San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom is leading a high-level mission to Israel this week. The trip, almost unprecedented in scope, will see some 100 San Francisco-area leaders explore possibilities of investment, cooperation, and business partnerships with local Israeli companies.
The mission is being organized by San Francisco’s Jewish Community Federation (JCF) which represents the Jewish community throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, including much of the Silicon Valley region. Silicon Valley is considered to host the world’s largest concentration of venture capital and technology companies. The delegation of business leaders and investors are active across the area’s high-tech, bio-tech, investment, and real-estate scenes as well as other local industries of strategic importance.
Mayor Newsom will be joining the trip’s participants with an eye toward fostering greater relationships between San Francisco entrepreneurs and business leaders and their counterparts in Israel. The visiting group is being organized by Robert Blum, President and CEO of Cytokinetics, Inc. a leading biopharmaceutical company focused on innovative treatments for cancer and heart disease; and Bobby Lent, co-founder of Ariba (NASDAQ: ARBA), an enterprise software company, which provides enterprise spend management solutions.
During their stay, the group will participate in a cleantech road show in the north of Israel, and will also meet with some of Israel’s top political, business, cultural and academic leaders such as Minister of Welfare and Social Affairs Isaac Herzog, Minister of Housing and Construction Ze'ev Boim, Governor of the Bank of Israel Prof. Stanley Fischer, and high-tech personalities Yehuda Zissapel and Yossi Vardi. In addition, the mission will visit a large number of Israeli companies, universities and institutions to explore further investment and cooperation possibilities.
Beyond business, some participants on the trip will participate in one of two additional tracks, - Arts & Culture, and History & Archaeology. In addition, the group will also visit Umm el-Fahm, an Arab-Israeli town that is one of the sites for Echad a San Francisco Jewish Community Federation funded program focused on early childhood education in the Arab Israeli community.
Co-chair of the trip’s planning committee, Robert Blum commented, "This mission will offer an exceptional opportunity for us to bring together some of the best and brightest in Silicon Valley and Israeli industry as well as civic and political leadership. With a goal of facilitating mutually prosperous economic ties, we look forward to exploring possibilities for investment and collaboration between like-minded entrepreneurs and business professionals.”
Other business leaders participating in the mission include; James Heeger, President, CEO and Chairman of PayCycle, the leader in on-line payroll for small businesses; Rich Freedland, Vice President, Business Development, Laser Research Inc.; Denise Aptekar, Director, Risk Management, Paypal; Mark Schulman, Owner, CDM Holdings, LLC; Richard Seeley, commercial real estate investor; Norman Traeger, Partner, The Discovery Group; Dr. Ronald Cape, investor, a founder of the biotech industry; Sam Lauter, founder and principal of Barnes Mosher Whitehurst Lauter & Partners, a full service public affairs firm; Thomas Kasten, former mayor, Hillsborough, California; and John Pritzker, founder, Geolo Capital, focusing on high-growth, consumer focused business investments. Mr. Pritzker is also the President of the San Francisco Jewish Community Federation.
Also joining the mission will be Daniel J. Sokatch, incoming Chief Executive Officer of the Jewish Community Federation. In the current fiscal year the Jewish Community Federation and Jewish Community Endowment Fund allocated over $200 million towards funding social services, educational and cultural programs in the San Francisco Bay Area, in the U.S., Israel and elsewhere around the world.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on May 1, 2008
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