Yossi Vardi
Encyclopedia
Joseph Vardi (born 1942) , is one of Israel
's first high-tech entrepreneurs. For over 40 years he has founded and helped to build over 60 high-tech companies in a variety of fields, among them software, energy, Internet
, mobile, electro-optics
and water technology.
. He studied at the Technion in Haifa
, graduating with a B. Sc. in industrial management engineering. He went on to earn an M. Sc in Operations Research
and a D. Sc. (his thesis received the Kennedy-Leigh Award).
Vardi began his entrepreneurial career in 1969, at the age of 26, as co-founder and first CEO of TEKEM (In Hebrew – abbreviation of "Technologia Mitkademet". In English: ATL-Advanced Technology Ltd.), one of the first software houses in Israel (later sold to Tadiran
and then absorbed into Ness Technologies
). In 1970, he was appointed Director General of the Ministry of Development . He served as chairman of Israel Chemicals
of Mifaley Tovala, of Harsit and Hol Zach, and a member of the board of Israel Electric Corporation
, Dead Sea Works, Dead Sea Bromine, Dead Sea Periclase, Haifa Chemicals, Chemicals and Phosphates, and others. He also chaired the Oil Explorations Concessions Council and Fertilizers Development Council.
He was sent to the U.S. to serve as the Director of the Investment Authority in North America, and Consul For Economic Affairs of the State of Israel in New York
. In that capacity he took part in the creation of the Israel-U.S. Binational Industrial Research and Development Foundation (BIRD-F). He acted as an advisor to the Israeli mission
to the U.N.
.
Upon returning to Israel, he served as the first Director General of the Ministry of Energy. Vardi also chaired the Israel National Oil Company, and was a member of the board of Oil Refineries Ltd
. During his tenure, Israel discovered and developed oil fields in the Gulf of Suez
. Vardi co-founded Alon oil, International Laser Technologies, Granite Hacarmel and other companies. Vardi is a co-holder of a patent on instant messaging on telephones.
He is married to Talma and the father of Arik (co-founder of ICQ
), Oded, and Dani.
of Mirabilis (company)
– the creator of ICQ
, which is the first instant messaging application that was released to the web. Among the companies he invested in, or helped to build are Answers.com
(went public), Gteko (sold to Microsoft
), Airlink (sold to Sierra Wireless
), Tivella (sold to Cisco
), Scopus (went public), CTI2 (sold to Audiocodes), Foxytunes
(sold to yahoo), Tucows
(went public), wibiya (sold to Conduit), The Gift Project (sold to ebay
), Epals (went public), and Starnet (sold to IAC/InterActiveCorp
). Among his other investmenets are:
Come2Play (a social gaming
site,) fring, speedbit, Cellogic (developer of a widget engine
for mobile platforms), BloggersBase (a discovery platform for premium UGC) and many others.
Mirabilis, which practically had no revenues, was sold to AOL
just 19 months after it released its product for over 400 million dollars.
The sale inspired a whole generation of young Israelis to open start ups.
According the Forbes: "...Overnight, a new phrase "the Mirabilis Effect," became popular as young Israeli entrepreneurs yearned to copy the company's success".
After retiring from the civil service, Vardi served on the boards of Amdocs
, Maariv
, Elite, Scitex, Bezeq
, Arkia
, Elisra
, Hamashbir Hamerkazi and others, and assisted Ormat Industries
to identify and develop its geothermal
activity. He is a member of Amdocs advisory committee.
In recent years Vardi is active in fostering a culture of innovation and creativity in Israel and abroad. He founded Kinnernet
, an annual, three days gathering of creative people from all over the world at the shores of the Lake of Gallilee; together with Dr Hubert Burda he is co-chairing the annual DLD (Digital, Lifestyle, Design) conference in Munich; together with Sir Martin Sorrell he is co-chairing the annual Stream Unconference in Greece, he also co-hosting ICUC – internet cowboys UnConference ) in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
in the Stock Exchange and others. He also took part in the formation of Yozma. He served on the Advisory Council of the Bank of Israel
,and israel Securities Authority
, and on the board of directors of the Development Corporation for Israel (State of Israel Bonds). He serves on the board of governors of the Technion. He was the chairman of the Jerusalem Foundation, was member of the council and the executive committee of the Open University of Israel
and the board of trustees of the Hebrew University and Weizmann Institute .
