Past event summary

JAMES BERNARD
REGIONAL REPRESENTATIVE - EUROPE
DMCC

James started his career working in the London financial markets for several international institutions and trading houses where he developed his passion for commodities, logistics, and global trade. He later incorporated his own group of companies producing, distributing and trading in physical commodities and derivatives.

After joining DMCC in 2006 as Associate Director of Commodities he took over as Director of Business Development in 2009, leading the next stage of growth for DMCC Free Zone which to date has attracted over 18,000 companies to its central Dubai location.

In his next role as DMCC Head of Corp Sales he has helped to successfully take DMCC on to achieve unprecedented growth and to develop into a multi award winning Free Zone.

James was recently appointed as DMCC’s European representative and operates from offices in the Netherlands.

As one of the founding members of the DMCC ‘Blockchain Innovation Group’ and ‘Global Blockchain Council’ he continues to assist in the development of Dubai as a global sector hub and DMCC as a global crypto ecosystem.

TALLY ZINGHER
MANAGING DIRECTOR
BLUE LAUREL ADVISORS

Tally Zingher is the Managing Director, Blue Laurel Advisors, an advisory firm that advises leading companies in strategic opportunities across the MENA region. She is also the CEO and co-founder of Dawsat, a leading Arabic-language platform for health and wellness in the Middle East.

Tally previously practised corporate law (financing & M&A) in New York with Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton and with Istithmar (Dubai World) in Dubai, UAE. Before joining Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, Tally was a law clerk to the Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court in the Hague, the Netherlands.

Tally started her career as a technology M&A investment banker at Broadview (Jefferies) in New York.

Tally has been a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations, fellow at the Dubai Initiative of the Belfer Center for Science & International Affairs at Harvard University (collaboration with the Dubai School of Government), and a Fulbright Scholar in the field of economics. Tally lectures on subjects related to economic development, emerging markets, and innovation for development at conferences in the US, Europe and the Middle East and has taught at Harvard University.

Tally holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics and Middle Eastern studies from Harvard College, an M.P.A. in international development economics from the Harvard Kennedy School, and a J.D. from Harvard Law School. Tally is a fellow of the Middle East Leadership Initiative of the Aspen Institute Global Leadership Network.

WENDY SINGER
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
START-UP NATION CENTRAL

Wendy Singer has served as Executive Director of Start-Up Nation Central since its founding in 2013. She worked with US-based funders to build the infrastructure and professional team in Israel, and to launch its activities – connecting Israel’s innovation ecosystem with government and business leaders around the world. Today she heads SNC’s Jerusalem operation.

Before joining SNC, Singer concluded a 23-year career at AIPAC. She was Director of AIPAC's Israel office for sixteen years. There she maintained relationships with Israeli government leaders, and members of the opposition, in addition to US diplomats, and Palestinian officials.

Prior to emigrating to Israel, Singer served as a registered AIPAC lobbyist on Capitol Hill, where she was the lead contact for dozens of House Members and Senators. She also served for five years as a staff aide for three Members of Congress, focusing on foreign policy issues.

REUVEN BEHAR
SENIOR PARTNER
FBC & CO

Reuven (Robi) Behar is a senior partner at FBC and co-head of its litigation and dispute resolution, competition and antitrust, and intellectual property practices. With 40 years of experience, Mr. Behar is among Israel’s preeminent commercial lawyers, acting for prominent multinational and Israeli clients, and is repeatedly ranked among Israel’s leading practitioners by international and domestic indices, including Chambers and Partners and Legal 500. Mr. Behar is a graduate (Cum Laude) of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem School of Law, and of the Northwestern University Kellogg Graduate School of Management.

DR OMRI RACHUM-TWAIG
IP, IT AND CYBER PARTNER
FBC & CO

Dr Omri Rachum-Twaig is an IP, IT and Cyber Partner in FBC’s Corporate practice, and a Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP). He obtained a PhD (Law) from Tel-Aviv University and has published articles in various legal fields in leading academic journals worldwide, which were cited by the Israeli Supreme Court and other academic works. Dr Rachum-Twaig was recently recognized as 40 Under 40 by TheMarker, one of Israel’s leading financial magazines, and is the author of “Copyright Law and Derivative Works: Regulating Creativity”, published by Routledge Press.

YONIT SERKIN
MANAGING DIRECTOR
MASSCHALLENGE ISRAEL

Yonit Golub Serkin is the Managing Director of MassChallenge Israel. In this role, she leads a team to create high impact innovation engagements that connect high-impact companies to leading corporates, philanthropists, and stakeholders.

Previously, she was a founder of Moonscape Ventures, a corporate development office, served as Deputy Chief of Staff for Economic Development at the Office of Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and as the spokeswoman for NYC Economic Development Corporation.

Yonit received an MA in International Studies and Economics from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and a BA from the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD. Yonit was named one of Israel's 40 Under 40 by The Marker Magazine in 2014.

GIL SHALEV
FOUNDER & CEO
EQUINOM

Founder and CEO, Gil Shalev is the driving force behind ag-tech seed innovator, Equinom. He earned his Ph.D. in plant genetics from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem’s Faculty of Agriculture and has expertise in plant genomics and breeding. Gil’s scientific achievements include developing an integrated sequencing technology for breeding and discovering new genes and gene combinations in numerous plants.

Founder and CEO, Gil Shalev is the driving force behind ag-tech seed innovator, Equinom. He earned his Ph.D. in plant genetics from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem’s Faculty of Agriculture and has expertise in plant genomics and breeding. Gil’s scientific achievements include developing an integrated sequencing technology for breeding and discovering new genes and gene combinations in numerous plants.

EYAL BAUM
DIRECTOR OF STRATEGIC ACCOUNTS
TYTOCARE

Eyal has over 15 years of experience in product management and business development positions in healthcare and IT companies such as Carestream, Philips Healthcare, SAP, Hexagon and IDF elite technology unit (8200). Eyal has extensive experience in building new innovative medical products and launching them to global markets. Eyal has a B.Sc. in Bio-Medical Engineering from Tel Aviv University and an MBA from Bar-Ilan University.

ORY ARAD
CEO
NUCLEON CYBER

Ory has extensive experience in the Defense and Cyber Intelligence industry, with over 18 years of experience in a variety of large scale sales in various lines of business, focusing on large scale projects worldwide.

Ory worked for 14 years at Elbit Systems, performing different managerial roles in multiple disciplines (hardware development, program management and marketing). Last on, he managed a global business unit with a yearly tern-over of ~$150M. In 2015 Ory joined WIP to accelerate sales which are since growing 50% per year.

Ory holds an MBA from the Interdisciplinary Center Herzeliya and a BSc in Electronic Engineering.

In his spare time, Ory is an enthusiastic member of a Masters swim club, loves jogging and spending time with his family and friends.

SAMER MERHI
SENIOR MARKETING MANAGER - EVENTS
DMCC

Samer Merhi is the Senior Marketing Manager of Events at DMCC, the world’s leading Free Zone and Government of Dubai Authority on commodities trade and enterprise.

Joining DMCC in 2012, Samer is responsible for delivering the organisation’s event programme in line with corporate marketing strategy and business objectives.

Technically knowledgeable and professionally qualified, Samer forges strategic relationships with partners around the world to deliver an ever-growing DMCC calendar of events both physical and virtual.

In a career spanning 15 years, Samer has managed some of the region’s largest and high-profile live events and conferences, as well as diplomatic meetings and industry gatherings.