Ms. Nahmias-Verbin was appointed in January 2022 as the Chairperson of The Israel  Export Institute. 

Ms. Nahmias-Verbin served as Member of Knesset on behalf of the Zionist Union/Labor  party between 2015 - 2019. She was a member of the Economic committee, defense and  foreign relations committee, and the house committee. Ms. Nahmias-Verbin also headed  the Industry caucus and was awarded "best parliamentarian" by the Israel Democracy  Institute in 2016. 

Following her tenure in the Knesset, Ms. Nahmias-Verbin assumed various roles and leading positions in the business and public sector, implementing her unique multi-disciplinary  expertise and knowledge. She currently serves as Vice President of the Manufacturer's  Association of Israel, Chairperson of Tavlit Plastic (a family-owned factory specializing in  irrigation and water technologies) and serves as a board member in several companies - in  technology, renewable energies and fintech. 

In addition, Ms. Nahmias-Verbin acts as the chair of Jready – the global crises management  network by the Jewish agency, chair of the fund for the victims of terror as well as Chair of  the Board of the Ben Gurion House in Tel Aviv, and as a leading expert in corporate  governance, she still makes the time to teach and train in senior management courses in  Lahav, the management faculty at the Tel Aviv university.  

Ms. Nahmias-Verbin graduated with an LLB from the Hebrew University and holds an LLM in  Commercial Law from the Tel Aviv university.  

Knesset Member Nir Barkat, Minister of Economy and Industry

Nir Barkat is an entrepreneur, former Mayor of  Jerusalem, Minister of Economy and Industry, and  a Member of the Knesset from the Likud party.  

Barkat holds a BA in computer science from the  Hebrew University of Jerusalem. While in  university, Barkat, together with several friends, created one of the world’s first antivirus technologies and went on to establish BRM, a leading Israeli investment fund. Barkat is a founder and the first chairman of the board of  CheckPoint Technologies, an Israeli cyber security giant. 

In 2001, he began his philanthropic activity with several educational and social ventures  focused on web-based education and high-tech entrepreneurship. Ventures founded by  Barkat include the Snunit Center for the Advancement of Web-Based Learning, which  integrates technology into education, and IVN (the Israel Venture Network) for nurturing  social businesses. Along with students from Jerusalem, he founded New Spirit, which  focuses on inspiring youth in Jerusalem.  

Between 2003 and 2008, Barkat served as opposition chairman on the Jerusalem City  Council, after which he was elected mayor, remaining in that position for a decade. During  Barkat’s tenure, Jerusalem changed dramatically. Young people returned to the city, hi-tech  companies opened offices in the capital, visits of foreign and local tourists increased,  education and academia reassumed leadership, and national and international culture and  sporting events filled the city’s venues and streets. As a result of his efforts, Jerusalem  showed some of the most significant growth in the world in terms of tourism and the hi-tech industry and was the leading Israeli city in new business openings. 

In 2019, Barkat was elected to the Knesset from the high ranks of the Likud party. In 2022, Barkat was appointed Minister of Economy and Industry of the State of Israel. 

Barkat did his military service in the Paratroopers Corps. He was injured during an operation  in southern Lebanon, yet insisted afterward on returning to the army, becoming a platoon commander in Battalion 890 and taking part in the First Lebanon War. 

Barkat takes no salary for his public service beyond a token of one shekel annually. 

Barkat is married to Beverly. He is the father of three daughters and a lifelong Jerusalemite

Dr. Ron Tomer is the President of the Manufacturers’ Association of Israel since January 2020. He was elected by the members of the Association to use his broad experience in the industry to improve the business environment in Israel in favor of the business sector.

Dr. Tomer holds the position of Chief Executive Officer at Unipharm Ltd and has held various senior level positions in the company from January 1995. In the course of this period he was responsible for R&D, intellectual property, patent litigation, and business development.

Dr. Tomer has an extensive education record starting at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem where he received his Bachelor in Pharmaceutical Sciences and continue to a Master of Business Administration at Tel Aviv University. Dr. Tomer holds a PhD degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the University of London.