. He also participated in the multi lateral talks with the Palestinians, and served on the Israeli delegation to the Wye Plantation talks with the Syrians.
and the United Nations Development Program on issues of energy policy and strategy in the developing world. He is a member of the World Economic Forum
, serves as an advisor on Middle-Eastern economic affairs to the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations. and on the Future Trends Forum of The Bankinter
Foundation of Innovation. He serves on the advisory board of Blackberry Ventures, and served on the Research Visionary Board of Motorola
, and on the advisory board of 3i
, was advisor to the CEOs of AOL
, Amazon.com
, Allied-signal, Siemens-Albis and others.
He was nominated as one of The Most Influential International Executives by The Industry Standard, was elected in a poll by Ynet
as # 166 of the 200 Greatest Israelis of all times, and cited by Haaretz
newspaper as one of the 50 "persons of the decade" for the first decade of the 2000s.
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
's first high-tech entrepreneurs. For over 40 years he has founded and helped to build over 60 high-tech companies in a variety of fields, among them software, energy, Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
, mobile, electro-optics
Electro-optics
Electro-optics is a branch of technology involving components, devices and systems which operate by modification of the optical properties of a material by an electric field...
and water technology.
Biography
Joseph Vardi was born in Tel AvivTel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
. He studied at the Technion in Haifa
Haifa
Haifa is the largest city in northern Israel, and the third-largest city in the country, with a population of over 268,000. Another 300,000 people live in towns directly adjacent to the city including the cities of the Krayot, as well as, Tirat Carmel, Daliyat al-Karmel and Nesher...
, graduating with a B. Sc. in industrial management engineering. He went on to earn an M. Sc in Operations Research
Operations research
Operations research is an interdisciplinary mathematical science that focuses on the effective use of technology by organizations...
and a D. Sc. (his thesis received the Kennedy-Leigh Award).
Vardi began his entrepreneurial career in 1969, at the age of 26, as co-founder and first CEO of TEKEM (In Hebrew – abbreviation of "Technologia Mitkademet". In English: ATL-Advanced Technology Ltd.), one of the first software houses in Israel (later sold to Tadiran
Tadiran
Tadiran refers to a former Israeli conglomerate, which was founded in 1962 by the merger of two companies, Tadir and Ran...
and then absorbed into Ness Technologies
Ness Technologies
Ness Technologies is an Israel-based global provider of IT services and solutions.-History:Ness Technologies was established in 1999 in Tel Aviv, Israel. The company provides information technology and business planning services in North America, Europe, the Middle-East, and the Asia Pacific...
). In 1970, he was appointed Director General of the Ministry of Development . He served as chairman of Israel Chemicals
Israel Chemicals
Israel Chemicals Ltd. , also known as ICL, is a multi-national Israeli manufacturing concern that develops, produces and markets fertilizers, metals and other special-purpose chemical products.-History:...
of Mifaley Tovala, of Harsit and Hol Zach, and a member of the board of Israel Electric Corporation
Israel Electric Corporation
Israel Electric Corporation is the main supplier of electrical power in Israel.IEC builds, maintains and operates power generation stations, sub-stations, as well as the transmission and distribution networks....
, Dead Sea Works, Dead Sea Bromine, Dead Sea Periclase, Haifa Chemicals, Chemicals and Phosphates, and others. He also chaired the Oil Explorations Concessions Council and Fertilizers Development Council.
He was sent to the U.S. to serve as the Director of the Investment Authority in North America, and Consul For Economic Affairs of the State of Israel in New York
New York metropolitan area
The New York metropolitan area, also known as Greater New York, or the Tri-State area, is the region that composes of New York City and the surrounding region...
. In that capacity he took part in the creation of the Israel-U.S. Binational Industrial Research and Development Foundation (BIRD-F). He acted as an advisor to the Israeli mission
Diplomatic mission
A diplomatic mission is a group of people from one state or an international inter-governmental organisation present in another state to represent the sending state/organisation in the receiving state...
to the U.N.
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
.
Upon returning to Israel, he served as the first Director General of the Ministry of Energy. Vardi also chaired the Israel National Oil Company, and was a member of the board of Oil Refineries Ltd
Oil Refineries Ltd
Oil Refineries Ltd. , located in Haifa Bay, is Israel's largest Oil refinery. Using its state-of-the-art industrial facilities, ORL is capable of refining approximately 9.8 million tons of crude oil per year providing a variety of products used in industrial operation, transportation, private...
. During his tenure, Israel discovered and developed oil fields in the Gulf of Suez
Gulf of Suez
The northern end of the Red Sea is bifurcated by the Sinai Peninsula, creating the Gulf of Suez in the west and the Gulf of Aqaba to the east. The Gulf of Suez is formed within a relatively young, but now inactive rift basin, the Gulf of Suez Rift, dating back about 28 million years...
