board, a member of the Natural Gas Authority Council, and board member of the Israel- U.S  BSF and BIRD-ENERGY. 

Luis Crespo, Secretary General of Protermosolar, has been reelected president of the European solar thermal, the European Association of Solar Thermal Power Industry (ESTELA), at the General Meeting held today in Brussels. The new mandate provides for a period of two years.

In its work program, Luis Crespo has offered concentrate their efforts on the value proposition of solar thermal energy is recognized throughout the world, so that all countries not only define a target share of renewables in electricity generation but They begin to demand an increasingly important contribution of manageable technologies such as solar thermal, in that proportion. ESTELA, which according to its new statutes is no longer association of European but Euro-Mediterranean area, aims to influence the deployment of this technology in all parts of the world that have sufficient solar resources for implementation, thus contributing to enhancing the role of leadership of European industry and particularly the Spanish. The R & D has received a special reference to the candidacy of Luis Crespo, who believes that the industry should selectively support those technological developments in the solar thermal sector with compatible features implicit storage systems feasible and economical. Also, Crespo has advocated greater coordination between the centers of European R & D with new structures that optimize the dialogue with industry and community institutions, avoiding costly duplications and strengthening excellence in the areas of expertise of each.

Protermosolar is the association representing the Spanish industry and thermoelectric solar industry is composed of about 70 members. Solar thermal technology, in which Spain is a leader internationally, has recently burst onto the landscape of renewable energies worldwide and is currently the one with the highest growth potential for its manageability and storage capacity for its high local job creation and its potential for cost reduction. The installed capacity in Spain is 2,304 MW and the contribution of Spanish companies in international markets is 70%.

Electrical Engineer with many years of experience designing electrical installations and consulting on matters of solar energy, lightning protection, energy efficiency and power quality. Developed innovative software for PV yield prediction and early fault detection - see www.ipvsolar.com.

Specialties: Electrical installation design, solar power engineering, energy efficiency, lightning protection, power quality, technical and marketing writing.

Dr. Clive Lipchin was born in South Africa and raised in Johannesburg.  Clive received his first degree in applied psychology and zoology with an emphasis on wildlife management on private game farms in South Africa’s Northern Province.  Clive immigrated to Israel in 1991 and received a masters degree in desert ecology from the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. In 1996, he left Israel to pursue a PhD in resource ecology management at the School of Natural Resources and Environment at the University of Michigan. The focus of Clive’s PhD was public perceptions and attitudes towards water scarcity in Israel.

Clive joined the faculty of the Arava Institute in 2003 where he teaches a multidisciplinary course on water management in the Middle East.  Clive oversees research projects, workshops and conferences that focus on transboundary water and environmental problems facing Israel, Jordan and Palestine. His specialty is in water resources management and policy.   Currently, Clive is coordinating the TransBasin—Transboundary Water Basin Management Project, a project funded by the International Research Staff Exchange Scheme of the European Union. This project brings together researchers from Europe and the Middle East to study conflict and cooperation in river basin management and to identify the principles and mechanisms that both promote and hinder cooperation in river basins in Europe and the Middle East. Clive is also coordinating a USAID funded project on mitigating transboundary wastewater conflicts between Israel and Palestine and is conducting research on solar powered desalination of brackish groundwater in the Gaza Strip.

Clive has published and presented widely on the topic of transboundary water management in the Middle East and has served as senior editor on two books: “Integrated Water Resources Management in the Middle East”, and “The Jordan River and Dead Sea Basin: Cooperation amid Conflict”. Since the online publication on Oct 9th , 2009 of  “The Jordan River and Dead Sea Basin: Cooperation Amid Conflict” there has been a total of 2,440 chapter downloads of the book making it one of the top 50% most downloaded eBooks in the Springer eBook Collection of 2012.

Dr. Derzy is Director of the Division for Research and Development at the Ministry. Dr. Derzy is leading the Research and Development supporting programs at the Ministry, and responsible for scientific international collaboration activities. As an entrepreneur and researcher himself, Igor has a broad experience in applicative R&D and commercialization projects. 

Dr. Derzy holds a PhD in Experimental Chemical Physics from Tel Aviv University. He is the inventor and co-inventor of several patents. Dr. Derzy graduated the ISEMI entrepreneurship program.

Dr. Arnon Blum has years of experience in research and development in the field of fuel cells. Prior to founding EnStorage, Dr. Blum served as testing department manager at Medis Technologies and was the chief technology officer at Green Fuel cells, where he developed a portable fuel cell for portable applications. Arnon Blum holds Ph.D and MBA degrees from Tel Aviv University. He has published many scientific papers and holds several patents in the area of fuel cells and system integration.

