Executive Officers

Ezra Gardner, 47
Chief Executive Officer and Director

Ezra Gardner has served as our Chief Executive Officer and a member of our board of directors since our inception. From November 2020 until January 2023, Mr. Gardner was a Co-Founder and CEO of Gesher I. Since 2012, Mr. Gardner has served as a Partner at Varana Capital, LLC, an investment firm he co-founded. Varana Capital was founded in 2012 and focuses on public and private market investing primarily in Israel. Its principals have been involved in many successful Israeli private investments and often join the boards of directors of companies it invests in to add further value. The Varana investment strategy includes advising public and private companies on strategic planning (including mergers and acquisitions), operational dynamics, and balance sheet needs/restructuring. As part of the Varana investment strategy of cooperative engagement, Mr. Gardner sits on or advises the boards of multiple public and private companies, working with each on strategic planning, operational dynamics, and balance sheet needs/restructuring. From 2009 to 2012, Mr. Gardner served as the Managing Partner and Portfolio Manager of Omnium Capital, LLC, a family office he co-founded in Tel Aviv, Israel. From 2005 to 2009, he was at UBS where he served as a Portfolio Manager and most recently Head of UBS’ US Equity Portfolio for the Fundamental Investment Group where he also sat on the US Trading Committee (Management Board for the US Equities Business). From 2001 to 2005, he served in senior analyst roles at MSD Capital (Michael Dell family fund management office) and Braahman Capital. From 1999 to 2001, he served as an analyst in the Investment Banking Group at JP Morgan. Mr. Gardner currently serves on the board of directors of Galileo Wheel and Neureality, both Israeli-based private businesses, and CCI, a Colorado-based private business. Mr. Gardner received a BA in Economics (with honors) and a BA in International Relations from Brown University.

Sagi Dagan, 47
Chief Financial Officer and Director Nominee

Sagi Dagan has served as our Chief Financial Officer since November 2024 and will become a member of our board of directors when we begin trading on Nasdaq. Since June 2024, Mr. Dagan has joined the team of Varana Capital, LLC, where he provides strategic oversight for innovative investment opportunities and financial operations. From 2017 to 2024, Mr. Dagan was a senior executive at the Israel Innovation Authority, where he served as Vice President, Head of Strategy and Finance, and Vice President, Head of the Growth Division. During his tenure, he directed the deployment of over $1 billion into early-stage and early-growth startups, designed financial frameworks for public-private investment partnerships, and managed the responses to financial crises, including the creation of a $200 million co-investment program during COVID-19. From 2013 to 2016, Mr. Dagan was a Corporate Manager at Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, overseeing the Climate & Energy Technologies Business Unit. He managed the development and commercialization of R&D projects, including renewable energy solutions and advanced energy storage systems, and led investments in energy startups. From 2008 to 2013, Mr. Dagan served as a Senior Economist at the National Economic Council in the Prime Minister’s Office. In this capacity, he led the development of national financial strategies for high-tech and venture capital sectors and launched the Smart Mobility Initiative, which fostered innovation in alternative fuels and smart transportation technologies. Mr. Dagan served on the board of Capital Nature, an investment company specializing in early-stage ventures in climate and energy technologies. He was also a member of the Advisory Committee on Technology and the Capital Market at the Israel Securities Authority. Mr. Dagan earned an MA in Economics (with honors) from Tel Aviv University, as well as a BA in Economics and Psychology from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (with honors).

Board of Directors

Omri Cherni, 40
Independent Director Nominee

Omri Cherni will become a member of our board of directors when we begin trading on Nasdaq. Mr. Cherni has significant experience in the Israeli venture and startup industry. Since 2016, Mr. Cherni has served as Chief Executive Officer of High House, a family office focusing on making real estate and technology investments. Since 2016, he has served as Chief Scientific Officer of Atlas Dynamics, an aerospace company that he founded that creates autonomous vessels, which has grown to become the biggest supplier of tactical UAVs in the EU. Since 2015, Mr. Cherni has served as Chief Executive Officer of Invocap, a systematic and technology backed financial trading platform and fund manager that he founded which uses machine learning and artificial intelligence to outperform benchmarks in both fiat as well as crypto markets. From 2012 to 2014, he was at Jerusalem Venture Partners, one of Israel’s most successful venture capital firms, where he was an associate dealing with the firms’ deep tech and hardware-based investments. Mr. Cherni was a platoon commander in the Israeli Air Force Special forces and received an LLB and an MBA from the Hebrew University.

Yevgeny Neginsky, 46
Independent Director Nominee

Yevgeny Neginsky will become a member of our board of directors when we begin trading on Nasdaq. Mr. Neginsky is the portfolio manager of Springdale Capital LLC, an absolute return focused investment firm he founded in 2009. Previously, Mr. Neginsky was part of the investment team at Tyndall Management, a value-oriented investment firm, from 2005 to 2009, where he evaluated investment opportunities across various industries. Prior to Tyndall, Mr. Neginsky worked as an analyst at T. Rowe Price (2004) and Horsley Bridge Partners (from 2001 to 2003). He previously served on the board of directors of Collective Growth Corporation, a Nasdaq-listed special purpose acquisition company that consummated an initial business combination with Innoviz Technologies, an Israeli based developer of LiDAR Sensors and Perception Software for Autonomous Driving. Mr. Neginsky received his MBA from The Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth and a B. A., Summa Cum Laude, from Dartmouth College.

David Bleustein, 57
Independent Director Nominee

David Bleustein will become a member of our board of directors when we begin trading on Nasdaq. Since June 2016, Mr. Bleustein was involved inleading major turnarounds of Equity Research departments at Credit Suisse/UBS, with his current role being the Head of Global Equity Research at Credit Suisse. Mr. Bleustein drove innovations in big data application and developed unparalleled speed to market technology. For the previous 16 years, Mr. Bleustein has been Equity Research Experience as Director at UBS/PaineWebber in the Industrial Sector, highlighted by eight consecutive years of top Institutional Investor rankings. Earlier, he had three years in public accounting at Ernst & Young and held a CPA designation. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Wisconsin and an MBA from the University of Wisconsin.