. Vardi co-founded Alon oil, International Laser Technologies, Granite Hacarmel and other companies. Vardi is a co-holder of a patent on instant messaging on telephones.
He is married to Talma and the father of Arik (co-founder of ICQ
ICQ
ICQ is an instant messaging computer program, which was first developed and popularized by the Israeli company Mirabilis, then bought by America Online, and since April 2010 owned by Mail.ru Group. The name ICQ is a homophone for the phrase "I seek you"...
), Oded, and Dani.
Investment strategy
Vardi is an early stage "angel." Since 1996 he has been active in founding young internet companies and internet startups. In 1996 he became the founding investorInvestor
An investor is a party that makes an investment into one or more categories of assets --- equity, debt securities, real estate, currency, commodity, derivatives such as put and call options, etc...
of Mirabilis (company)
Mirabilis (company)
Mirabilis is an Israeli company that developed the ICQ instant messaging program, a pioneer of online chatting that revolutionized communication over the Internet.-History:...
– the creator of ICQ
ICQ
ICQ is an instant messaging computer program, which was first developed and popularized by the Israeli company Mirabilis, then bought by America Online, and since April 2010 owned by Mail.ru Group. The name ICQ is a homophone for the phrase "I seek you"...
, which is the first instant messaging application that was released to the web. Among the companies he invested in, or helped to build are Answers.com
Answers.com
Answers.com is an Internet-based knowledge exchange, which includes WikiAnswers, ReferenceAnswers, VideoAnswers, and five international language Q&A communities. The Answers.com domain name was purchased by Bill Gross and Henrik Jones at idealab in 1996. The domain name was acquired by NetShepard...
(went public), Gteko (sold to Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
), Airlink (sold to Sierra Wireless
Sierra Wireless
Sierra Wireless is a wireless communications equipment designer and manufacturer, founded in 1993 and currently headquartered in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada....
), Tivella (sold to Cisco
Cisco
Cisco may refer to:Companies:*Cisco Systems, a computer networking company* Certis CISCO, corporatised entity of the former Commercial and Industrial Security Corporation in Singapore...
), Scopus (went public), CTI2 (sold to Audiocodes), Foxytunes
FoxyTunes
FoxyTunes is a browser extension which was acquired by Yahoo! on February 4, 2008. The program allows the user to control media players from the browser window...
(sold to yahoo), Tucows
Tucows
Tucows was formed in Flint, Michigan, USA in 1993. It incorporated in Pennsylvania and headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada...
(went public), wibiya (sold to Conduit), The Gift Project (sold to ebay
EBay
eBay Inc. is an American internet consumer-to-consumer corporation that manages eBay.com, an online auction and shopping website in which people and businesses buy and sell a broad variety of goods and services worldwide...
), Epals (went public), and Starnet (sold to IAC/InterActiveCorp
IAC/InterActiveCorp
InterActiveCorp is an American internet company with over 50 brands across 40 countries headquartered in New York City...
). Among his other investmenets are:
Come2Play (a social gaming
Social gaming
Social gaming commonly refers to playing games as a way of social interaction, as opposed to playing games in solitude, like some card games and the single-player mode of many video games...
site,) fring, speedbit, Cellogic (developer of a widget engine
Widget engine
In computer software, a widget engine is a software service available to users for running and displaying applets on a graphical user interface, such as that of the desktop.The widget model in widget engines is attractive because of ease of development...
for mobile platforms), BloggersBase (a discovery platform for premium UGC) and many others.
Mirabilis, which practically had no revenues, was sold to AOL
AOL
AOL Inc. is an American global Internet services and media company. AOL is headquartered at 770 Broadway in New York. Founded in 1983 as Control Video Corporation, it has franchised its services to companies in several nations around the world or set up international versions of its services...
just 19 months after it released its product for over 400 million dollars.
The sale inspired a whole generation of young Israelis to open start ups.
According the Forbes: "...Overnight, a new phrase "the Mirabilis Effect," became popular as young Israeli entrepreneurs yearned to copy the company's success".
After retiring from the civil service, Vardi served on the boards of Amdocs
Amdocs
Amdocs Limited is a provider of software and services for billing, customer relationship management , operations support systems...
, Maariv
Maariv
Maariv is a Hebrew language daily newspaper published in Israel. It is second in sales after Yedioth Ahronoth and third in readership after Yedioth Ahronoth and Israel HaYom. In a TGI survey comparing the last half of 2009 with the same period in 2008, Maariv saw its market share fall slightly...
