Catherine Ford Consultant Editor

Catherine Ford is a consultant editor to event programmes, and engaged in the development of timely editorial content for global corporate finance, M&A and capital markets related conferences and events. She routinely moderates discussion panels at conferences across the region. She has worked for Acuris since early 2002, holding a number of senior editorial roles in the company’s European, US and Asia-Pacific head offices.

Colin Diamond Partner White & Case

Colin's practice focuses on securities transactions, public mergers and acquisitions and general corporate matters.

He offers clients the benefit of his experience in connection with registered equity offerings, convertible and high yield bond offerings and American Depository Receipt (ADR) programs. He has worked on numerous initial public offerings (IPOs), including the ground-breaking IPO of Visa Inc., which was the largest in US history at that time.

Drawing on his understanding of disclosure issues, corporate governance practices, Sarbanes-Oxley and Dodd-Frank compliance, Colin offers authoritative counsel to the boards and audit committees of major public companies.

His formidable knowledge of public companies' obligations under US securities laws also enables him to help his clients with a broad range of compliance issues, such as the preparation of annual, quarterly and periodic reports, proxy statements and SEC no-action letters.

As a partner in White & Case's Emerging Companies Practice, Colin is committed to helping entrepreneurs and start-ups to navigate the complex issues faced by emerging companies, such as convertible note and preferred stock financings.

Clients also benefit from Colin's considerable experience advising on the securities law aspects of Chapter 11 reorganizations. He has been involved, for example, in the Chapter 11 reorganizations conducted by Six Flags, Inc., Visteon Corporation, Mirant Corporation and WCI Communities, Inc. and represented an ad-hoc committee of bondholders in the reorganization of Washington Mutual, Inc.

Tuvia J. Geffen Partner Naschitz, Brandes, Amir & Co.

Tuvia Geffen heads the firm's international capital markets practice. Mr. Geffen's practice focuses on capital markets, mergers and acquisitions, financial institutions and private equity. He has extensive experience in cross-border M&A and in equity and debt capital markets transactions, where he has acted for issuers, underwriters and selling shareholders. His clients include a wide variety of multinational corporations acquiring or investing in Israeli companies, Israeli companies that are active in international capital markets and global banks and financial institutions. 

In addition, Mr. Geffen provides ongoing corporate and securities advice to several Israeli public companies traded on NASDAQ, the New York Stock Exchange, the London Stock Exchange and the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, including Check Point, Wix, Gilat Satellite, Taptica International, Plus500 and Magal Security.

Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Geffen worked as a capital markets and M&A lawyer with Sullivan & Cromwell in New York for eight years and completed his LL.M. at the University of Chicago Law School. Mr. Geffen also clerked at the Jerusalem District Court with Justice A. Procccacia. 

Mr. Geffen’s practice was recommended by Chambers Global 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 (Capital Markets and M&A), IFLR1000 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 (Capital Markets and M&A) and The Legal 500 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018 (Capital Markets, and Corporate and M&A). Mr. Geffen was named on the Who's Who Legal: Capital Markets 2017 and 2018 lists.

"He is one of the most gifted lawyers I have met - he gives out-of-the-box solutions and is a deal maker."(Chambers Global 2016)

"Tuvia is a hard-working individual with extensive know-how of all legal details relating to Israeli companies traded on NASDAQ and the Israeli stock market." (Chambers Global 2017)

"Head of the firm's international capital markets group Tuvia Geffen is well regarded in the market. He is described by sources as a "great lawyer" and a "deal maker." (Chambers Global 2018)

"Tuvia Geffen is described by market sources as a "really impressive lawyer." He has a varied practice and skill set with notable experience on M&A, capital markets and technology-related mandate."(Chambers Global 2018)

"Tuvia Geffen is a popular figure among international counsel - he is entirely bicultural: completely at home in the US and completely at home in Israel. His approach is very hands-on and commercial. He's very user-friendly." (Chambers Global 2019)

Alon Weinberg Director Dell Technologies Capital

Alon Weinberg is a Director at Dell Technologies Capital, where he leads venture investment activity in Europe and Israel. Alon’s responsibilities include sourcing, leading and managing investments that support the full spectrum of Dell Technologies’ strategic focus areas.

Before joining Dell Technologies Capital, Alon was a Principal at Carmel Ventures where he focused on early stage investments in the areas of IoT, Transportation, Tech-Enabled Services and Frontier Tech.

