The members of the Zadara leadership team have been working in the storage industry, often together and always on the cutting edge, for almost thirty years. The expertise and wisdom born of this experience fuels our innovation.
Nelson brings over 25 years of experience in the storage industry in multiple storage software development positions. He is known for creating innovative products and successfully bringing them to market. Prior to co-founding Zadara, he was a Fellow and Vice President of Software Engineering at LSI Corporation, where he was responsible for an engineering team of over 250 people. Previously he was CTO and co-founder of StoreAge Networking Technologies, which was acquired by LSI in 2006. At StoreAge, he invented the out of band storage virtualization system, building and leading the engineering to a successful product that was adopted by HP and led to the acquisition of StoreAge by LSI. Nelson holds multiple patents related to storage systems. He has a B.Sc EE from the Technion, the Israeli Institute of Technology.
Nir Ben Zvi
CFO/COO
Nir has more than 18 years of extensive international financial and operational experience. Prior to Zadara, Nir served 5 years as CFO at Disney-backed digital content platform, Playbuzz. In this role, he oversaw several divisions such as Finance, Legal, HR, Business Operations, Business Intelligence and Monetization Operations. During that time the company grew x10 in revenue and he successfully led 4 rounds of funding (total $65MM) from both VCs and also global media giants such as Disney and Saban Ventures. Prior to Playbuzz, Nir served as CFO at Playscape, a platform for creation of mobile games & applications and was a lecturer for accountancy at the Open University. Prior to that, Nir was a team leader at Ernst & Young, high-tech practice (US GAAP, Audit) and Tax department. Prior to Ernst & Young, Nir served as budget and control manager at the Ministry of Defense. Nir is C.P.A and holds an MBA in Financial Management; B.A. in Economics & Management; and, B.A. in Accountancy — all three degrees from Tel Aviv University.
Yair Hershko
Chief Technology Officer
Yair brings over 20 years of experience in software development in a variety of senior engineering management positions. He has a track record of successfully building world class engineering teams from the ground up, hiring key contributors, driving quality, and ensuring on time delivery. Prior to co-founding Zadara Storage, Yair was Sr. Director of Engineering at LSI where he led the development of multiple releases of HP’s SVSP product. During his tenure, he expanded the engineering team from 20 to 50 engineers. Previously, he was Director of R&D and QA at StoreAge where he was responsible for the development and release of the storage virtualization software. Prior to StoreAge, Yair was software development manager at Medivision. Yair has a B.Sc (Cum Laude) in Information Systems Engineering from the Computer Science faculty in the Technion, Israeli Institute of Technology.
Noam Shendar
VP Worldwide Solution Architecture
Noam brings over 20 years of experience in the technology industry in a variety of senior management positions. At LSI Corporation, he was Sr. Director of Business Planning and Product Management in the Engenio Storage Group, where he founded and led an internal startup, took it to revenue, and successfully handed it off to NetApp when the latter acquired Engenio. Prior to that, Noam was LSI’s Director of Corporate Strategy. Prior to LSI he was Director of Strategic Marketing at MIPS Technologies, Inc., where he was responsible for the company’s efforts to penetrate new markets and expand its presence in existing ones. Prior to MIPS, Noam was VP of Applications and Director of Engineering at iBlast, Inc., an entertainment technology startup. Prior to that, Noam held research and engineering positions at Intel Corporation’s Microprocessor Products Group. Noam has a B.Sc. (with Honors) in Electrical Engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and an Executive MBA from Santa Clara University.
Doug Jury
VP Enterprise Sales, NA & Customer Success
Doug brings over 35 years of experience in the technology industry in a variety of technical, sales and senior management positions. Starting with Digital Equipment Corporation as an engineer, Doug has worked his way up through the ranks. Having positions in Training, Marketing, Sales Support, Sales Management, gives Doug a full 360-degree view of the industry. After leaving DEC in 1995, Doug worked for several startups developing their sales teams and channels. He has also held director-level positions at ATL Products, Chaparral Networking Technology, and QLogic. All these positions were in support of sales and VAR development. Most recently he worked for StoreAge, a storage virtualization startup. As VP of North American sales Doug ran a team responsible for building the customer base and developing the partner channel. After StorAge was acquired by LSI Corporation, Doug continued the development of the StoreAge channel as well as partnering with HP as an OEM customer. Doug’s team was responsible for leading the relationship with HP from all aspects. Doug holds an Engineering degree from New Hampshire Technical Institute.
Vladimir Popovski
Chief Services Officer
Vladimir brings over 20 years of experience in software development, architecture, and support in a variety of technical and management positions. He is known for finding creative and innovative solutions for complex problems. Prior to co-founding Zadara, he was a Distinguished Engineer at LSI Corporation, one of the highest ranks in the technical ladder. During his career at LSI (and previously StoreAge Networking Technologies, acquired by LSI) he was responsible for Software and Solutions architecture, development and support of storage virtualization products. He founded and led the intelligent switch platforms team, which later became the core of the product. Before joining StoreAge, Vladimir led the IT department at Azmol Company, one of the largest import/export organizations in the Republic of Moldova. Vladimir holds multiple patents related to storage systems and software development. He has an M.Sc. in Applied Mathematics from the Moldova State University with specialization in Algorithmic Languages and Programming.