, Elite, Scitex, Bezeq
Bezeq
Bezeq, the Israeli company for communications, is a telecommunications provider in Israel.Until the mid-first decade of the 21st century when it was owned by the Israeli government, Bezeq had a monopoly on landline telephony and Internet access infrastructure...
, Arkia
Arkia Israel Airlines
Arkia Israel Airlines , usually referred to as Arkia is an airline with its head office on the grounds of Sde Dov Airport in Tel Aviv, Israel. It is Israel's second largest airline operating scheduled domestic and international services as well as charter flights to destinations in Western Europe...
, Elisra
Elisra
Elisra Group is an Israeli manufacturer of high-tech electronic devices for mainly but not exclusively military use. That includes equipment for electronic communication and surveillance, missile tracking and controlling systems, radar and lidar equipment. The group is composed of three companies:...
, Hamashbir Hamerkazi and others, and assisted Ormat Industries
Ormat Industries
Ormat Industries Ltd. is a provider of alternative and renewable energy technology. To date the company has installed over 750 power units worldwide...
to identify and develop its geothermal
Geothermal power
Geothermal energy is thermal energy generated and stored in the Earth. Thermal energy is the energy that determines the temperature of matter. Earth's geothermal energy originates from the original formation of the planet and from radioactive decay of minerals...
activity. He is a member of Amdocs advisory committee.
In recent years Vardi is active in fostering a culture of innovation and creativity in Israel and abroad. He founded Kinnernet
Kinnernet
Kinnernet is an annual networking event for Internet professionals, held at the Ohalo Resort in Israel every Spring since 2003. Organised by Yossi Vardi, founding investor of ICQ, Kinnernet serves as a think tank for everything Internet, with some 250 attendees...
, an annual, three days gathering of creative people from all over the world at the shores of the Lake of Gallilee; together with Dr Hubert Burda he is co-chairing the annual DLD (Digital, Lifestyle, Design) conference in Munich; together with Sir Martin Sorrell he is co-chairing the annual Stream Unconference in Greece, he also co-hosting ICUC – internet cowboys UnConference ) in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
Public sector
After leaving the government Vardi continued to be involved in the public sector. He is the Co-Chair of the European Union – Israel Strategic Business Dialogue. He chaired a number of government-appointed commissions and committees, among them the Public Commission for the Regulation of the Electricity Sector, the Public Commission on Raising Venture CapitalVenture capital
Venture capital is financial capital provided to early-stage, high-potential, high risk, growth startup companies. The venture capital fund makes money by owning equity in the companies it invests in, which usually have a novel technology or business model in high technology industries, such as...
in the Stock Exchange and others. He also took part in the formation of Yozma. He served on the Advisory Council of the Bank of Israel
Bank of Israel
The Bank of Israel is the central bank of Israel. It is located in Kiryat HaMemshala in Israel's capital city of Jerusalem, with a branch office in Tel Aviv. The current governor is Stanley Fischer.-History:...
,and israel Securities Authority
Israel Securities Authority
The Israel Securities Authority is the national securities regulator of Israel.-Mandate:Its mandate is to protect the interests of the public investing in securities, as stipulated in the Law...
, and on the board of directors of the Development Corporation for Israel (State of Israel Bonds). He serves on the board of governors of the Technion. He was the chairman of the Jerusalem Foundation, was member of the council and the executive committee of the Open University of Israel
Open University of Israel
The Open University of Israel is a distance-education university in Israel. , the Open University taught around 39,000 students.The Open University of Israel has more students than any other academic institution in Israel. The administration is based in the city of Ra'anana. Students from all over...
and the board of trustees of the Hebrew University and Weizmann Institute .
Peace negotiations
In his capacity as the Director General of the Ministry of Energy Vardi led the negotiations in regards to the oil part in the peace agreement with Egypt. While in the private sector Vardi was asked to serve as special advisor to the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Finance, for regional coopration, and to head the economic negotiations with JordanIsrael-Jordan Treaty of Peace
The Israel–Jordan Treaty of Peace was signed in 1994. The treaty normalized relations between the two countries and resolved territorial disputes. The conflict had cost roughly US$18.3 billion...
. He also participated in the multi lateral talks with the Palestinians, and served on the Israeli delegation to the Wye Plantation talks with the Syrians.
International activities
Vardi acted as an advisor to the World BankWorld Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans to developing countries for capital programmes.The World Bank's official goal is the reduction of poverty...
and the United Nations Development Program on issues of energy policy and strategy in the developing world. He is a member of the World Economic Forum
World Economic Forum
The World Economic Forum is a Swiss non-profit foundation, based in Cologny, Geneva, best known for its annual meeting in Davos, a mountain resort in Graubünden, in the eastern Alps region of Switzerland....
