Tel Aviv’s Intel Ignite Appoints New Managing Director

The startup growth program that Intel launched recently announced that it had appointed a new Managing Director for its Tel-Aviv based program, Intel Ignite.

Ranny Nachmias served as the former Managing Director and will now be replaced by co-founder and chief executive of BrandTotal, a SaaS marketing analytics firm, Alon Leibovich.

The new Managing Director

According to Leibovich himself, his perspective of the world is a unique one because he not only has a successful experience as a founder and CEO, but also has leadership development experience and is a psychologist.

He said that he was looking forward to be a part of Intel Ignite because he is aware how helpful it is for entrepreneurs participating in the program.

He called himself fortunate for having made a difference in the industry and said that he wanted to share the insights, lessons and mistakes with the entrepreneurs who will be involved in the program.

He said that he had been in the shoes of said entrepreneurs and was aware of how helpful it could be, so he was looking forward to give back to the ecosystem that had helped him.

His experience

Leibovich has about 10 years of experience under his belt. This includes leading and developing products that are in their early stages, identifying the market fit for a product and developing a market strategy for expanding a business.

He served as the chief executive of Brand Total for about six years during which time the company expanded globally and was able to raise tens of millions of dollars in funding.

Before serving as CEO, he had worked at McCann Tel Aviv as a management consultant and strategic planner and had developed marketing and communication strategies for brands in this position.

Intel Ignite’s decision

The GM and Vice President of Intel Ignite, Tzahi Weisfeld also talked about their latest hire and said that Leibovich has experience as a CEO and has gone through numerous ups and downs.

Weisfeld said that this is what most entrepreneurs are expected to do, as they have to do fundraising and then lead the funds. They also have to manage a board of directors and develop a product.

Plus, they also need to deal with legal and business matters related to technology and build a global company.

He said that Alon would be an excellent managing director because of the experience he has, combined with his mentoring personality.

He said he was pleased on behalf of Intel as well as the Israeli ecosystem to have hired Alon for this position and was looking forward to see companies work with Intel in the program under his direction.

A global program, Intel Ignite has a duration of 12 weeks in which 10 startups are chosen from every region.

The startup is given a package of services from Intel as well as industry experts and are given access to business leaders and technology.

Up until now, 60 Israeli startups and 30 from Europe have participated in the Intel Ignite program, which include Granulate, Deci and Classiq.