Prior to Carmel Ventures, Alon headed all commercial aspects of the New Media business unit at PilatMedia and joined SintecMedia as VP Sales & Bus Dev following the acquisition of the company. Before that, Alon served in senior product management roles at NDS Group in the UK and Israel and was the VP Product & Marketing of a fully owned NDS subsidiary that was subsequently acquired by Cisco, and also served as a paramedic and head of a medical team for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

Alon holds an MBA from INSEAD and a B.Sc. in Computer Eng. (Cum Laude) from the Technion

Doron Gurevitz Managing Director, Head of Israel Rothschild & Co

Doron is the Head of the Israel Global Financial Advisory at Rothschild & Co. Prior to joining Rothschild & Co, Doron worked as an investment banker at UBS, and prior to that, Doron served as an advisor in the Prime Minister’s Bureau. Doron holds a BA in Business Administration, graduated with Dean’s honors, and a LLM in Commercial Law

Rothschild & Co has a strong presence in Israel. The Israel team, based on-the-ground in Tel Aviv, is highly connected to local markets and advises Israeli clients on both domestic and cross-border M&A, restructuring, and equity and debt financing. Recent transactions include many of the country’s largest and most high-profile, including Intel’s $15.3bn acquisition of Mobileye, the €1.5bn sale of Keter Group, Israel Chemicals’ €250m strategic asset disposal, US-listing IPOs of Israeli companies as Kamada and Mediwound, London-listing IPO of Matomy, and debt and equity financing advice for Teva totalling $27.8bn.

Yoav Hineman Partner Fortissimo Capital

Yoav Hineman has been a partner at Fortissimo since 2008. Yoav has 20 years of combined experience in private equity and investment banking. Prior to joining Fortissimo, Yoav spent three years with Magnolia Capital, the Israeli arm of Thomas Weisel Partners. Prior to joining Magnolia, Yoav was as a software analyst at SG Cowen & Co and worked on SoundView Technology Group’s investment banking team in San Francisco. Yoav earned his B.S. in Business Administration from U.C. Berkeley Haas School of Business (Phi Beta Kappa)

Gilad Shany Partner Ion Crossover Partners

Prior to ICP, Gilad spent a decade investing in innovative growth companies in public and private markets with Baron Capital (New York) and more recently with Magma Venture Partners (Tel Aviv). Gilad sourced and led investments in 40+ companies that totaled over $1.5bn. Examples include Tesla Inc., Mobileye NV, Iridium Communications Inc., Varonis Systems Inc., and more. Gilad graduated Magna Cum Laude from Tel Aviv University with a B.S. in Physics, Astronomy and Philosophy and with Honors from the Wharton School with an M.B.A.

Sharon A. Amir Partner Naschitz, Brandes, Amir & Co.

One of Israel’s leading mergers and acquisitions attorneys, senior partner Sharon Amir specializes in local Israeli and international cross-border M&As, the formation of private equity funds, including venture capital, venture lending, mezzanine and buy-out funds and the representation of such funds in their on-going activities and investment transactions. Sharon Amir heads the firm's M&A and Private Equity practices. 

Mr. Amir has advised on some of Israel’s largest and most complex international M&As, and has been involved in the structuring and representation of some of the largest venture capital, buyout and other investment funds operating in Israel. His clients include numerous investment funds, and public and private companies (both local and multinational).

Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Amir clerked for the Israel Supreme Court (Justice S. Netanyahu), and spent several years working as a corporate and tax associate with the New York office of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom.

Mr. Amir’s practice has been recommended over and over again by Chambers Global (valuing his "ability to negotiate, and his very deep understanding of the business side as well as the legal aspects" and referring to him as a "smart cookie – experienced and responsive"), IFLR1000 (quoting a client: "the best M&A lawyer I've ever worked with") and the Legal500 ("superb").

Gary Leibler Founder and Managing Partner Shavit Capital

Gary is the managing partner and founder of Shavit Capital. Gary has managed over $500 million over six funds. He has been involved in many successful technology companies including over 20 companies that completed successful IPOs in the US or other public markets. Portfolio companies led by Gary were sold to leading multinational companies including Microsoft, AOL, Amdocs and Alcatel-Lucent. Gary has served as director of various high-tech and investment advisory companies. Gary was also the founder and managing partner of AIG Orion Venture Capital Fund, which was managed in partnership with the international private equity practice of American International Group (NYSE: AIG). The AIG Orion Fund, with investors including Microsoft, Comcast and the World Bank, was one of Israel’s most successful venture capital funds from the 1999/2000 vintage. Gary also served as a global manager of the private equity practice of AIG which at the time managed the world’s largest investment firm that specialized in emerging economies. Gary also has experience as an attorney and accountant.

Gary is active in many non-profit organizations including the Jerusalem Foundation and the Israel National Library. He was an officer in the IDF (res).

Daniel Turgel Partner White & Case

Daniel is a partner in our Global Mergers and Acquisitions practice. He advises on public and private M&A, joint ventures and broader corporate matters, with extensive experience in high-profile and complex cross-border transactions.

Daniel advises across a range of sectors, including technology, media and telecoms, energy, pharmaceutical, real estate, financial sponsors and financial institutions.