Brenmiller Energy, founded by Avi Brenmiller, has developed a new way to handle energy storage in a cost efficient and environmentally friendly way. The proprietary unique ENERGY STORAGE CENTER, a high temperature thermal energy storage, provides sustainable energy solutions to the Distributed Generation market. 

Prior to founding Brenmiller Energy, Mr. Brenmiller acted as the CEO of Solel Solar Systems, later Siemens CSP, from 1997.

With a proven track record starting at the days of  Luz  Industries,  which  built  the  SEGS,  a  354MW solar power plants in California in 1980’s, Mr.  Brenmiller, led Solel through extensive development and implementations of solar thermal technologies and applications, including the construction of four solar thermal power Plants in Spain of ~200MW in total. Following Solel’s acquisition by Siemens in 2009, Mr. Brenmiller was appointed CEO of Siemen’s Solar Thermal Energy business unit.

Mr. Brenmiller earned his B.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering from Ohio State University.

Mr. Arnold Goldman is former Founder and Chairman of BrightSource Energy, one of the world’s largest developers of solar thermal power. He is also the former Founder and Chairman of Luz International, builder of nine SEGS plants totaling 354MW (90% of the world’s solar power at the time) in the 1980s - the first commercially successful solar power plants, which are all are still in operation.  At Luz Arnold built the company up to a staff of 3,000 employees worldwide. Previously, Arnold founded Electric Fuel Ltd., a developer and supplier of fuel cells for electric vehicles and other applications. Electric Fuel Ltd. went on to become a public company listed on the NASDAQ exchange under the name ARTX.  He was also the Co-Founder of Lexitron, the developer of the first word processor. Lexitron was initially traded on NASDAQ then acquired by Raytheon.

Arnold is the recipient of many national and international awards including Energy Technology Pioneer of the Year - 2009, World Economic Forum, Davos, Switzerland, and holder of numerous patents and frequent guest lecturer at universities, seminars, and conferences.  He holds BS and MSEE degrees in, Electrical Engineering from the University of Southern California.

Studied Physics and Mathematics at HUJ, my MSC work superconducting materials, founded a loudspeaker company “Ramko Rolland” with exports to the UK, Italy and US/Canada. The company received status of an “Approved Enterprise”. Later was involved in operational consulting at Tadiran Ltd., including tactical telecommunication gear and advanced armored corps helmets, lithium-ion batteries, high frequency resonant inverters whose electronic circuitry principles are used in today’s solar panel inverters. Later, I was embraced by the Signal Corps of the US Army, who recommended me to several of their subcontractors to improve manufacturing procedures. Over the years, was recommended by partners of the “Big 6” international accounting firms and big NYC & NJ law firms to engage in operational restructuring and corporate finance of companies with sales in excess of $350 million. Originated and secured funding of up to $100 million. I was engaged in various international projects at ministerial level, with funding assistance of OPIC, the World Bank/IFC/MIDA in international/cross-border financial transaction. Since 2006 involved in renewable energy projects in E. Europe and Central Asia, cultivation energy grasses as substitute for coal, processing forestry woody waste in substitute of coal and fertilizer substitute enriching agrarian soils etc.,. 

Prof. (emeritus) Yehuda Kahane is a Fellow of the World Academy of Arts and Science. He is the 2011 inductee of the highest international award in risk management and insurance.  Until recently he headed the Institute for Business and the Environment at Tel-Aviv University. He taught in many universities around the globe. Prof. Kahane is an active entrepreneur and investor in technological incubators and in technological companies with game changing potential. A co-founder and director of Ituran (Nasdaq ITRN), Pango Parking, Capital Point, and many other companies. He is also a philanthropist, focusing on societal and environmental threats. He

is a co-founder of YK Center – a for benefit institute that prepares leaders and managers for the new economy. Prof. Kahane has often used his area of expertise - insurance – as a leverage to solve major challenges that affect huge populations – for example, to find the enormous financial resources needed to combat the world climate change problems.

Kahane@post.tau.ac.il  kahane@ykcenter.org  http://en-coller.tau.ac.il/profile/kahane

Asa Ziv, co-founder and CEO has long record of management and engineering experience. He established and led El-Op's (now Elbit) Laser plant to be a worldwide recognized company. Mr. Ziv was a co-founder in Aprion Digital, a Scitex spin-off and served as its VP Business Development. Mr. Ziv brought investors and strategic partners (IBM, Hitachi, Toyo Ink and others), and led it to be one of the most recognized companies in Printing industry. Later he founded and served as CEO of VCortex Ltd. Mr. Ziv holds B.sc. in Physics and M.Sc. in Engineering.

