Zohar Zisapel
Zohar Zisapel | |
|---|---|
זהר זיסאפל | |
high-tech industry |
Zohar Zisapel (
Biography
Zohar Zisapel was born in
Upon completing his undergraduate studies at the Technion, Zisapel served in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
Zisapel was the father of two children: a daughter, Klil, an accomplished artist and Hebrew writer whose books have been translated into German, Dutch and Chinese, and Michael, a physician.[5][3]
Zohar Zisapel died from cancer on May 20, 2023, at the age of 74.[6]
Career
Zisapel worked for the Electronic Research Department of the Ministry of Defense in Tel Aviv and rose to become its head.[3] In 1979, he received the Israel Defense Prize for his work.[7]
In the mid-1970s, Yehuda Zisapel, Zohar's elder brother, founded a small private company that marketed data communications products. The data communications products Bynet distributed in Israel in the later half of the 1970s were all manufactured abroad.
In 1981 Zisapel resigned from his position at the Ministry of Defense and cofounded
The Zisapel brothers expanded their focus beyond miniature modems. While RAD would go on to release its first
Business philosophy
Each company operated independently and without a holding company, but all of the companies would be guided under a collective strategic umbrella. The companies could cooperate in the development of their solutions, engage in joint marketing activities, and benefit from a common management structure.[7] This decentralized business philosophy was designed to maximize the advantages inherent in smaller business units, such as flexibility, entrepreneurial spirit, and management focus.[7] As a result, since 1984, when the RAD Group came into being, it has spawned more than 185 companies, 8 IPOs and 19 mergers and acquisitions.[10][11][12]
Philanthropy
One of Zisapel’s charitable contributions was to donate fully equipped computer rooms to educational institutions that serve children at risk and children from disadvantaged backgrounds.[5] More than ten such projects are undertaken each year by RAD at a cost of approximately $500,000 annually. Zohar and Yehuda Zisapel also donated $4.5 million to establish the Sara and Moshe Zisapel Nanoelectronics Center at their alma mater, the Technion, named in memory of their parents.[13]
Awards and recognition
- 1994 – Israel Export Award and Entrepreneur of the Year Award
- 1996 – Hugo Raminceanu Award for Economics
- 1998 – Named by the Technion as a Distinguished Fellow of its Faculty of Electrical Engineering
- 1998–2000 – Chairman of the Israel Association of Electronic Industries (IAEI)
- 1999 – Israeli Industry Life Award
- 1999–2002 – Member of the planning and budgeting committee of the Council for Higher Education in Israel
- 2001 – Doctor Honoris Causafrom the Technion
- 2004 – Israel Communications Award
- 2011 – Lifetime Achievement Award of the Israel Association of Electrical and Electronic Engineers[7][5][14]
- 2013 – Named an Honorary Colleague by the Academic College of Tel Aviv-Yafo
- 2014 – Life Achievement Award of the Association of Engineers, Architects and Graduates in Technological Sciences in Israel
- On its Web site, the Technion lists Zohar Zisapel as one of its most illustrious alumni.[15]
See also
References
- ^ "25 Years of RAD Group: A Conversation with Zohar Zisapel", by Mae Kowalke, May 22, 2006
- ^ "The Startup Factory: How a little-known Israeli telecom became the world’s most successful incubator", Business 2.0, August 2005
- ^ a b c "Zohar Zisapel, the RAD data of the world's telecom industry", by Karin Kloosterman, Israel21c, February 2, 2009
- ^ “Zohar Zisapel: Founder and Chairman, RAD Group,” VON Magazine, May 2007
- ^ a b c "Solving an Israeli high tech riddle", by Allison Kaplan Sommer, Israel 21c, February 26, 2006
- ^ "Israel: pioneer of the high-tech industry, Zohar Zisapel, dies at age 74". I24news. 20 May 2023. Retrieved 21 May 2023.
- ^ a b c d "RAD Group Chairman Zohar Zisapel to Speak at VITAL Summit: Hugely Successful RAD Group Has Six Companies Listed on NASDAQ", by Fred Diamond, September 22, 2002
- ^ Computer Business Review, August 10, 1992
- ^ "Zisapel Zings Innovating Incumbents", Light Reading, May 15, 2006
- ^ האמא של הסטארט-אפים: קבוצת רד הולידה 110 חברות, The Marker, January 18, 2012
- ^ "The RAD Group - World Leaders in Voice and Data Communications Technologies," The RAD Group, June 2011
- ^ רד תקשורת סוללת את הדרך ללימודים גבוהים, Ma'ariv, January 8, 2013
- ^ "Technion alumni Yehuda and Zohar Zisapel continue to support their alma mater at every opportunity," by Greer Fay Cashman, The Jerusalem Post, June 5, 2007
- ^ תעודת הוקרה על מפעל החיים בתחום תעשיית החשמל, האלקטרונירה וההיי-טק לאחים יהודה וזהר זיסאפל, New Tech Magazine, December 23, 2011
- ^ "פרק 3: מדינת הסטארט-אפ שצמחה מתוך חדשנות הטכניון". pp. 74–75. Retrieved April 8, 2015.
External links
- VON Magazine - Front cover story, May 2007
- 25 Years of RAD Group: A Conversation with Zohar Zisapel - by Mae Kowalke, TMCnet, May 22, 2006.
- Zisapel Zings Innovating Incumbents - by Light Reading, including a video interview, May 15, 2006.
- RAD Group Chairman Zohar Zisapel to Speak at VITAL Summit - by Fred Diamond, September 22, 2002
- Video Conference Now or Never? - a recorded lecture of Zohar Zisapel on Blip TV