Among his positions at Unipharm, Dr. Tomer also volunteered for public positions to better serve his country. From 2006, he has been the manager of the Professional Committee & Board member of the Pharmaceutical Association of Israel. During 2009 to 2016 he held the positions of Chairmen of the "Buy in Israel" committee & Presidential Board Member of the Manufactures Association of Israel. From 2017 to 2018 he was Chairman of the Committee of Economy and Regulation.

• Associate Director General of Sheba Medical Center & Acting Director of Sheba General Hospital.
• Member of the National Corona Professional Advisory Board.
• Director of the NY State /American MD Program, Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University.
• Chairman of the National Council of Pathology and Forensic Medicine.
• Chairman of the Israeli Medical Association World Federation (IMA WF)
• Chairman of the Association of Hospitals' Directors
• Former Director General , Israeli Ministry of Health
• Former member of the Bureau of Governors, the OECD Health Committee

Assaf is a seasoned entrepreneur and venture professional with extensive experience in venture investments, building innovation platforms and commercializing and scaling healthcare related startups. 

He has been leading Sanara Ventures, an Israel based HealthTech innovation fund backed by Phillips, Teva and the Israel Innovation Authority, since its inception in 2015 and serves as Managing Partner of Sanara Capital. A follow-on fund to Sanara Ventures, Sanara Capital invests in A & B rounds of Israeli-related Digital Health, Bio-Convergence and Medical Devices companies. Assaf is also a recognized keynote speaker, sharing his vision for healthcare innovation at HealthTech conferences across the globe.

In addition to leading Sanara, Assaf is the Chairman of the Life Science Board at the Israel Export Institute, where he promotes the global export of Israeli healthcare related technologies in the medical, biotech, pharma and digital fields. A valued consultant, Assaf was an advisor to the World Bank’s IFC venture capital team and a co-founder of the IFC’s Tech Emerge initiative, a unique acceleration platform that connects healthcare startups from around the world with leading corporations and hospitals in emerging economies. In December 2018, Tech Emerge Health won the World Bank Group President’s award for innovation.

Formerly, Assaf was one of the founders of CardioSense, a MedTech startup company that developed a probe for early shock detection in various medical settings.

Before lending his multidisciplinary acumen to Sanara Ventures, Assaf served for 6 years as CEO of Kinrot Ventures, spearheading its acquisition by Hutchison Whampoa, a HK based conglomerate, in 2012. Prior to that, he headed business development at Mekorot, Israel’s national water company, where he oversaw the establishment of WaTech, the Entrepreneurship & Partnership Center for Water Technologies. For his accomplishments in both Mekorot and Kinrot, he received the Cleantech Group’s Innovation Hero Award in April 2013, which recognizes individuals whose commitment, drive and passion have driven innovation among many start-up companies. Previously, Assaf served for four years as Director of Business Development at Comverse, a global provider of telecommunication added value technologies, where he also co-chaired the Mobile Marketing Association.
    
A unique highlight in Assaf’s story is his former stint as a college basketball player at New Jersey’s Seton Hall University, where he won the Big East championship against Georgetown in 1991. He went on to play professional basketball for 14 years in Israel’s top national league and in various European cups, while completing multiple academic degrees. 

A certified lawyer, Assaf holds both Law and Business degrees from Reichman University in Herzliya and a BA (cum laude) in Political Science & Psychology from Tel-Aviv University.

Ran D Balicer, MD, Ph.D, MPH
Deputy-DG, Chief Innovation Officer, 
Head of Innovation Division, 
Clalit Health Services, Israel
Founding Director, Clalit Research Institute

Public Health Professor, School of Public Health
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel

Prof. Ran Balicer is a physician, scientist and executive, Deputy DG and Chief Innovation Officer for Clalit - Israel's largest healthcare organization caring for over half of Israel’s population. He also serves as Founding Director of the Clalit Research Institute, the WHO Collaborating Center on Non-Communicable Diseases Research, Prevention and Control. In these roles, he is responsible for strategic planning, development and at-scale implementation of novel AI and data-driven interventions.  

Prof Balicer is Full Professor and Track Director of the MPH program at the Ben-Gurion University School of Public Health, and heads Israel’s first and only Public Health/Data Sciences combined physician residency program. Prof. Balicer also serves as Co-Chair of the Ivan and Francesca Berkowitz Family Living Collaboration Laboratory at Harvard Medical School & Clalit Research Institute. In these capacities, Prof. Balicer mentored young scholars and authored over 250 scientific publications, books and book chapters. 

