Mr. Ittai Ben-Zeev was born in 1975. He is the TASE CEO since January 2017.
Prior to joining TASE, Mr. Ben-Zeev served as Executive Vice President, Head of Capital Markets Division, Bank Leumi and was also a member of the Bank's Management (2013 - 2016).
Between the years 2010 - 2013 he was the Deputy Head of Capital Markets Division in Bank Leumi and during 2007 - 2010 Mr. Ben-Zeev managed the Forex and Derivatives Dealing Room of the Bank.
Previously, he served as an investment banker at Merrill Lynch Israel, as well as Merrill Lynch Technology Group in London.

Natalie Raz is the CEO of the Israel Hedge Funds Association since June 2022. The role of the IHFA is to represent and promote the common interests of the hedge fund industry with Governmental bodies in Israel and assist with regulatory reforms to provide recommendations for best practices of the industry in Israel; to provide access to professional information, and to broaden and deepen the market and public knowledge about Israel's hedge fund industry.

Natalie holds an Investment Advisor license and brings profound professional knowledge and more than 20 years of experience in the Israeli capital market. Throughout her carrier, she held numerous key positions in Banks and investment houses, including as a CEO of a subsidiary of an Israeli public company that specialized in the origination, structuring, and marketing of Alternative Investments. Natalie served in multiple management positions at Excellence Investment House, led the issuance of the first Excellence ETNs, and headed the Alternative Investments desk there. Natalie holds BA and MBA in Business Administration - majoring in Finance from Ono Academic College.

Natalie Raz
natalie@ihfa.co.il
Tel: +972-54-6430800

Max Karpel is a partner in Akin’s Investment Management practice, based in New York. He advises hedge fund managers on all aspects of launching and operating their businesses, with particular experience in structuring commingled funds and negotiating seed, platform and accelerator arrangements. With over 20 years of experience, Max has developed a strong network across the hedge fund ecosystem, including the seeder and allocator communities. He also regularly advises family offices and private foundations on structuring investment and philanthropic initiatives. Prior to joining Akin, Max served as COO and in-house counsel of a family office and private foundation, and he is a co-founder of the Israel Hedge Funds Association.

Lior Shimonovich is the Head of Israel Institutional Sales at Jefferies.

In his role, Lior manages the relationships with the Israel’s largest pension & provident funds, asset managers and hedge funds as well as supports the public equity effort related to Israeli and Israeli-related companies.

Prior to joining Jefferies, Lior was part of the debt capital markets and structured finance teams at RBS.  Mr. Shimonovich graduated from George Washington University with a Bachelor of Science in Systems Engineering finishing Magna Cum Laude.  Mr. Shimonovich is fluent in Hebrew and spends a considerable amount of time in Israel.

Lior was the Co-Founder & CEO of Liquant Asset Management, an Israel based seeding platform for emerging quantitative hedge fund managers.

Lior previously served as General Counsel, COO and acting-CEO of Lyxor Asset Management in New York, the alternative investment arm of Société Generale with $150bn of assets under management at the time.

Prior to that, Lior practiced law with Sidley Austin in New York where he focused on M&A and alternative investments. He is a graduate of the Israeli Naval Academy and holds the rank of Captain (Ret.) in the Israeli Navy and is currently an active reservist.

Lior is one of the founders and a board member of the Israel Hedge Funds Association (IHFA) and a board member of Migdalor (Lighthouse), the association of Israeli Navy officers. He is also the Chairman of the Board of the Dead Sea Guardians, a non-profit civil movement founded with the goal of saving the Dead Sea.

Jonathan Steinberg founded WisdomTree and has served as Chief Executive Officer since October 1988 and as President from August 2012 to September 2019. He has been a member of the Board of Directors since October 1988, serving as Chair of the Board from October 1988 to November 2004. Mr. Steinberg is responsible for the creation and development of WisdomTree’s proprietary index methodology. He also served as Editor-in-Chief of Individual Investor and Ticker, two magazines formerly published by the Company.

Prior to founding WisdomTree, Mr. Steinberg was employed as an analyst in the Mergers and Acquisitions Department of Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc., an investment banking firm, from 1986 to 1988.

