Ilan Cohen

Ilan Cohen was born in 1958

Ilan Cohen was born in Israel on September 16, 1958. He spent most of his childhood in France, where his father Eliyahu Cohen served on a security mission as a senior Mossad commander.

In the IDF he volunteered for Shayetet 13, then left its training course and moved to the Golani reconnaissance unit, taking part in operations in Lebanon. In the reserves he was a major in an intelligence and reconnaissance battalion and fought in the Lebanon War. After his discharge he joined the Shin Bet and worked as a guard at the Israeli embassy in London.

Back in Israel he earned a bachelor's degree in economics and management at Tel Aviv University and an MBA at INSEAD in France. In 1985 he cofounded the strategic planning firm POC, which he ran until its sale in 2006.

He advised the Prime Minister's Office as a volunteer under Yitzhak Rabin and in 2003 advised Ariel Sharon on the economic stabilization plan. In May 2004 Sharon appointed him director general of the office, which handled the disengagement plan and economic reforms. He stayed on under Ehud Olmert and left in May 2006.

He has served as a director of Isracard and Wissotzky and chairs the public council of the Or movement. He lives in Tel Aviv, is married to Meirav and has 2 children.