Saying that Ilan is obsessed with entrepreneurship and innovation is probably an understatement. While Ilan grew up and went to university in the US, where he founded his first company at the age 13, he moved to Israel so that he could be closer to the action in one of the top startup ecosystems in the world.

 

He started his career in VC at Greylock IL (now 83North) followed by Elevator Fund in Tel Aviv, where he founded the Israel VC Forum, which is one of the most active communities for Israel focused VC’s that he still runs today.

 

Ilan got his first taste of open-innovation during his military service in the Israel Defense Forces, where he served as Chief Innovation Officer for the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit, Commander of the Air Force Innovation Department, and Founder of the Air Force’s Accelerator. In these roles he worked to bridge the gap between the startup world and the military by bringing innovative ideas and technologies into the IDF.

 

While Ilan is still actively advising multiple innovation units as part of his reserve duty, he went on to become director of Jerusalem’s first startup accelerator, and has spent the last few years in senior business/startup operations roles. He is also an advisor and mentor to startups, and gives lectures about open-innovation and the Israeli startup ecosystem on behalf of many organizations.

 

He is a graduate of Yeshiva University in New York, was born in South Africa, and lives in Jerusalem. He is an avid photographer, loves traveling the world with his wife, makes a mean cocktail, and he also enjoys running in his spare time.