BRM Capital has announced that Eli Barkat will join the company as managing director as of January 2004. Barkat earlier resigned as president and CEO of BackWeb Technologies (Nasdaq: BWEB). He will serve alongside BRM managing directors Charlie Federman and Menashe Ezra.
Eli Barkat and his brother Nir founded BRM and are substantial investors in it. Sources close to BRM said Eli Barkat had been expected to join the company since Nir Barkat announced his resignation a year ago to pursue a career in local politics.
Ezra confirmed the report, saying, "Eli always maintained a close relationship with the fund. Eight years ago, he left to manage BackWeb, but stayed on the management boards of BRM's portfolio companies. The moment he felt that BackWeb was growing again, it was natural for him to transfer power and return to BRM. In addition, Nir handled BRM's enterprise software portfolio in Israel. Since he left, Federman, who is responsible for US operations, has been responsible for this as well. Someone clearly had to be appointed to the post, and Eli was a natural candidate."
BRM was founded in 1998 as an information security software company, before investing in start-ups. Most of the Barkat brothers' capital came from an investment in Check Point (Nasdaq: CHKP). BRM manages $250 million in capital, including $150 million in the BRM Capital Fund.
Eli Barkat and his family will return to Israel after eight years residence in the US. His wife, Alona, was appointed to the "Red Herring" board of directors a few weeks ago, following the couple's private investment in the recovering magazine.
Published by Globes [online] - www.globes.co.il - on October 23, 2003