Daniel is widely recognised as a leading practitioner on Israel-related matters, having been ranked by Chambers Global for several years. He spends a substantial proportion of his time in Tel Aviv and has advised on some of the largest and most complex matters in the Israeli market.

Yair Shoham Managing Director and Israel Country Manager Intel Capital

Yair is an investment director focusing on investment opportunities related to Israel. Yair joined Intel Capital in 2012 after more than 13 years as a General Partner with Genesis Partners, one of Israel’s premier venture capital funds, where he focused on communication and consumer products investments. Yair was selected by the Israeli entrepreneurial community and the Israeli High-Tech Association as one of the top five VCs in Israel for the years 2006 through 2009. From 1996 to 2006, Yair was a member of the board of directors of M-Systems, a worldwide pioneer in flash data storage solutions, and was actively involved in the $1.55B sale of the company to SanDisk. Prior to joining Genesis Partners, Yair was a co-founder and managed the business development of two Israeli start-ups, Butterfly Communications (sold to Texas Instruments) and VDOnet (sold to Citrix Systems). Yair began his career practicing securities and corporate law, first in the US, and then in Israel, where he was a partner at Israel’s largest law firm. Yair holds a JD from Loyola University School of Law and a BA from Haifa University. 

Rutie Adar Director, Head of Samsung Strategy and Innovation Center Samsung

Rutie Adar has been heading Samsung’s Strategy and Innovation Center, Israel since 2013. She has been the main focal point for startups, mature companies and academia to explore potential collaborations with Samsung’s innovation platforms. Some of these collaborations included equity investments of Samsung Catalyst Fund.

Rutie has been working in the consumer semiconductors industry during the past 28 years. She started her career developing image processing and parallel processing algorithms. In the past 20 years Rutie held various managerial positions in marketing, strategy, planning and business development. She joined Samsung in 2010 for technology sourcing for Samsung’s component business.

She has B.S. and M.S. in mathematics and computer science from the Hebrew University Jerusalem and MBA from Tel Aviv University.

Rutie has passion for studying and holds B.A. in political science and international affairs and recently she finished her M.A. in political communications at Tel Aviv University which will be her fifth degree.

Shlomi Ben Haim Co-Founder and CEO JFrog

Shlomi is a Co-Founder and CEO of JFrog, creators of the universalDevOps platform and enablers of Liquid Software. He brings over 20 years ofexperience in building profitable, high-growth information technologycompanies. Prior to JFrog, Shlomi was the CEO of AlphaCSP and a Major in theIsraeli Air Force. Shlomi holds an MS from Clark University (Massachusetts,USA) and a BA from Ben-Gurion University (Israel).

Dorit Dor Vice President of Products Check Point Software Technologies

Dr. Dorit Dor serves as Vice President, Products for Check Point Software Technologies. She manages all product definition and development functions for both the enterprise and consumer divisions of the Company. Dr. Dor's core responsibilities include leading the company's product management, research and development (R&D) and quality assurance (QA) initiatives from concept to delivery. Dr. Dor has served in several pivotal roles in Check Point's R&D organization. She has been instrumental to the organization's growth and managed many successful product releases. She has been published in several influential scientific journals for her research on graph decomposition, median selection and geometric pattern matching in d-dimensional space. In 1993, she won the Israel National Defense Prize. Dr. Dor holds a Ph.D. and M.S degree in computer science from Tel-Aviv University, in addition to graduating cum laude for her Bachelor of Science degree.

Daniel Turgel Partner White & Case

Daniel is a partner in our Global Mergers and Acquisitions practice. He advises on public and private M&A, joint ventures and broader corporate matters, with extensive experience in high-profile and complex cross-border transactions.

Daniel advises across a range of sectors, including technology, media and telecoms, energy, pharmaceutical, real estate, financial sponsors and financial institutions.

Daniel is widely recognised as a leading practitioner on Israel-related matters, having been ranked by Chambers Global for several years. He spends a substantial proportion of his time in Tel Aviv and has advised on some of the largest and most complex matters in the Israeli market.

Raymond Bogenrief Partner White & Case

Ray is a partner in White & Case's global M&A practice, based in Chicago. Ray focuses his practice on complex business transactions, particularly leveraged buyouts for private equity funds and domestic and cross-border mergers and acquisitions. He has represented some of the largest names in private equity in transactions ranging in size from several million dollars to more than US$5 billion.

Ray also represents public companies, private companies and venture capital firms in negotiating and structuring acquisitions and divestitures, mergers and acquisitions, venture capital investments, equity and debt financings, recapitalizations and restructurings, and executive compensation and incentive equity matters, as well as advising on general corporate governance and compliance.

Ray is the General Counsel and a member of the Board of Directors of the USO of Illinois. He is also a member of UNICEF's Midwest Regional Board of Directors and the Northwestern Gridiron Network.