He is the author of Midas Investing, published by Times Books, a division of Random House, Inc., in 1996. Since May 2022, Mr. Steinberg has served on the Board of Directors of Fnality International Limited, a financial technology firm based in the United Kingdom, and in July 2025, he joined the Advisory Board of The Digital Chamber, a non-profit organization committed to promoting blockchain adoption. Mr. Steinberg received the EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2015 New York Award and the ETF.com Lifetime Achievement Award for 2015. He is a frequent speaker at conferences on topics related to digital assets and blockchain-enabled finance and has appeared on CNBC, Bloomberg and Fox Business on numerous occasions. He attended The Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania

Personal Information:

Co-CEO of Oppenheimer Israel, a leading American entity in Israel specializing in trading, research, and underwriting services in the US capital market. The Israeli branch has been operating for approximately 60 years.

Professional Experience:

• Managing the research department at Oppenheimer Israel for over 25 years, alongside my role as Co-CEO.
• Board member at Epitome Medical.
• Volunteer member of the Investment Committee of the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel (Hahevra Lehaganat Hateva).

Education:

• BA and MA in Economics and Finance from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.

Professional Licenses:

• American FINRA license, Series 7 and 16 (Financial Management and Research Management).

In my free time, I doodle, hike, learn Spanish, and enjoy reading books

Hemal Purohit is the Managing Director of Cross Asset Sales at Clear Street. He brings over 25 years of experience in the financial services industry. Prior to joining Clear Street, Hemal served as Head of International Business Development at FCF Group Holdings LLC and held the position of Head of EMEA Derivatives Sales and Business Development at CBOE.

Ruben Mamou has spent eighteen years inside European power, gas and environmental markets, at the intersection of market structure, exchange and OTC markets and commercial strategy. He is Expert Key Account Manager at EEX (European Energy Exchange) in Paris, where he holds the exchange's institutional relationships across Europe, including its ten largest accounts. He previously built a European gas and power brokerage desk from a blank sheet, broking daily across the continental hub  and began his career in market operations at Powernext / EPEX SPOT, working on gas market and European power market coupling projects. He teaches energy hedging and market structure for energy professionals for the Energy Institute.

Mirit is an assurance partner of PwC Israel in the Tel-Aviv, Israel office. Mirit is one of the leaders of the fund practice.  She has vast experiences in hedge, venture capital and private equity funds that are domiciled with the Cayman Islands, US and Israel.  In addition, Mirit has served a number of technology Israeli companies that are publicly traded in the US and managed multi-national teams abroad. Mirit also has led a number of digital transformation projects in the fund space with strong success.  Mirit earned a Bachelor of Arts (summa cum laude) from Ben Gurion University and an MBA from Tel Aviv University. Mirit is a certified public accountant in Israel.

Sam Vecht, CFA is Managing Director and portfolio manager on the Global Emerging Markets Equities Team within BlackRock’s Fundamental Equity Group. Mr. Vecht manages long and long-short equity funds.

Mr. Vecht's service with the firm dates back to 2000.

Mr. Vecht earned a degree, in international relations and history from the London School of Economics.

Micha Malka is the Founder and CEO of Tulip Capital, a hedge fund specializing in capital markets and investment management.

He holds an MBA with a specialization in Finance and began his career in the late 1990s as a floor trader. Over the years, he held several senior positions at Harel, including Chief Analyst, Head of the Economic Research Department, and later CEO of Harel Finance's Portfolio Management Company.

For more than a decade, Micha has led Tulip Capital, building a strong track record in hedge fund management. In parallel, he serves as an advisor to Harel's mutual hedge funds, contributing to their continued success through his extensive expertise in investment strategy and capital markets.

Tsahi Avraham is the Founder and Managing Partner of Reading Capital, where he leads a research-driven investment strategy focused on long-term value creation.

A veteran equity analyst with more than 25 years of experience, Tsahi has built a long-standing career in investment research and company analysis across a broad range of sectors, including technology, telecommunications, and retail. Prior to founding Reading Capital, he served as a Senior Analyst at Clal Finance, where he was consistently ranked among Israel's leading equity analysts by the local financial media. Earlier in his career, he was Chief Analyst at Infinity, an Economic Advisor at ERCG, and worked in the Research Department of the Bank of Israel.

Tsahi holds a Bachelor's Degree in Economics and Accounting, as well as a Master's Degree in Economics and Business Administration, both from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Beyond the markets, Tsahi is the proud father of two teenage daughters and an energetic schnauzer.

Kobi has 23 years of experience managing investments in the Israeli capital market for mutual funds, provident funds, individuals, companies and institutions.

For the last 13 years, Kobi has been the managing partner and CIO at Amida Israel Hedge Fund.

