Welcome to the 2020 Centennial World WIZO EGM!

Since making Aliya in 2016, businessman and philanthropist Sylvan Adams has devoted himself to serving his adopted country, as his calling card reads: “Self-appointed Ambassador at large for the State of Israel”. He is the only Israeli member of the Giving Pledge, an organization begun by Warren Buffet together with Bill and Melinda Gates for billionaires committed, as signers of the “Pledge”, to giving away the majority of their wealth to philanthropic pursuits.

His philanthropic investments are focused on two themes:
1. Promotion of Israel both abroad and internally, through innovative, non-polemical means, such as sport and cultural activities.
2. Promotion of Jewish Identity in the diaspora, or as he likes to call it “ensuring Jewish grandchildren”.

His tagline, when asked what his next project will be, is “JUST. GETTING. STARTED.”

Prof. Dan Ariely – is an Israeli-American James B. Duke Professor of Psychology and Behavioral Economics at Duke University. Ariely is the founder of the research institution The Center for Advanced Hindsight, co-founder of the companies Kayma, BEworks, Timeful, Genie and Shapa., the Chief Behavioral Economist of Qapital and the Chief Behavioral Officer of Lemonade. Ariely’s TED talks have been viewed over 15 million times. Ariely is the author of the three New York Times best sellers Predictably Irrational, The Upside of Irrationality, and The Honest Truth about Dishonesty, as well as the books Dollars and Sense, Irrationally Yours – a collection of his popular The Wall Street Journal advice column “Ask Ariely”; and Payoff, a short TED book.Ariely appeared in several documentary films, including The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley and produced and participated in (Dis)Honesty: The Truth About Lies. In 2018 Ariely was named one of the 50 most influential living psychologists in the world.

Born in New York and raised in Sde Boker, Daniel Birenbaum began his professional career in marketing until he established Pilsbury Israel and served as its CEO. He then served as General Manager of Nike Israel for 5 years. In 2007 he was appointed CEO of SodaStream at the time it was acquired on the brink of bankruptcy for $6 million by a private equity firm.  Daniel grew the company to sales of more than $700 million, took it public on NASDAQ, and in December 2018 sold the company to PepsiCo for $3.2 billion.  Today he serves as Chairman of SodaStream.

Daniel is a leading advocate for coexistence and peace in the Middle East, pioneering the concept of ‘Peace Economy’. At SodaStream’s factory, over 2,000 Israeli and Palestinian employees work side by side on a daily basis. He has also become an advocate for the environment and a leading voice for social justice, being outspoken on discriminatory legislation including the “Surrogacy Law”, religious discrimination in Israel and the “Nation-State Bill 2018”.

Alon Davidi has been the Mayor of Sderot since 2013. He has a Masters Degree in Public Policies from the Ben Gurion University in the Negev. He is married and the father of 7.

Michael Dickson –

is the Executive Director of StandWithUs in Israel, an international educational non-profit dedicated to supporting Israel and fighting Antisemitism around the world. He leads a dynamic team in Jerusalem for StandWithUs, an international non-profit and a respected provider of Israel educational material and programs. This role includes pioneering innovative Israel educational initiatives, running campaigns to counter discriminatory BDS boycotts of Israel, overseeing the organization’s significant social media presence and hosting delegations of politicians, diplomats, academics and other people of influence in Israel.

Michael has led diplomatic, academic and journalist missions to Israel and has advocated for Israel in different forums, including at the UN “Durban II” conference, in the Knesset, in Europe, the US, and in the Far East. Michael has helped pioneer the organization’s social media activity, which has a weekly peak reach on Facebook of over 105 million people. He has been instrumental in setting up “social media situation rooms” as far back as in 2009 during Operation Cast Lead. Michael has amassed a large following on social media and his personal output reaches millions of people each month.

Michael regularly addresses audiences and broadcasts on issues pertaining to Israel and public diplomacy. He is an accomplished writer, with many published articles, TV appearances and he is writing a book due to be published soon.

Michael made Aliyah from the UK in 2006, and lives in Israel with his wife and five children.

He is a Senior Fellow at the Center for International Communication of Bar Ilan University, is an Honorary member of Alpha Epsilon Pi, and was appointed to the Spectrum Forum of leading Executive Directors in Israel under the age of 40. In 2016, he was named as the 14th most influential Jew on Twitter and also one of the “30 Israelis Making a Difference” by Channel 10 TV. Michael was listed in the Top 30 of “The Aliyah 100 List” of British immigrants to Israel as one of the “flag bearers who shape the state of Israel and made a significant contribution”. In 2019, he was awarded the Bonei Zion Prize, recognizing the achievements of outstanding Anglo immigrants and their contribution to the State of Israel.

