Board of Directors
Dr. Doron Gal
Director, Kaiima
Chairman of the Board
Prior to being named CEO of Kaiima in November 2007, Dr. Gal served in the company as VP of Business Development. Earlier, he was Senior Energy Consultant at Epsilon Investment House. He was an Adj. Lecturer on Energy and Geo-strategy at the Lauder School of Government, IDC Herzliya, a Senior Research Fellow (Energy) for the Institute for Policy and Strategy, and also consulted to investment groups and government agencies. Doron was also President of Digigroups Corporation and he obtained his Ph.D. in Geophysics from Stanford University.
Amit Avidov
Director, Kaiima
Mr. Avidov has more than 30 years of experience in the seed industry. Prior to assuming the role of CTO at Kaiima, Amit was CTO for Morning Seeds and Top Seeds, where he oversaw the development of several market-leading vegetable varieties. He was Chief Breeder at De Ruiter Seeds, a Dutch seed company (sold to Monsanto) and he founded AB Seeds (Sold to De Ruiter's), serving as both its CEO and Chief Breeder. Before AB Seeds, Amit worked in Gedera Seeds (sold to Syngenta). To-date, he has more than 400 registered plant varieties to his name. He holds a bachelor degree in Plant Genetics and Breeding from the Hebrew University.
Dr. Benny Zeevi
Director Representing DFJ-TFV
Dr. Benny Zeevi is a Managing General Partner in DFJ Tamir Fishman Ventures and leads the fund Life Science and Cleantech investments. Dr. Zeevi is a physician specialized in interventional pediatric cardiology. Prior to joining DFJ TFV in 2003, Dr. Zeevi was the Vice President Business Development & Medical Director of Card Guard AG since 1998. Dr. Zeevi is very active in the Israel life science industry and is the Chairman of the life science committee of Israel Venture Association and served on the board of the Israeli Life Science Industry Organization.
Dr. Zeevi has an extensive background in product development, marketing and strategy formulations in Life Science technology companies. Dr. Zeevi served, among other capacities, as a professional advisor to several life science companies and venture capital funds while he was still practicing medicine. Dr. Zeevi is a certified Pediatric Cardiologist. From 1990-1998 he was Director of Pediatric Catheterization Unit, Schneider Children's Medical Center in Israel. Dr. Zeevi was a fellow and a visiting Professor and part-time clinical staff at the Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School in Boston. In 1993 he received the Liberman prize for significant contribution to the evaluation and treatment of children with congenital heart disease.
Dr. Zeevi serves as Chairman of the Board for MGVS and he is a board member for Proneuron and ReLeaf.
Dr. Zeevi holds a M.D. degree (Magna Cum Laude) from the Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Israel
Jennifer Fonstad
Board Member Observer Representing DFJ
Jennifer Fonstad is a Managing Director of Draper Fisher Jurvetson. Considered one of the most senior women in venture today, Ms. Fonstad invests broadly in early stage companies, most recently taking an early leadership role in clean energy. Additionally, she has been working to change the US healthcare system through entrepreneurship. Recent investment successes include Athenahealth (NASDAQ: ATHN), Lumenos (acquired by Wellpoint, NYSE: WLP), and NetZero (NASDAQ: UNTD).
In addition to her investing responsibilities, Jennifer sits on the investment committees for DFJ VinaCapital, DFJ’s partner fund in Vietnam, DFJ Tamir Fishman, DFJ’s partner fund in Israel, and serves as adviser to the DFJ China team.
Jennifer joined DFJ as a Kauffman Fellow in 1997 becoming a partner in 1998. She began her career with Bain and Company after spending a year teaching math to high school students in sub-Sahara Africa. She graduated Cum Laude from Georgetown University and holds an MBA with Distinction from the Harvard Business School.