, serves as an advisor on Middle-Eastern economic affairs to the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations. and on the Future Trends Forum of The Bankinter
Bankinter
Bankinter, S.A., is a Spanish commercial bank. Bankinter is currently the sixth-largest listed banking group in Spain. The biggest individual shareholder in the company is Crédit Agricole, which acquired around 20% in late 2007...
Foundation of Innovation. He serves on the advisory board of Blackberry Ventures, and served on the Research Visionary Board of Motorola
Motorola
Motorola, Inc. was an American multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, which was eventually divided into two independent public companies, Motorola Mobility and Motorola Solutions on January 4, 2011, after losing $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009...
, and on the advisory board of 3i
3i
3i Group plc is a multinational private equity and venture capital company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It has offices in 13 countries across Asia, Europe and the Americas and had total assets under management of £12.7 billion as at 31 March 2011...
, was advisor to the CEOs of AOL
AOL
AOL Inc. is an American global Internet services and media company. AOL is headquartered at 770 Broadway in New York. Founded in 1983 as Control Video Corporation, it has franchised its services to companies in several nations around the world or set up international versions of its services...
, Amazon.com
Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...
, Allied-signal, Siemens-Albis and others.
Awards
Vardi was selected by Wall Street Journal Europe for "Tech's Top 25", and won the TechCrunch Europe 2009 "Best investor personality" award. He received an Honorary Doctorate from the Technion, Honorary Fellowship from the Open University, twice received the Prime Minister Award for life achievements in the high tech area; the Industry Award, for his contribution to the development Israel's industry; the Entrepreneur of the Year, the 2010 Excellence in Global Entrepreneurship and Management Award, and the Hugo Ramniceanu prize for Economics from Tel Aviv University. He also received the CEO!’s Entrepreneurs Hall of Fame from the Collegiate Entrepreneurs' Organization, and a Certificate of Merit for the pioneering of the software industry and Information Technology from the Israel Chamber of System Analysts.He was nominated as one of The Most Influential International Executives by The Industry Standard, was elected in a poll by Ynet
Ynet
Ynet is the most popular Israeli news and general content website. It is owned by the same conglomerate that operates Yediot Ahronot, the country's secondleading daily newspaper...
as # 166 of the 200 Greatest Israelis of all times, and cited by Haaretz
Haaretz
Haaretz is Israel's oldest daily newspaper. It was founded in 1918 and is now published in both Hebrew and English in Berliner format. The English edition is published and sold together with the International Herald Tribune. Both Hebrew and English editions can be read on the Internet...
newspaper as one of the 50 "persons of the decade" for the first decade of the 2000s.
Quotes
"Investing in the Internet is similar in a way to investing in a farm. A farmer sows his seeds and 180 days later, he harvests. With start-up investments you sow your seeds and the harvest could take two or three years, but in the end it will always come. Perhaps that's what confuses the investors. They see wagon-loads of produce and they run to sow, but they cannot see when the harvest will come.Published works
- International Herald Tribune: An Alternative Voice: Studios and Networks Just Don't Get It,2001
- Partnership in Development 1998
- Co-author of Electric Energy Generation: Economics, Reliability and Rates, published by MIT Press
- The Annals Of Improbable Research: Snails Are Faster Than ADSL
- Variable Load Pricing in the Face of Loss of Load Probability ,by Joseph Vardi, Jacob Zahavi, and Benjamin Avi-Itzhak. Rand Journal Of Economics,Spring 1977 (Volume 8-1), pages 270–288
- A unified approach to support planning decisions in electrical power generating systems / von Jacob Zahavi; Joseph Vardi and Benjamin Avi-Itzhak In: Energy policy . – Amsterdam : North-Holland Publ. Co., ISBN 0-444-85238-7. – 1978, S. 129–145
External links
- Business Week: Sergey Brin visits the Garage Geeks
- President Peres conference : Facing Tomorrow – The Future of New Media: Vardi (moderator), Brin, Decker, Maurice Levy, Morduch, Semel
- TED video: Vardi fights Local Warming
- New York Times, Tom Friedman: Israel Discovers Oil
- Tim oreilly interviews yossi
- TechCrunch,Michael Arrington's The Man In The Arena post about yossi
- New Yorker Magazin: Talk of the Town, Smart and Useless
- The Industry Standard article
- Yossi Vardi: Israel's 'Mr. Tech'. Business Week
- Virginia-Israel Advisor article
- Economist: Face Value:The Social Technologist
- Business Week: Conversation with Yossi Vardi
- socalTECH: Interview with Yossi Vardi