Born in Upper Nazareth, Moshe Edri moved to WIZO Nir Ha’emek Youth Village when he was 13 and lived in the boarding school. His time there molded him into the person he is today, and years this period as the most significant of his life. In 1980 he enlisted into the IDF in the elite ‘Golani’ brigade. During his military service he was involved in a near fatal incident which resulted in him losing his left arm. In spite of his injury he returned to active duty the same year and transferred to the Israeli Air Force Special Operations, commanding Unit 669 (Israel’s National Search & Rescue Unit) and later on commanded all of the Air Force Special Operations at the Headquarters. In 2008 he was awarded the rank of Brigadier General, heading an Operations Directorate at IDF headquarters, before retiring from the IDF in 2011 after 31 years of distinguished service. A year later he was appointed to a senior position in the Prime Minister’s Office, and in 2015 he was appointed Assistant Minister of Defense for chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) Defense Division by the then Minister of Defense, Moshe Ya’alon.

Mr. Herzog is the Chairman of the Executive of The Jewish Agency for Israel. Before entering his position, he served as Member of Knesset, Chairman of the Israeli Labor Party, and Knesset Opposition Leader.

In 2015, Mr. Herzog was a front-runner to win the election for Israel’s Prime Minister.
Over the past 15 years he has held several Ministerial posts: Minister of Housing and Construction; Minister of Tourism; Minister of Diaspora Affairs, Society and the Fight against Anti-Semitism; Minister of Welfare and Social Services, as well as Member of the Security Cabinet. He also served as Government Secretary and as the Government of Israel Coordinator for the provision of humanitarian aid to Gaza in 2008-2009.

Before entering politics, Mr. Herzog was a senior partner at the law firm of Herzog, Fox & Ne’eman.

Maya Elhalal – Founder of ESH – Future Formats, is a curator and host of international conferences on progress. In 2015 Maya was featured in Forbes list of 50 Influential Women in Israel, and in The Next Web global list of recommended women speakers on science and technology.Maya is the co-founder and former president of the Entrepreneurs Organization Israel (EO – a global network of 12,000 entrepreneurs in 50 countries), the co-founder of several internet ventures, she kickstarted the TEDx movement in Israel in 2010, organized and hosted 4 TEDx events in Tel Aviv and New York, hosted TED MED Live in Jerusalem, Latet Conference for Fighting Poverty and more.Maya is a member of the Progressive-Education school system in Israel – oriented on developing the skill-set of the future, and she raises her 3 young kids in the Montessori spirit.

Paul Hirschson grew up in South Africa. He holds Bachelor’s (accounting & law) and Master’s (business) degrees. After immigrating to Israel, Paul served in the IDF then worked in the public sector, relocating to England for three years. On his return to Israel Paul entered Israel’s hi-tech sector, developing business relations in Arab countries and later in Europe, Africa, Malaysia and elsewhere. Paul spent ten years in Israel’s hi-tech sector. In 2004 Paul left the private sector and joined Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He worked for the Director General’s Bureau responsible for Israel’s relations with Arab countries in the Persian Gulf until relocating to the USA in 2008. In 2011 Paul completed his posting in the USA and returned home to Israel where he served as a spokesperson in the Foreign Ministry for 4 years. In 2015 Paul was appointed Israel’s Ambassador to Senegal and five additional countries in West Africa. He ran the Israeli embassy in Dakar until returning to Israel in 2018. Ambassador Hirschson is currently an Israeli diplomat based in Jerusalem, Israel. When not walking on the beach, Paul spends his time speaking on his cell phone and drinking coffee. Paul can be followed on twitter: @paulhirschson

Rolene Marks – is freelance journalist, broadcaster and media professional who appears on international radio, television and has been published in numerous global publications. Marks is the owner of Rolene Marks Consulting, specialising in Media, Public Relations, Social Media Marketing as well as Media Training with both local and international clients as varied as public relations companies, security, strategic planning, hi-tech and commercial.
Rolene can be heard everyday on Chai FM, a Johannesburg based radio station and has been invited to speak to international audiences including in Brazil, Germany, Australia, South Africa, Israel and others.
In 2007 Rolene participated in the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs Young Jewish Diplomats Leadership course. Currently residing in Modiin, Israel, Rolene volunteers for WIZO and is a member of the World WIZO Executive holding the Public Diplomacy portfolio and previously represented the organisation on the World Zionist Congress.
Rolene is a co-founder of Lay of the Land (www.layoftheland.online) host of the Israel Brief on YouTube and co-founder of the South Africa-Israel Policy Forum.
Rolene Marks is available for interviews and lectures upon request. To book email: rolenemarks@yahoo.com

