Yossi Vardi

Yossi Vardi was born in 1942 in Tel Aviv

Yossi Vardi was born in Tel Aviv to Moshe and Sarah. He attended Ironi Alef high school and was a member of the Dizengoff scout troop.

He studied industrial management engineering at the Technion and later earned a master's degree in operations research. He completed his doctorate at the Technion in 1978, on a decision model for siting power stations.

In 1969 he co-founded the software company TEKEM and served as its first CEO. In 1970 he became director general of the Ministry of Development. In 1974 he was named head of the Investment Authority in North America, and he later became the first director general of the Ministry of Energy.

After leaving government service he co-founded companies including Alon and Granite Hacarmel, and he sat on several corporate boards. In 1993 Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin appointed him adviser on economic cooperation with Arab states. In 1996 he became the founding investor of Mirabilis, the maker of ICQ, which was sold to AOL.

He has invested in many internet startups and founded Kinnernet, a yearly gathering by the Sea of Galilee. He co-chairs the DLD conference in Munich and received the Chaim Herzog Prize in 2020.