Dani Naor
VP Global Sales
Dani brings with him more than 25 years of technology and in particular storage experience, specializing in building global sales teams and forming strategic alliances. Prior to Zadara, he led international sales and business development at EMC XtremeIO, where he helped build a flash storage market leader from the ground up, and was a member of the executive team when XtremIO was acquired by EMC. Dani started his professional career as an engineer and team leader at IIS (International Integrated Solutions). Following many years of contributions to technical development, he co-founded of StoreAge Networking Technologies and served as Vice President of International Sales where he built the company’s channel and revenue stream across 25 countries. He later served as Director of International Sales for LSI’s software business, upon LSI’s acquisition of StoreAge.
Shyam Kaushik
Chief Architect
Shyam brings over 15 years of experience with a proven track record in architecting, designing and delivering complex systems and features. He has a blend of a strong technology vision balanced with a pragmatic, tactical focus for successful product delivery. Prior to co-founding Zadara Storage, Shyam was a Distinguished Engineer at LSI where he drove architecture and led the development team for integrating the StoreAge SVM product into LSI Storage Arrays for Advanced Copy Services. At LSI, he also architected and led development for Host Side Flash Caching, Active-Active LUNs and Virtual Storage Appliance. Prior to LSI, Shyam led architecture development for EMC Invista’s Advanced Copy Services that included mirroring and data-mobility. He also architected several components for StorageTek’s Virtual Tape Library and for NCR’s Unix Storage stack. Shyam holds multiple patents on storage systems and has a B.E. in Electrical and Electronics Engineering.
Oded Kellner
VP Product Management
Oded brings over 25 years of experience in the storage industry. Oded held several storage software development and product management roles in big IT corporations. His main focus is the overall customer experience, with proven record of storage products that clients love to use. Prior to joining Zadara, Oded was a Senior Product Manager at IBM for the XIV storage systems, and Spectrum Accelerate SDS solution. Before joining IBM Oded served as a Director of Product Management for LSI Storage Systems, and was responsible for HP’s SVSP product. Prior to that, Oded held engineering positions at CA (Computer Associates). Oded holds a B.Sc. degree in Computer Engineering from the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology.
Eyal Avraham
VP Finance
Before joining Zadara, Eyal was the VP Finance of Medcpu Ltd where he was responsible for the company's ongoing operations, including budget, banking, financial reports and legal issues. Prior to that, he worked for PWC Tel Aviv for 12 years. Eyal has extensive experience with local and international companies in Israel and abroad, ranging from emerging businesses to large industrial and commercial public corporations. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Accounting and Economics and an MBA in Finance, both degrees were awarded by Tel Aviv University’s Faculty of Management.
Lauren Koszarek
VP Communications
Lauren Koszarek is a communications expert and content strategist known for her impact at fast-paced disruptive technology companies. At Zadara she leads global communications and content strategy. Prior to joining Zadara, Lauren led global communications and content strategy at HackerOne, named #5 on FastCo’s World’s Most Innovative Company’s list in 2020 under her leadership. She brings to Zadara experience leading communications strategies with partners, including the U.S. Department of Defense, General Motors, Uber, Facebook, Goldman Sachs, Starbucks, and Slack, among others. Lauren brings to Zadara experience telling technology stories for brands like T-Mobile, Microsoft, Blackberry and HTC, and is specialized in crisis and incident response communications.
Gregory Newman
VP Marketing
Greg brings to Zadara over twenty-five years’ experience in the technology industry. He has served startups and multinationals, including multiple companies focused on enterprise data storage. Under his leadership, his companies have achieved triple-digit sales growth and been recognized by Deloitte Fast50, Inc 500, Gartner, and more, and achieved successful exits valued at more than $1 billion. At Zadara Greg is focused on shaping Zadara’s product packaging, branding, and messaging to accurately reflect and serve the needs of our customers. Greg holds a BA from University of California, Santa Barbara, and a JD from Chapman University School of Law.
Jillian Phelan
VP Human Resources
Jillian brings over 20 years of experience in human resources focused on the entire employee life cycle. Her passion is building the HR function through systems and processes, combining hands-on expertise and strategic vision. Not one to enjoy the status quo, she thrives when working in dynamic and high growth organizations. Prior to joining Zadara, she worked for a start-up real estate company where under her leadership she transformed operations by implementing technology and building world-class processes. Prior to that, Jillian led the Global HR function at a SaaS platform based in Orange County. During her tenure revenue grew over 30%, culminating in an acquisition by WCAS. Jillian has an MBA from Pepperdine University and a BA from UC Berkeley. When not working, she is either logging in running miles or spending time with her husband and their four children.