Frank Melloul is the founder and CEO of i24News, an international news channel. i24News is a private international news channel, established in 2013 which broadcasts 24/7 to one billion households in three languages – English, French and Arabic, owned by the Altice Group.
Melloul`s career has been deeply rooted in France, where he is merging wide knowledge and experience from the public service as well as the private sector. From 2009 to 2012 Melloul served as Executive VP of Strategy, Development and Public Affairs of the holding company “Audiovisuel Exterieur”, a French governmental organization. In 2009 he was appointed Chief of Staff at the Cabinet of the French Secretary of State for the European Affairs, setting up the ministerial strategy roadmap. He was also the advisor for Public Diplomacy of the French Special Representative for AFPAK (Afghanistan – Pakistan). From 2007 to 2009 Melloul was appointed Strategy and International Development Director at France 24, the international news channel. From 2005 to 2007 Melloul was Advisor to the Prime Minister; Advisor for press and communications at the offices of the Interior Minister (2004 – 2005), and prior to that he had several noteworthy jobs for the French Foreign Ministry.

Elyezer Shkedy enlisted into the IDF in 1975. He was accepted into the IAF Flight Academy and graduated as a fighter pilot. Shkedy was a member of several units before he was assigned to Hatzerim Airbase. In the mid-1980s, Shkedy studied at Ben-Gurion University, receiving a B.Sc. in Mathematics and Computer Science. He continued his career in the IAF until the mid-1990s and received his M.A. in Systems management at the US Naval Postgraduate School in California.
Shekdy, now a retired general of the IDF, served as the 15th Commander of the Israeli Air Force from 2004 – 2008. After which he served as the CEO of El Al until 2014. In recent years, he has served as the chairman of the ‘Heroes for Life’ a non-governmental organization, and he has been leading and mentoring social, educational, valuable and groundbreaking startups on a volunteer basis.

During his illustrious career in the IDF, he served as Chief Artillery Officer and as Operations Officer and Commander-in-Chief of the Southern Command.
He holds an M.A. in Political Science from Haifa University and is a graduate of the IDF National Defense College.
He is married to Eti and a father of five.
Brigadier General David Suissa serves as the Head of Local and Regional Emergency Training for the Home Front Command.
He is the founder and CEO of Yuvalim Group – a construction project that’s a part of ‘Project for Residents’, and the founder and CEO of DS Strategic Consulting Ltd. – Director of consulting, education and training projects for the municipal and private sector.
He served as the CEO of the Afula Municipality, Office of Education and a member of council, as head of the Ministry of Construction and Housing of Israel, and as Director of the Armaz Group.
He also served as an undergraduate professor at the Yezreel Valley College, a member of the College’s Board of Trustees and as a member of the Executive Committee of the Galilee Institute for Jewish and Christian Research. He is a member of the Friends of the Valley Hospital Association.
Mr. Suissa is the chairman of the WIZO Alumni Association, this is a volunteer position and he takes an active role as a mentor in the “Adopt a Graduate” Program.

Abigail Tenembaum is the co-founder of Virtuozo, where she works with top executives, entrepreneurs and leaders on enhancing their presence and impact as speakers and communicators. Over the past fifteen years, Abigail has worked closely with CEOs, leaders, scientist and teams from various countries. Together with her Virtuozo team, Abigail is the speaker coach for the international TED conferences. She has worked closely with dozens of TED speakers, most of whom were featured in the front page of TED.com.

Abigail has taught at top education institutions including IMD, the leading business school in Lausanne, Switzerland, The Zell Entrepreneurship Program at the Interdisciplinary Center in Israel; The Global MBA at the IDC (Innovation and Leadership tracks); IDC Herzlia Executive Education; and Skolkovo: The Moscow School of Management.

Abigail has an MBA from Columbia Business School in New York and worked as a strategy consultant for Bain and Company. She also has a background in the performing arts and has written and directed for theatre and film in Israel, Argentina and the U.S.A.

Emily Frances is an Emmy-winning reporter and Host from New York City’s WPIX TV. Seeking a spiritual and professional life change, Emily made Aaliyah 6 years ago with her husband and 2 small children.

Emily was the Host of “Trending” on i24 news English in Jaffa and broadcast in 20 million homes in the United States. Emily is now a Culture Correspondent where she is able to produce magazine reports about women as well as spiritual, biblical and historical topics. Emily is also the frequent host of “Holy Land Uncovered”, i24 news biblical and historic magazine show.

Emily spent years as a celebrity interviewer in New York and has brought the channel exclusive celebrity interviews such as Olivia Newton John and Fran Drescher as well as Nancy Spielberg.