As director of the IRENA Innovation and Technology Centre in Bonn since 2011, Dolf Gielen oversees the agency’s work on advising member countries in the area of technology status and roadmaps, energy planning, cost and markets and innovation policy frameworks.

Before joining IRENA, Dolf Gielen was Chief of the Energy Efficiency and Policy Unit at the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), Vienna. In that capacity, he managed a number of large projects involving energy efficiency and renewable energy (including those in Sri Lanka, Ukraine and India). Previously, he was a Senior Energy Analyst in the Energy Technology Policy Division of the International Energy Agency, Paris.

Dolf Gielen has a PhD in Energy and Materials Modelling from the Technical University of Delft. He graduated with an MA in Environmental Sciences at the University of Utrecht, the Netherlands.

Head of Domestic Operations

Main fields of activity:
1. EpC services
2. Energy Management and Energy Efficiency services
3. Waste to Energy - Coal substitutes.

Jonathan Shrier arrived in Tel Aviv, Israel in August 2015 as the Counselor for Economic Affairs.   Previously, he served in Kabul, Afghanistan, as the Senior Deputy Coordinating Director, overseeing ten State Department and interagency units delivering more than $8 billion in assistance and technical cooperation to support the U.S. partnership with Afghanistan. 

From 2011 to 2014, Mr. Shrier was the Secretary of State’s Special Representative for Global Food Security (acting), coordinating all aspects of U.S. diplomacy related to food security and nutrition, including in support of Feed the Future, the U.S. government’s global hunger and food security initiative.  Mr. Shrier led negotiations among the G-8 that led to President Obama’s announcement in 2012 of the New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition, aimed at reducing poverty in Africa. Mr. Shrier came to the State Department’s Office of the Global Food Security from the Secretary of State’s Policy Planning Staff.

Mr. Shrier has served as the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary and Acting Assistant Secretary for Policy and International Affairs at the U.S. Department of Energy, where he helped to design and establish the Energy and Climate Partnership of the Americas launched by President Obama.  While at the National Security Council and National Economic Council from 2006-2008, Mr. Shrier coordinated interagency policy at the intersection of energy and climate change, and also staffed the establishment of the Strategic Economic Dialogue with China.  A career Foreign Service Officer, Mr. Shrier handled international trade and investment issues, as well as information and communications technology policy matters, for the Under Secretary of State for Economic, Business, and Agricultural Affairs from 2005-2006.  He also served at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and the U.S. Embassies in Beijing, China and in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Mr. Shrier has earned degrees from the National Defense University (M.S. in National Security Resource Strategy), University of London (M.B.A. in International Management), London School of Economics (MSc in International Relations), and Dartmouth (A.B. in Government). His languages include Chinese, Arabic, French, and Spanish.

Dr. Harold Wiener is the Founder and General Partner of Terra Venture Partners and Terralab Ventures, the leading early-stage Impact VC in Israel (Founded in 2007). Harold invested and sits on the board of some of the most promising impact companies in Israel such as Phoebus Energy, PVNanocell, Smartap, Neurlief, Sixgill and others, with a total of 19 companies in Terra’s portfolio.

With more than 30 years of industrial and operational experience, Harold is a veteran in the world of biotechnology, chemistry, nutraceuticals, Cleantech and Corporate R&D, both in Israel and abroad.

Prior to founding Terra, Harold led product and business development for both 'Aromor' and 'AlgaTechnologies' – both of which were acquired. Harold has also served as CEO of various biotech and biomedical startups, and was the CTO of the Misgav Technology Center Incubator, the leading medical incubator in Israel to date.

Harold holds a Ph.D in Applied Chemistry from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, and has co-authored more than 30 scientific papers and patents in prestigious international journals.

He is also an active Member of the Board in the non-profit Machshava Tova, a leading organization aiming to reduce the social gaps in Israel utilizing technology.

Harold is a strong believer in the crucial role of technology to solve the most important challenges facing humanity, including the role of the new Sharing Economy and Digital Trust to solve social problems and reduce inequality, the most important threat of present times.

Harold was born in Uruguay and made Aliya to Jerusalem. He has lived there ever since.

A corporate Innovation professional with 15 years of experience in business development and product management in multiple industries, including Mobile, Internet, Telecommunication, Digital Content and recently Energy. Founder and Managing Director at Enel Innovation Hub in Israel, Previously at the AT&T Foundry Innovation Center. Working closely with the Israeli startups ecosystem to Identify Innovative solutions, evaluate new business opportunities and partner up with relevant companies to help execute and commercialize innovation through Enel’s global channels. 

