our team
Ariel Zeevi | CEO & Founder
Ariel “Arik” Zeevi was born in 1977 in Bnei Brak, Israel and was widely recognized as the country’s most prominent Judoka from the 1990s to his retirement in 2012.
Zeevi, a Dan 6 black belt in Judo, has had a long and successful career competing in half-heavyweight Judo competitions, winning a bronze medal in the Judo 100kg class at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. Zeevi is considered one of the greatest Israeli athletes of all time and public affection for him and his character have surpassed all sporting barriers.
Ruth Reiner | VP Development
An entrepreneur at heart, Ruth is excited about making a difference. She joined the IFOE team as VP Development in June 2017. Ruth is the co-founder of a startup and served as a CEO within the Bateman Group until its acquisition. Ruth holds an MBA from the Japan-America Institute of Management Science and a bachelor’s degree in International Relations from the Hebrew University.
Board of Governors
David Blatt
An Israeli-American professional basketball coach and former professional basketball player for the USA and Israel. Blatt is one of the most successful American Coaches in European basketball and is the former head coach of Maccabi Tel Aviv. He won the bronze medal as coach of the Russian national team at the 2012 London Summer Olympic Games. On June 20, 2014, Blatt was hired as head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers and was later named the Euroleague Coach of the Year.
Ester Roth Shahamorov
A former Israeli track and field athlete, Roth was the first Israeli athlete to reach the finals in any Olympic event, at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal (6th place). This was after overcoming the tragic murder of her longtime coach in the Munich massacre at the 1972 Summer Olympics. In 1999, Roth was awarded the Israel Prize for Sport.
Board of Directors
Dani Zeevi | Chairman of the board
An experienced entrepreneur, co-founder and CEO of a start-up providing appliances to one of the leading sport segments in the US. Co-founder and former CTO of YCD Multimedia.
Dani holds the rank of major (Res.) in a leading elite intelligence unit in the IDF, where he was awarded an Honor Commendation for Innovative Thinking. He has a MSc. in electrical engineering (Honors) from Tel Aviv University and is a former champion of Israel in “Sambo” (Russian Judo).
Benny Ayal | Director
Vice Chairman of Infinity-Ayalim Group. Ayal is a financial expert (CPA, LLB) with extensive proficiency in investment, insurance, provident funds, wealth management and brokerage. He has held senior positions as adviser to three government ministers. Ayal is a captain (Res.) in an elite intelligence unit in the IDF and is also a director of several companies and non-profit organizations.
David Chissick | Director
An entrepreneur and businessman of over 25 years’ experience within the media, sport and technology sectors. Partner, angel investor and advisor in over 40 Israeli start-ups; board member and advisor for global sport entities including Premier League Chelsea FC, Manchester City, Portsmouth, Leicester, NFL and more.
Ido Chitman | Director
Head of the Arts and Entertainment department of Yigal Arnon & Co law firm, representing production, media, advertising and record companies as well as producers, advertisers and artists. Ido received his LL.B summa cum laude and his B.A. (Finance) also summa cum laude, from the Interdisciplinary Center at Herzliya.
Jonathan (Jonny) Saacks | Director
Managing Partner of F2 Capital. Until 2016, Jonny was Managing Partner at Genesis Partners, a leading early-stage technology venture capital fund. Jonny was the founder of The Junction, Israel’s first technology accelerator. Jonny is a Lieutenant Colonel in the IDF and holds an MBA from Oxford University and a BA in Economics and Management from Tel Aviv University. Jonny was captain of the Israeli national rugby team and a member of Israel’s youth tennis team.
Eli Katz | Director
Director of algorithms at Viaccess-Orca (France Telecom), experienced entrepreneur and researcher. Eli is involved in several non-profit organizations and sits on the board of the Israel Friends of Weizmann Institute and Bridge for Youth Israel. Katz is also one of the sponsors of the Israel National Judo Cadet Team.
