13
Sarine Technologies Ltd. • Annual Report
2014
Key Management
companies. Mr. Kessler holds a Bachelor’s degree, Magna Cum Laude,
in Economics and Mathematics from Yeshiva University, and a Masters
of Business Administration from Columbia University.
4
ABRAHAM MEIR KERNER
has served as the Group’s Vice
President of Research and Development since March 2009 and as
Chief Technological Officer since 2004. He is primarily responsible
for developing our technological base and the development of
new products. Prior to 2004, Mr. Kerner was our R&D manager for
nearly a decade, having joined the Group in 1995. Prior to joining
the Group, Mr. Kerner worked for companies related to the Group,
where he accumulated 15 years of engineering experience and was
involved for ten of those years in the development of precision motion
control systems and accurate measuring machines for diamonds.
Between 1989 and 1995 Mr. Kerner worked for Shalev (founded by Mr.
Levami, the Group’s current CEO) and then Interhightech (into which
Shalev was merged in 1993) on the original DiaMension™ and the
DiaCenter™, the first automated computerised centering system for
rough diamonds for bruting (a now discontinued product of the Group).
From 1986 through 1989 while at Shalev, Mr. Kerner participated in the
Group’s original development project – the Robogem™, an automated
system for planning and shaping non-diamond gemstones. Before that,
from 1980 through 1986 Mr. Kerner worked for another of Mr. Levami’s
start-ups – Compulite. Mr. Kerner holds a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical
Engineering from the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology.
5
RON BEN-ARI
is the Vice President of Diamond Manufacturing
Activities, responsible for all products for the diamond manufacturing
market, including the Galaxy™/ Solaris™ family of inclusion scanning
solutions, rough diamond planning products, laser sawing and shaping
systems, polishing quality aids and polished diamond Cut finishing and
grading solutions. Prior to this appointment, he was, since January
2013, the Group’s Director with similar responsibilities. From 2005 to
2013, Mr. Ben-Ari acted as the direct product manager of the rough
diamond planning group of products (the DiaExpert™ and Advisor™
product lines) and managed the Galaxy™ / Solaris™ family of
products during their first two years and participated in their launch,
initial marketing drive and acceptance, ongoing development, etc.
Prior to that, since joining Sarine in 2003, Ron Ben-Ari managed the
Quality Assurance team in Sarine, responsible for testing all of Sarine’s
products. Mr. Ben-Ari holds an MBA from the Kellog-Recanati School
of Business, a joint degree from Northwestern University in the USA
and Tel Aviv University, and a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science
from the IDC College in Israel.
6
AKIVA CASPI
has served as the Group’s Vice President of New
Business Development, since March 2009. Mr. Caspi is responsible
for overseeing all aspects of marketing, including new product
definition and product management and was responsible for marketing
communications (marcom) through 2013. Prior to this appointment, as
of March 2006, when he joined the Group, Mr. Caspi was Vice President,
responsible for the Manufacturing Market. Mr. Caspi holds a Bachelor’s
degree in Electronic Engineering from the Technion - Israel Institute
of Technology. Prior to joining Sarine, from September 2003 through
February 2006 he served as Director of Research & Development at
the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), where he was responsible
for integrating the new GIA cut system into optical scanning devices.
Before that, from 1997 through mid-2003 Mr. Caspi was the Director
of Marketing at Dialit, an Israeli company that develops, manufactures,
and sells automatic polishing equipment for diamonds. Between 1987
and 1997 Mr. Caspi was the Director of Technology for the Israel
Diamond Institute, where he led the introduction of new technologies,
such as optical scanning devices and
improved
laser cutting
technologies, into the diamond cutting industry. Prior to entering the
diamond industry, Mr. Caspi worked for Yael Software Ltd. (1984 –
1987), the Israel Aircraft Industries (1979 – 1984) and served in the
Israel Air Force as an engineer (with the rank of Major).
7
TZAFRIR YEHUDA ENGELHARD
has been the Group’s Vice
President of Business Development Polished Diamonds Trade since
2013, responsible for the development of strategies, products and
services for the Group’s new business endeavours in the online and
retail trade of polished diamonds. Prior to this appointment, he was,
since March 2010, the Group’s Director of Business Development
with similar responsibilities. During 2009 (cut short for personal
reasons), Mr. Engelhard was the CEO of Sarin India in charge of the
overall management of the operations and business in Sarin India,
and, specifically, the launch of Sarine’s first Galaxy™ inclusion
mapping service centre in India. Prior to that, Mr. Engelhard served
as a Product Manager, responsible for several of the Group’s products.
Prior to joining Sarine, from 2007 to 2008, Mr. Engelhard worked at
eTouchware, a software company that provides solutions for secure
and efficient file transfers over the Internet, and, from 2004 to 2007, at
Cognitens Ltd. (later purchased by Hexagon Metrology Inc.), a company
that developed and sold high precision non-contact measurement
devices to the worldwide automotive market. Mr. Engelhard holds an
MBA from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, with specialisation in
marketing strategy, and a Bachelor’s degree in Optromechanics from
the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology.
8
YOSEF VAX
has served as the Group’s Vice President for Operations
since 2001 and was Chief Operating Officer from March 2009 through
2011. He is responsible for production, purchasing, logistics, quality
control and administration at the Israeli parent company. He is an
Electronics Practical Engineer, holding a degree from Tel Aviv College
in Israel and is also a Certified Quality Manager from the A.L.D College
for Certified Managers for Quality in Israel. Prior to joining the Group,
Mr. Vax spent over 15 years in various quality control management and
inspection positions, in charge of quality control processes, inspection
of electronics, electro-optics, optics and mechanical sub-assemblies
and components manufacturing and customer care.
9
AARON JAFFE
has served as the Group’s general counsel since April
2014. In this role, Mr. Jaffe is responsible for the Group’s legal matters,
with an emphasis on its core business transactions, new business
development, intellectual property protection and employment law.
Prior to his employment by Sarine, Mr. Jaffe served from 2010 until
2014 as general counsel of Medigus Ltd., a publicly-traded medical
device company (TASE:MDGS), where he was responsible for the
company’s legal affairs and corporate governance, and managed
several public share offerings and private placements. From 2002
until 2010 Mr. Jaffe was engaged in private legal practice, primarily
as an associate at Yigal Arnon & Co., a leading Israeli law firm with
offices in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, where he focused on a wide variety of
corporate and commercial fields of law including cross-border mergers
and acquisitions, corporate finance and intellectual property licensing.
Mr. Jaffe is the co-author of “Israel – Bankruptcy and Insolvency
Law and Policy” published in 2006 by Oceana Publications / Oxford
University Press as part of “The Law of International Insolvencies and
Debt Restructurings”. Mr. Jaffe holds a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B) degree
from the Buchmann Faculty of Law at Tel Aviv University, and has been
admitted to practice law in Israel and New York.
10
RAN ZISKIND
has been the General Manager of Galatea Ltd.
since its founding in 2004, being one of its founding visionaries. Mr.
Ziskind is in charge of the production at Galatea as well as the Group’s