Web entrepreneur focused on BUILDING and ACCELERATING winning ECOMMERCE companies in AFRICA.

Involved in building some of the fastest growing ecommerce companies in the world: lamoda.ru (Russia), wimdu.com (Germany & China), zando.co.za (South Africa), jumia.com (Nigeria), jabong.com (India), Groupon.co.za (Groupon South Africa).

Saul is the General Manager of Renault Innovation Lab Israel in collaboration with Carasso Motors Ltd. This strategic initiative has been set forth by the Renault-Nissan Alliance to foster open innovation among the local Israeli ecosystem. Previously he was an Executive Vice President at one of Israel's first VCs, Challenge Fund, and a member of the fund's investment committee. Prior to assuming his role at Challenge, he was Scientist-in-Residence at Precede Technologies, an early stage venture arm of Pitango VC and Evergreen Partners focusing on Cleasntech. In addition, Saul has successfully licensed technologies from the Israeli academia: A.I.T. (Technion) and Lunaros (Weizmann Institute).

Saul holds a PhD in Physical Chemistry with emphasis in Applied Electrochemistry, as well as an MBA specializing in strategy & entrepreneurship. Both from Tel-Aviv University.

Microgrid Israel
The Israeli Smart Energy Association

Elad Shaviv is a co-founder of Microgrid Israel which leads Israel’s main microgrid deployments. Elad also serves as the CEO of the Israeli Smart Energy Association (ISEA), a national platform, bringing together local and global Smart Energy players and stakeholders to share knowledge, drive initiatives, and build partnerships.​

At his role in ISEA as well as several commercial companies where he serves as a board member, Elad is deeply engaged today in the emerging Microgrid market, in Israel, the US, and Europe.

Elad has over 20 years of executive experience in the IT and Energy industries and is a frequent speaker at IT, Energy, and Innovation conferences around the world, leveraging his innovative entrepreneurial experience to bring new perspectives to the new energy world.

Avi is a Global Investment Officer at Sunfunder. He is responsible for managing relationships with Sunfunder's clients and optimizing their debt structure so that we can grow together. Prior to joining Sunfunder, Avi was the Director of Market Analysis at Lumos Global, a solar home system provider that launched initially in Nigeria. He began his career as a Special Operations Weather Team Leader in the US Air Force. Avi is a graduate of the Case Western Reserve University School of Law and, as a graduate of the University of Michigan, a proud Wolverine.

Co-founder of Enlight, leading the company since its inception in 2008. Gilad enlists his rich experience in initiating and managing large-scale international projects to promote the company's activities. Prior to the establishment of Enlight, Gilad served as VP Marketing and Sales of BVR, a leading hi-tech company that develops and provides real-time simulation and training systems used by leading armies worldwide. Gilad holds an MBA from the Executive Program at Tel Aviv University and an LLB from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Amnon’s practice is focused on finance and projects and he heads the firm’s finance and projects practices.

Throughout his international and local career, Amnon has gained substantial experience acting for lenders, borrowers, debt issuers and credit enhancers on a full spectrum of international financing transactions and in providing regulatory advice. 

In addition, Amnon has gained vast experience advising sponsors, lenders and EPC contractors in relation to complex projects in Israel and abroad, with specific expertise in infrastructure and energy.

Amnon has acted for clients such as Israel Chemicals (ICL), the Delek Group, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, the European Investment Bank, Citi and Goldman Sachs.

Chambers and Partners, Global describes Amnon as a “brilliantly intelligent and quick-minded lawyer, who is praised for his strategic skills” and a “dedicated lawyer who has an impressive familiarity with the energy sector and can offer valuable commercial advice.” Legal500 describes Amnon as "…very smart, has good connections and wide international experience, and thinks outside the box.”

Prior to co-founding Epstein Rosenblum Maoz (ERM), Amnon worked in the banking group at Linklaters LLP in London. He was also a Law Clerk for the Honourable Judge Yitzchak Zamir of the Israeli Supreme Court. Amnon has diverse academic experience and has taught at leading academic institutions, including University College London (UCL) and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He is currently a lecturer on "Legal Aspects of International Finance" at the Interdisciplinary Centre in Herzeliya.

Amnon has a bachelor's degree in law (LLB) from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (summa cum laude) and a master's degree in law (BCL) from Oxford University, where he was a Pegasus scholar.

Amnon is a member of the Israeli Bar (admitted 2000) and is also a practising solicitor in England and Wales (admitted 2004).