Kobi was the head of hedge funds at Psagot Investment House.

Previously, Kobi was a money manager at Analyst Investment House.

Galit Polonsky is Head of Investments at Citizens of Israel Fund (SWF). She is responsible for managing the fund's investment portfolio across public and private markets.

Galit has nearly 20 years of experience in institutional investing. Prior to joining CIF, she was Head of Global Credit at Menora Mivtachim Insurance, where she managed  global portfolio across public and private credit. Previously, she held investment roles at Amitim Pension Funds and Mizrahi-Tefahot Bank, specializing in fixed income, FX, and derivatives.

Galit holds an M.Sc. in Management (Finance and Accounting) from Tel Aviv University and a B.A. in Economics from Bar-Ilan University.

Michael Fridman is an investment professional with over a decade of experience in financial markets. He is currently Special Advisor for Technology and Ventures at WisdomTree, where he advises on public and private technology investing and helps shape the firm's Ventures investment platform.

Prior to joining WisdomTree, Michael was Portfolio Manager at Phoenix Capital Partners in Israel, focusing on Technology, Media and Telecom equities, with work driven by in-depth fundamental and technical research. Before Phoenix, he was Portfolio Manager at Psagot Investment House in Tel Aviv, with the same TMT focus. He began his career at Morgan Stanley in New York.

Michael graduated from Pace University with a double major in Physics and Mathematics, providing him with a strong analytical foundation across both quantitative and fundamental investment disciplines.

Nathaniel Gibson is a Portfolio Manager at ION Asset Management, where he co-manages the ION Tech Fund and leads the firm’s research coverage of semiconductors, hardware, and cybersecurity. Prior to joining ION in 2016, Nathaniel spent two years as an analyst at Woodbridge International, a middle-market M&A advisory firm that was subsequently acquired by Mariner. He holds a BA in History from York University in Toronto.

Omri founded LVP in 2016 and runs the fund as active Chief Invesments Officer over the past decade. He has deep expertise in global services, technology, and advanced manufacturing. Omri is focused on identifying and evaluating emerging economic moats and exceptional business footprints in dynamic sectors. Holds an LLB from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Leor Shapiro is Managing Director and Global Head of Capital Introductions within Prime Services at Jefferies with oversight of Capital Introductions, Strategic Content and Hedge Fund Advisory and Consulting Services. Mr. Shapiro is responsible for working with both existing and start-up hedge fund managers to help them launch, grow and evolve their businesses as well as help them develop and implement their marketing strategies on a global basis. Mr. Shapiro also sits on the Prime Services Management Committee and the Equities US Distribution Committee. Prior to Jefferies, Mr. Shapiro was the Americas Head of Business Consulting at UBS and spent the earlier stages of his career allocating to hedge funds with an operational due diligence focus.

Harel Gillon is Co-CEO of Oppenheimer Israel, one of the largest global brokerage and investment banking house in Israel, having served in this position since 2005. Oppenheimer Israel’s clients include the country’s leading financial institutions, among them insurance companies, investment houses and hedge funds.

Harel has managed the subsidiary of parent company Oppenheimer & Co. inc through corporate changes relating to its sale from CIBC in 2008 and through the Global Financial Crisis. He has over 25 years of experience in capital markets, previously working in a range of sales and trading roles. Harel holds an MBA from IDC Herzliya and had previously served in the Intelligence Unit within the Israeli defence forces.

Ariel has more than 20 years of experience as an analyst and fund manager in global investment management. Ariel is a co-founder of Gilboa Fund of Funds, Limited Partnership, an Israeli based investment vehicle launched in 2014, dedicated to investments in Israeli Investment Funds and Investment Managers. He is also a founding member of the Israeli Hedge Fund Association. Prior to Gilboa, Ariel was the managing partner at Alpha Global, a long/short global equity hedge fund. Before that Ariel was the managing partner of Tamir Fishman Equity Opportunity Fund, an Israeli based long-short value oriented hedge fund, a senior analyst focused on deep fundamental analysis of global equities at Alverstoke Capital, a New York based hedge fund which specialized in applying a private equity approach to public markets, and an analyst and portfolio manager at Evergreen Investment Management, where he oversaw equity and fixed income investments for clients through managed accounts. Ariel received an MBA, Magna Cum Laude, from New York University, Stern School of Business (2003-2005). And a B.A, Magna Cum Laude, in Business and Economics from the Hebrew University (1996-1999).