Mr. Avi Hasson served in the government of Israel as the Chief Scientist and the Chairman of the Israel Innovation Authority. He currently splits his time between for-profit and for-purpose activities.
Among his business responsibilities, Mr. Hasson is a partner with Emerge, a leading early stage venture capital firm based in Tel Aviv. He also serves on the board of directors of Tower Semiconductors (NASDAQ:TSEM) the leading foundry of high value analog semiconductor solutions.
His non-for profit activities include serving at the board of directors of Sheba medical center at Tel Hashomer (selected as one of the top 10 best hospitals in the world ), of SpaceIL – an NGO established in 2011, wishing to promote scientific and technological education in Israel with the aim of landing the first Israeli spacecraft on the moon (“Beresheet”), and of ITC – Israel Tech Challenge – An NGO addressing the industry-wide shortage of tech talent by enabling selected professionals of all age and background to train and work in the most sought-after technical positions in the tech industry.
Mr. Hasson is also a member of Business Roundtable Israel - an association of chief executive officers of Israel’s leading companies working to promote a thriving economy and expanded opportunity for all Israelis through sound public-private-partnership.
Mr. Hasson was Israel’s Chief Scientist and the Chairman of the Israel Innovation Authority (2011-2017). The Israel Innovation Authority (IIA, formerly the Office of the Chief Scientist) is the government entity in charge of planning and execution of innovation policy in Israel. Specifically, IIA assists in the development of technology in Israel as a means of fostering economic growth, encouraging technological innovation and entrepreneurship, leveraging Israel’s scientific potential, enhancing the knowledge base of industry in Israel, stimulating high value-added R&D and encouraging R&D both nationally and internationally. A variety of ongoing funding and support programs developed and offered by the IIA play a major role in enabling Israel to be a notable hub of innovation and tech entrepreneurship.
Mr. Hasson was the initiator of the Israel Innovation Authority and led the strategic and organizational transformation from the Office of Chief Scientist to this new authority.
For 10 years prior to his appointment to government, Mr. Hasson was a General Partner at Gemini Israel Funds, one of Israel’s top tier venture capital firms. At Gemini, he managed the fund’s investments in the fields of communications, storage and consumer electronics.
Prior to his term in Gemini, Mr. Hasson spent nearly a decade in leading telecom technology companies such as ECI Telecom, ECtel and Tadiran systems, where he held executive positions in the fields of product management, marketing and business development.
Mr. Hasson is a graduate of the HAMAN-TALPIOT program where he served as an officer in 8200, an Israeli defense forces elite intelligent unit.
Mr. Hasson holds a Bachelor Degree (BA) from Tel Aviv University in Economics and Middle East Studies (1997) as well as a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Tel Aviv University (2002).
Mr. Hasson resides in Modii’n, Israel. He is married and has three children.