Renewable energy business development in Israel and abroad: 

• finding PV and Wind ready-to-build licenses
• managing technical and legal DD 
• project financing through bank and private equity 
• IPP/Investor engagment and retention

Renewable energy legal consulting including NDA, LOI, EPC & O&M contracts, etc.

Experienced purchasing and logistics manager

Raquel Bierzwinsky advises US and international clients in the areas of project development and finance, international finance and mergers & acquisitions, with a particular emphasis in Mexico and Latin America. Ms. Bierzwinsky represents project developers, sponsors, commercial lenders, and multilateral and bilateral agencies in the structuring and negotiation of complex, multijurisdictional energy and infrastructure project financings, as well as in acquisitions and dispositions of projects. Ms. Bierzwinsky also advises government and international financing agencies in international grant and investment projects in developing countries. Ms. Bierzwinsky also has significant experience in the telecommunications sector. She is admitted to practice law in Mexico and New York State.

José María Blasco Ruiz is civil servant since 2008 (Trade Specialist and State Economist).

 

José María works as Economic and Commercial Counsellor (Commercial Attaché) at the Embassy of Spain in Israel since September 2015. He is based in Tel Aviv. At the Embassy he is in charge of the Economic and Commercial Office with the aim of strengthening the economic and commercial bilateral relations between Israel and Spain, with special efforts this year of the 30th Anniversary of the Bilateral Relations Spain-Israel.

 

Before joining the Embassy of Spain in Israel, he was based in Madrid working for ICEX-Invest in Spain as Project Management Director. As part of his work with ICEX-Invest in Spain, he was the person responsible for activities to attract, promote and maintain foreign direct investment in Spain, as well as procuring funding for new investment projects and existing business opportunities in Spain. He was involved in several commercial and investment operations on the renewable and clean energy sectors.

He also served in the private sector before 2008 as well as in different positions within the General Management Area for Trade and Investment of the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, particularly on the area of International Financing for Trade and Investment, in which he was adviser from the public sector (sometimes in projects on the renewable and clean energy sector)

Professional background:

• First woman weather forecast officer in the Israeli air force
• PhD Chemical Engineering and Materials Science   from Technion of Israel. 20 years as R&D expert with management experience.
• Involved in academic and industrial projects in the following fields: Environment, Advanced Nano- materials and Semiconductors). In her previous position she was R&D Project manager at Tower-Jazz.
• Dr. Keysar was awarded as Israel leading woman entrepreneur in the competition of the USI WE Summit 2011 (Women Entrepreneurship competition).
• Dr. Keysar was a finalist at ACE awards 2013-2014 on the Innovator of the Year category
• Dr.  Keysar is  a  Fellow, Paul Merage Bussiness School  IRVINE CAL
• The company appears on Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies of 2016 Energy sector list. Her company received the “Most Innovative Israeli Startup award for 2015”, the ”Best Technical Development of Energy Harvesting award 2013’’ and the “Outstanding Israeli Incubator Company award for 2012”. Sol Chip was nominated by EETimes as one of “60 HOT Startups to watch” since 2012 till now. 

Named by CNN as one of the top six Green Pioneers worldwide, Josef is cofounder of the Arava Power Company, a leading solar developer. Arava Power built the first grid connected solar field in Israel and over the last year has closed on $300 million of projects, with a further $1.5 billion of projects in the pipeline. An entrepreneur, environmentalist and human rights activist, Josef has been conominated three times for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Mickey is an experienced executive with general management background, and brings with him more than 30 years of management and technology experience as well as business experience, 10 years out of those in the US.

Currently he is the General Manager of innogy Israel Innovation Center, as well as founder and Chairman of BETATEC – Berlin Tel-Aviv Technology and Entrepreneurship Committee, and Vice President of the German Israel Chamber of Commerce.

Mickey served for nine years (till end of 2013) as the Managing Director of SAP Labs Israel – the Israeli development center of SAP AG with ~750 employees. Under his management the center doubled in size, and became a strategic part of SAP development body. It also brought innovation into SAP through partnering and M&A of Israeli startups.

Before SAP Mickey was the General Manager of Infineon Israel – the Israeli development center of Infineon AG (IFX), President and COO of LaserComm Inc. – a Texas based company in the optical communication industry, and was founder and General-manager of Kolnet Systems – a systems house in the data communication field. Prior to that Mickey worked in a telecom start-up company in Los Angeles, starting as a software engineer, finally to become the director of product development.

Mickey holds a BSc. in Electrical Engineering from the Technion, Israel Institute of Technology, and a MSc. in Computer Science from UCLA, California.