Bethel Finance: Haim Shani appointed chairman UK-Israel Technologies Hub

www.bethelfinance.com
Haim Shani has been appointed non-executive chairman of the UK-Israel Technologies Hub, Shani, the former director general of the Ministry of Finance and CEO of NICE Systems Ltd. (Nasdaq: NICE; TASE: NICE), will take up the appointment on 1 March.

British Ambassador to Israel Matthew Gould set up the Technology Hub in October 2011 to create a technology partnership between the UK and Israel. Shani will be responsible for the Hub’s strategy, dealing with executives in both countries, and putting forward the case for the UK-Israel tech partnership. He will also sit on the newly established UK-Israel Tech Council, chaired by UK Minister for Universities David Willetts and Israel’s Chief Scientist Avi Hasson.

Ambassador Gould said, “Haim brings enormous experience at the top level of both business and government. He speaks with huge authority and credibility. He has an unmatched reputation in Israel and well beyond. We could not have hoped for a better leader and voice for our efforts to build the tech partnership between Britain and Israel."

Shani said, “I am very much looking forward to playing a part in the Ambassador’s ambitious agenda to bring together our countries' tech sectors. I'm taking on this role because I am convinced that Britain should be a key partner for Israeli tech, and one of the places Israeli entrepreneurs go when they want their innovation to go global. When I was CEO at Nice Systems I experienced this myself when I merged NICE with a British company, and created a much stronger entity as a result. Britain and Israel have much to offer each other in tech; they have matching strengths and matching needs in areas such as finance, life sciences, cyber, retail and more. The challenge now is to bring them together. I am looking forward to being part of that."

Shani will work closely with Ambassador Gould and UK-Israel Technologies Hub director Naomi Krieger. Krieger joined the Embassy this month from the Taub Center for Social Policy Studies where she served as director of operations and strategy. Next month, the Technologies Hub will host a delegation of 15 leading British new media firms to explore possible areas for cooperation with Israeli companies.