Yoav Chelouche

Yoav Z. Chelouche (born 1953) is an Israeli businessman. He is a managing partner of Venture Capital firm Aviv Venture Capital, headquartered in Tel Aviv. In 1995–2001, Chelouche served as CEO and President of Scitex Corporation.[1] [2] He sits on the board of directors of the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE), Tower Semiconductor (Towerjazz) [3] and Check Point Software Technologies.,[4] and was co-chairman of Israel Advanced Technology Industries (IATI).

Yoav Chelouche
Born	Paris
Nationality	Israel
Occupation	Entrepreneur, Venture Capitalist

Biography

Yoav Z. Chelouche was born in Paris to Rachel and Aviezer Chelouche, a diplomat and one of Israel's first ambassadors to Europe.[5] His grandfather, Aharon Chelouche, was the founder of Neve Tzedek, the first Jewish settlement outside Jaffa.[6] His great grandfather, Yosef Eliyahu Chelouche, was one of the early founders of Tel Aviv and the builder of Gymnasia Herzliya, the first Hebrew high school in Palestine.[7] After graduating from Gymnasia Rehavia in Jerusalem, Chelouche served in the Intelligence Corps of the Israel Defense Forces. In 1974, he earned a BA in Economics and Statistics from Tel Aviv University, followed by an MBA from INSEAD business school in Fontainebleau, France.[4] [2] Chelouche is married to Bosmat, an attorney who served as legal counsel for Bezeq and Tadiran. They live in Ramat Hasharon.[8]

Business career

Chelouche began working for Scitex Corporation, a world leader in digital imaging and printing systems, in 1979, serving as VP of Marketing and Business Development. In 1995, he replaced Avi Rosenfeld as CEO,[9] [10] Serving in this position until 2001.[11] [12] [13] During his tenure, the company had 4,000 employees and annual sales of over $700 million.[14] [2] Chelouche devoted himself to establishing ties with the Asian market and helped to increase his company's market share worldwide.[15] [16] In 2000, Scitex sold its digital pre-press operations to Creo of Canada in a share deal worth $500 million.[17]

After leaving Scitex, Chelouche became president of Fantine Capital, a company that helped Israeli companies break into the European markets.[18] In 2012-2015, he was co-chairman of Israel Advanced Technology Industries (IATI).[19] He is on the board of directors of the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE), Tower Semiconductor (Towerjazz) [3] and Check Point Software Technologies.[4]

Chelouche has been managing partner of Venture Capital firm Aviv Venture Capital (formerly Fantine Europe Funds) since its inception in 2001, leading it with his cofounder Amir Guttman. Their first portfolio company, Actona Technologies, was sold to Cisco Systems for $100 million.[20] Aviv's portfolio companies include MGVA, ScaleMP and Optimal Test.[3] Another portfolio company, Briefcam,[21] sold its surveillance technology to Canon Inc. in May 2018 for $90 million.[22] Aviv has also invested in Orcam, a Jerusalem start-up developed by the founders of Mobileye, that allows visually impaired people to understand text and identify objects through audio feedback, using computer vision and a miniature camera attached to any eyeglasses.[23] In 2018, it was estimated that the company is worth more than $1 Billion Dollars.[24]

Public activism

Chelouche is chairman of Ta'asiyeda, an educational initiative of the Manufacturers Association of Israel[25] that exposes young people to the world of industry and technology.[26]

Awards and recognition

Chelouche won the Henry Ford Prize for first in class at INSEAD.[2] In January 2010 he was named by INSEAD as "one of 50 alumni who changed the world." [27]

See also

• Economy of Israel
• Start-up Nation

References

1. "Yoaz Z. Chelouche". TowerJazz. 2019.
2. "Yoav Z. Chelouche, 62". Wall Street Journal. 2019.
3. Towerjazz: Board of Directors
4. Yoav Chelouche, Independent Director
5. Lifshitz, Roni (4 October 2001). "Israeli Industry sets its sights on Europe". Haaretz.
6. Paraszczuk, Joanna (15 October 2010). "The 'Arab Jew' from Algeria". The Jerusalem Post.
7. Rotem, Tsahar (6 October 2004). "Chelouche clan gathers in Tel Aviv". Haaretz.
8. "Highlights" (PDF). Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance. June 2009.
9. Israeli technology concern gets offer of $856 million, New York Times
10. Hoover's Guide to Computer Companies, Reference Press, 1996, p. 192.
11. Professor Tamar Almor, College of Management, Israel, Scitex: A Company at a Crossroads, Journal of Business Case Studies, Second Quarter 2006, vol. 2. no. 2.,
12. American Printer 25, Vol. 205, 1990, p. 88.
13. The Israel Economist, Vol. 42, 1986, p. 47.
14. The full weight of heritage, Globes
15. Will start-up nation ever grow up, Times of Israel
16. Galit Hemi, Sophie Shulman, The Israeli Mind: The Story of Israeli Innovation, Miskal - Yedioth Ahronoth Books and Chemed Books, 2018.
17. Chelouche bows out of Scitex Corporation, Haaretz
18. Israeli Industry sets its sights on Europe, Haaretz
19. IATI co-chair Yoav Chelouche says the government must intervene to set a shekel-dollar rate that makes Israeli exports competitive, Globes
20. Aviv Venture Capital is raising another $100 million, and knows just how to spend it, Globes
21. With Israel's BriefCam, 24 hours passes in a minute
22. The Japanese digital imaging giant is buying the video synopsis and machine learning solutions company, Globes
23. The NYTimes article headlined "Simple Home Improvements for the Vision Impaired" (https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/13/realestate/simple-home-improvements-for-the-vision-impaired.html) uses twice the words "visually impaired"
24. A $1 Billion Valuation for Israeli Mobileye Founders' New Unicorn Orcam, Jewish Business News
25. Recanati Prize brochure
26. Ta'asiyeda, organization details
27. DLD conference speaker

External links

• Aviv Venture Capital website