Omri Padan

Omri Padan was born in 1952 in Jerusalem

Padan was born in Jerusalem in 1952. His father Meir died when he was a boy, and his mother Dorit, a sociology lecturer, was later killed in a road accident. He finished the high school next to the Hebrew University in 1970.

He joined the IDF in February 1971 and volunteered for Sayeret Matkal, serving as a fighter in the team of Itamar Sela. He turned down an officers' course to stay a fighter until the end of his service.

He earned a bachelor's degree in economics and mathematics and completed a doctorate in economics in 1981, supervised by Eytan Sheshinski. In the early 1980s he lectured in economics at the Hebrew University. In 1978 he was among the founders of Peace Now and served as its spokesman, and in 1979 he led a delegation to Egypt that met Anwar Sadat.

From 1988 to 1992 he was CEO of Kitan. In 1992 he received the McDonald's franchise in Israel and opened the first branch in 1993. He and Alonyal were convicted of employing youth on Shabbat and fined 50,000 shekels. In June 2013 he declined to open a branch in Ariel, beyond the Green Line.

In April 2024 McDonald's announced it was buying Alonyal and its 225 branches in Israel, following a boycott campaign during the Swords of Iron war. He is married to Ariela and has 4 sons.