Schedule

Monday, March 3, 2008

Reception, Dinner, and Keynote Address

7:00 p.m. at the University Club, 1135 Sixteenth Street, NW, Washington, DC
Sponsor: Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky, and Popeo, P.C.

Welcome Reception Special Guest: Robert Kogod, BSBA ’62, former C-Chairman & Co-CEO Charles E. Smith Commercial Realty, Inc. and Charles E. Smith Residential Realty, Inc.

Keynote Address: Raya Strauss Bendror, President, Strauss Investment Company, co-founder of billion-dollar food conglomerate Strauss-Elite Group and leader in Israeli corporate social responsibility will speak on Corporate Social Responsibility and Ethical Leadership for Today’s Business World

Tuesday, March 4, 2008

Butler Boardroom in Butler Pavilion at American University,
4400 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, DC
(with Keynote Luncheon in the adjacent Mary Gradon Center Faculty Dining Room)

Check-in and Coffee

8:15

Opening Remarks

8:45 a.m.
By conference co-chairs:
Russell Stone, Director, Center for Israel Studies
Erran Carmel, Professor, Kogod School of Business
Richard Linowes, Professor, Kogod School of Business

Keynote Address:
Cabinet Level Insight into Israel’s Business Sector

9:00–9:30 a.m.
Binyamin (Fouad) Ben-Eliezer, Minister of National Infrastructure

The Israeli Economy and Financial Markets

9:30–10:45 a.m.
An overview of the evolution of the Israeli economy, recent changes in the stock and bond markets fostering corporate growth and mergers, and overall prospects for growth in the future

Avishay Braverman, Member of Knesset, past president of Ben Gurion University and former senior economist, World Bank
Providing an insider’s view of Israel’s economic life

Gil Mehrez, International Monetary Fund
Presenting an assessment of Israel’s economic growth

Vered Dar, Chief Economist and Strategist, Psagot Ofek, Israel’s largest investment house, and former Deputy Director in the Ministry of Finance
Discussing the revitalized Israeli financial markets

Ohad Cohen, Commercial Attaché, Embassy of Israel
Speaking on the impact of trade on Israel’s economic success

Chair: Howard Wachtel, AU Professor Emeritus of Economics and founding Director of the Center for Israel Studies.

Technology, Innovation, and Start-Ups

11:00 a.m.–12:30 p.m.
An overview of the dynamic high tech sectors of Israel that introduce important innovations in key industries

Guy Levy-Yurista, Director, AOL, and former Associate, Tamir Fishman Ventures.
Presenting insight into Israeli “brain drain” and “brain circulation”

Amir Orad, EVP, Actimize, former VP of RSA Security, and co-founder of Cyota Inc.
Delivering insiders view of what makes Israeli start-ups different

Orey Gilliam, CEO, ICQ, and head of AOL Messaging
Sharing his experience with Israel’s first start-up acquired in a high profile, multi-million dollar acquisition

Mark Kass, Partner, Mintz, Levin
Speaking about how Israeli firms are born global

Chair: Erran Carmel, Professor of Information Technology, Kogod School of Business

Keynote Luncheon: Israel’s Economy at 60

Mary Gradon Center, Faculty Dining Room, American University,
4400 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, DC
12:45-2:15 p.m.

Introduction: Neil Kerwin, President, American University

Keynote Address: Avishay Braverman, Member of Knesset, past president of Ben Gurion University and former senior economist, World Bank

Israeli Family-Owned Mega-Enterprises

2:30–3:30 p.m.
A portrait of key family-controlled businesses and how they expand, groom talent, and weather conflicts

Raya Strauss Bendror, President, Strauss Investment Company, co-founder of billion-dollar food conglomerate Strauss-Elite Group and leader in Israeli corporate social responsibility
Speaking on the opportunities for business growth and making a difference

Nava Michael Tsabari, doctoral candidate on family business
Speaking on the challenges of family-controlled businesses

Chair: Richard Linowes, Professor, Kogod School of Business

Social Responsibility, Ethics, and Green Business

3:45–5:00 p.m.
An exploration of recent trends in improving the social benefit of business and applying Jewish ethics to business

Momo Mahadav, Vice President, Maala—The Israeli Association for Social Responsibility
Presenting changes in the Israeli landscape of corporate social activism

Noam Gressel, CEO & Founder, Assif-Strategies
Contrasting "greenwash," corporate sustainability, and cleantech development

David Weitzner, AU Professor of Business Ethics
Speaking on the ethics of Israeli business through a Jewish lens