He serves as Chair of the Israeli Society for Quality in Healthcare since 2013, and as member of national and international health policy committees. He also serves as an Advisor to Governments and to international public organizations including the World Health Organization (WHO), where he is involved in projects focusing on utilizing data, data science and AI in achieving effective healthcare provision and care integration. 

Since 2020, Prof. Balicer serves as Chairman of Israel's National Experts Team on COVID-19 Response, which advises the Israeli Government and Prime Minister. He has led globally recognized groundbreaking real-world studies on COVID-19 risk stratification, mitigation strategies, vaccine effectiveness and safety.  
 

Ligia Kornowska BIO

Ligia Kornowska - Medical Doctor. Managing Director of the Polish Hospital Federation, the largest hospital organization in Poland. Leader of „AI Coalition in Healthcare” for Poland. Co-founder and Chair of the Board in Data Lake and Donate your Data Foundation. Listed among „100 most influential people in Polish healthcare” for the last 4 years, laureate of "25 under 25” and „30 under 30” Forbes list.  Held managerial positions in leading polish medical startups. Speaker and moderator at the most important conferences related to the healthcare sector

Paul Wright, MD, MBA, FAAN, FANA

SVP, Neurosciences

With more than 20 years of experience in neurology and healthcare, Dr. Wright is currently the senior vice president of the neuroscience institute at Nuvance health, overseeing neurology, neurosurgery, neurointerventional surgery and rehabilitation across the healthcare system encompassing seven hospitals and multiple outpatient sites.

Throughout his career, Dr. Wright has served as the chairman of Neurology for North Shore University Hospital and Long Island Jewish Medical Center in New Hyde Park, NY and the vice president of Neurology for Northwell Health System's central and eastern regions, where he coordinated neurology services for all hospitals and outpatient centers in Eastern Queens, Nassau and Suffolk Counties on Long Island. He was also a member of Northwell Health Physician Partners, where he earned the distinguished Patient's Choice Award.

Dr. Wright earned his medical degree from the Sackler School of Medicine in Tel Aviv, Israel, and his master's in business administration, with distinction, from Hofstra University in Hempstead, NY.

He completed his residency in neurology at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Manhattan, where he also served as chief resident. Following his residency, he completed a fellowship in cerebrovascular disease at Mount Siani. There, he was awarded the Bella Trachtenburg award for house staff excellence and was also the recipient of the physician of the year award.

Board certified in neurology, Dr. Wright has extensive research experience, most recently examining patient quality and outcomes in health systems. This work has included utilizing artificial intelligence to advance healthcare systems. He has lectured extensively internationally and has been a medical advisor to many national and international companies.

He was part of the teaching faculty at the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra University. He is an adjunct associate clinical professor at the Hofstra Northwell School of Graduate Nursing and Physician Assistant, in Hempstead, NY. Wright continues to teach a master's level class in health administration as an adjunct associate professor at the Hofstra University School of Health Sciences and Human Services.

A veteran of the armed forces receiving a commendation for operation duty, Wright is also an avid traveler. He has represented the United States internationally

Dana is the CTO at the Israel Innovation Authority, where she leads data driven decision making mechanisms. In addition, she also takes a leading part in the implementation of the Bio-convergence national plan. 

Dana has a PhD in multidisciplinary cancer research from Dundee University (Marie Curie fellowship) and a Postdoc in stem cell research from Tel Aviv University.

Previously to her current role Dana worked in the drug development industry with her last role being VP strategic planning and alliances Pharmaseed Ltd. 

Dana was also the representative of the Israel Innovation Authority to the National COVID19 Task Force.  

Arie Melmed-Yekel is senior high-tech executive with over 20 years of global experience in technology and business. Arie Joined ALYN Hospital in 2019 and since then manages ALYNnovation, an innovation hub for the research, development and commercialization of pediatric rehabilitation and assistive technologies; there are currently 12 companies in the ALYNnovation portfolio. In 2021, established and now manages ALYN PARC, the Helmsley Pediatric Rehabilitation Research Center. Arie holds a BSc in Applied Physics and ElectroOptics and an MBA (Cum Laude) from Ben Gurion University.