Dr. Johnathan Abir

Startup Representative

CEO @ AD Knight – Understanding where people are for traffic safety

Entrepreneur, innovator, researcher, and engineer with proven success in the industry of multi-disciplinary system development from proof of concept to product delivery. Recognized for innovative and creative R&D work, and management. Passionate about the pursuit of knowledge, technical expertise, and emerging technologies.

Shay Rotman

Business Representative

VP, Business Development and Marketing @ Cognata

With 20 Years of experience in corporate and early stages companies, Shay combined the disciplines of product management with business development, leveraging both to achieve partnerships,
grow business and build marketing strategies

Shay hold a BA in economics and MBA in finance

Prof. Alex Pentland​

MIT MEDIA LAB​​

Prof. Pentland is the Director of the MIT Connection Science in the Media Lab. Recently declared as one of the “7 most powerful data scientists in the world“ by Forbes. Member of US National Academies, World Economic Forum councils.

Eran Shir​

CONSORTIUM CHAIRMAN​

Eran is currently Nexar’s CEO. He was the entrepreneur in residence at Aleph, VC firm focusing on big-data, crypto-currencies and market disruption. Eran was the senior director and head of the creative innovation center at Yahoo!

Itshak Turgeman​

NGO CO-FOUNDER​

Itshak Turgeman has led various educational initiatives over the last 15 years. Most recently he acted as the General Director of the Rashi Foundation, one of the largest and most dynamic private foundations in Israel. Prior to his education-related roles, Itshak had a long and acclaimed career in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). He served in a wide range of positions in the R&D Unit of the Intelligence Corps, as Head of the Department of Production Technology and later as Head of the Security-Society Branch. Itshak has a B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering, an M.A. in Quality Assurance and Reliability, and an MBA.

Dr. Smadar Itskovich

FOUNDER & CEO

Dr. Smader Itskovich is the Founder and CEO of Israel’s first and only Smart Mobility Living Lab. Based upon MIT’s Living Lab concept and with the support of the IIA – Dr. Itskovich created an Innovation Marketplace for Smart Mobility – based on collaboration, Data Trust and real-life challenges.

Prior to this position, Dr. Itskovich established several award-winning programs in Education and created the Division for Industrial Development in Ashdod Municipality. In addition, she developed the Ashdod Smart Mobility Living Lab, which she later expanded into the Israel Smart Mobility Living Lab.

Dr. Itskovich joined the public sector following a senior management position in the high-tech field. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Management, PhD in Economics and Business Management and a LL.M degree.