Personal: Married, living in Tel Aviv and New York.
Professional: VP of DSPM at cybersecurity company Rubrik
Childhood and family: I was born and raised in Givatayim, and at 18, we moved to Tel Aviv. My father owned a civil engineering company, and my mother worked in computing at Ichilov Hospital. My parents always pushed me to excel - if I got a 96, they would ask about the missing four points. My orientation was toward the sciences, but I always loved literature, art, and even fashion. My father constantly told me, ‘Your grandfather excelled at the Technion, your father excelled at the Technion - take from that what you will.’
Championship: At eight, I told my parents I wanted to learn table tennis. I trained five times a week, and after four years, I won the Israeli championship. Once that dream was realized, I moved on to the next one - to become the CEO of a major company.
Early Academia: With that dream in mind, I thought about how to get ahead, and at 14, I enrolled in a bachelor's degree program in Computer Science and Mathematics at the Open University. I completed it alongside my high school studies. There, I met Oran Avraham, and even back then, we said we would one day start a company together and planned our careers accordingly. We had a group of about five kids studying at the Open University, and from the first moment I saw him, I knew he was on a different level technologically. I knew that together, we would be an unbeatable team.
8200: Oran and I both joined IDF Unit 8200 but were assigned to different divisions. The entrepreneurial spirit there was extraordinary. From my unit alone, which had about 30 people, six or seven went on to successful exits. While serving, I also completed a master's degree in computer science with a specialization in deep learning. Throughout that time, Oran and I met once a week to discuss the company we would establish. We even agreed that after our military service, we would work in startups for three years and then reunite.
Magic Leap: After completing my military service, I joined Magic Leap, a company developing augmented reality technologies. In 2016, my project focused on integrating artificial intelligence into AR glasses. Everyone told me it wouldn’t work - but today, we can all see how far that field has come. Once I had a working product, I knew it was time to move on.
Laminar: In April 2020, amid the uncertainty of COVID-19, I left Magic Leap, and by the end of that year, Oran and I co-founded Laminar. From the very beginning, we recognized that what matters most to customers is their data. While others focused on preventing breaches, we asked a different question: How do you protect data after a breach has already occurred? We operated independently for three years, during which our business flourished. In fact, we pioneered an entirely new market within the world of data security.
The Exit: In August 2023, we received an acquisition offer from Rubrik (for about $250-300 million DA), a leading cyber security company. I knew they already had thousands of customers and were the right partner for our next chapter. As part of the acquisition, I was appointed to lead Rubrik’s operations in Israel. Today, globally, I serve as vice president of DSPM Products - a cybersecurity domain focused on identifying, monitoring, and securing sensitive data across a global organization’s entire data landscape. My role is leading global DSPM strategy, growth, and monetization.
Product and Vision: If a hacker steals your identity and attempts to access data, we block the attack and recover everything to its original state. And this is just the beginning. Rubrik’s vision is to help organizations build and scale AI securely-something that has the potential to transform the world. Our message is clear: breaches are no longer a matter of if, but when. The real question is how resilient your organization will be when that moment comes.
The IPO: Last year, the company went public, and I had the privilege of taking part in the bell-ringing ceremony at the New York Stock Exchange. For me, it felt a bit like a shortcut-I’m still focused on the same work and just as committed to our products, but it feels like I’ve bypassed a few years of stress and gray hairs and landed in a large company ahead of schedule (Rubrik priced its IPO at $32 a share, raising $752 million at a $5.6 billion valuation, above its expected range. - DA).
Entrepreneurship: Pressure and overload are aspects of entrepreneurship that aren’t talked about enough. The three years of building Laminar were incredible from a business perspective, but emotionally, it was an extremely tough period for me. Everyone relies on you, and at the same time, you begin to realize just how long and challenging the road ahead really is - and that the startup ecosystem is, in many ways, designed to set you up for failure.
Looking Ahead: There’s tremendous potential here at Rubrik. These days, I’m able to balance growth and challenges with hobbies, friends, family, and good food.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on March 25, 2025.
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