Asher Avital
VP Strategic Partners
As a VP Strategic Partners, Asher Avital is responsible and accountable for overall Large Enterprise sales. Asher has over 20 years of sales experience in the technology industry. Prior to joining Zadara, Asher held several sales leadership roles with Verizon Enterprise Solutions, CenturyLink and Sprint overseeing $200M+ in annual revenue. At Verizon, rising from a Sales Manager role to a VP of Enterprise Sales, Asher led some of the most strategic sales relationships of the organization to include Apple, Intel and Microsoft. In less than 6 years Asher and team won over $300M in new annual revenue from several strategic pursuits. Asher and his wife, Stephaney reside in Newport Beach with their 3 children. Asher enjoys following his kid’s sporting career, traveling, hiking and coffee.
Kerry Telling
VP Sales, EMEA
Kerry brings over 20 years of IT Industry experience to Zadara, holding senior management roles in all sectors of the channel.
Entering the industry as an Account Manager in Distribution at RBR Networks, now Comstor, Kerry progressed to Sales Management before moving with the executive team across to Zycko. Kerry ran the Storage team at Zycko for 4 years before moving into a Strategic Sales role for StoreAge, a Storage Virtualisation Start-Up that was subsequently acquired by LSI - A highlight of this role was running the OEM contract with HP in Canada. Kerry then spent 3 years as Sales Director for a UK based VAR Startup before joining Zadara in 2014. Having successfully built the go-to-market strategy for Zadara in Northern Europe, Kerry is now responsible for all Sales in EMEA.
Robi Hartman
Co-founder and Chairman
Robi has over 30 years experience as a technology entrepreneur, a global executive for leading technology companies with vast experience in public markets, fund raising, and M&A. He is currently CEO of West End Technology Investments focused on fund raising and advisory services to start-up companies. Robi was a founder, Chairman and initial CFO for StoreAge Networking Technologies from its inception until its acquisition by LSI (NASDAQ:LSI). He was Chairman and CEO of IIS (NASDAQ:IISLF), CEO of Teledata (NASDAQ:TLDCF) that was sold to ADC (NASDAQ:ADCT), and Vice Chairman of Teledata Networks that was sold to Enablence (CDNX.ENA.V). He has served on the Boards of numerous companies and qualifies as a “financial expert” for both public and private companies. Robi has a B.A. in Political Science and Economics from Bar Ilan University and an MBA with a concentration in finance from Bentley University.
Eli Shapira
Co-founder and Director
Eli was recently vice president of Software Strategy at LSI Corporation. Previously he was CEO and co-founder of StoreAge Networking Technologies. Eli was the primary leader of StoreAge, sheparding the company from inception to significant worldwide revenue and the eventual sale to LSI. Eli has been in the position of CEO in several technology firms over the last 25 years ranging from large public firms (IIS/Decision Data) to private startup companies like StoreAge. He is a seasoned senior executive that in addition to his top leadership roles has been consulting with technology firms for many years on a worldwide basis. Eli holds a B.Sc degree in Mathematics from the Technion, the Israeli Institute of Technology.
Nelson Nahum
CEO
Nelson brings over 25 years of experience in the storage industry in multiple storage software development positions. He is known for creating innovative products and successfully bringing them to market. Prior to co-founding Zadara, he was a Fellow and Vice President of Software Engineering at LSI Corporation, where he was responsible for an engineering team of over 250 people. Previously he was CTO and co-founder of StoreAge Networking Technologies, which was acquired by LSI in 2006. At StoreAge, he invented the out of band storage virtualization system, building and leading the engineering to a successful product that was adopted by HP and led to the acquisition of StoreAge by LSI. Nelson holds multiple patents related to storage systems. He has a B.Sc EE from the Technion, the Israeli Institute of Technology.
Ethan Benovitz
Director
Ethan Benovitz is a partner at Genesis Capital Advisors LLC in New York, which invests in the technology, medical technology and specialty finance sectors. Before founding Genesis, he was a director of DKR Oasis Capital Management LP. Mr. Benovitz brings nearly twenty years of corporate finance and investment experience to the Zadara board. Mr. Benovitz earned his JD from Harvard Law School and BA from Yeshiva University.
Daniel Saks
Director
Mr. Saks has over 20 years experience in negotiating and investing in small cap companies. Mr. Saks was a co-founder and managing member of Genesis Capital Advisors LLC, a New York based asset management firm. Mr. Saks was a director of DKR Oasis Capital Management LP, a multi-strategy hedge fund, where he managed a portfolio of structured debt and equity investments in small cap and micro cap companies. Previously, Mr. Saks was a founder and general partner of WEC Asset Management LLC, a New York based asset manager. Mr. Saks previously was an associate in the corporate finance group at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP. Mr. Saks earned an M.B.A. from New York University’s Leonard N. Stern School of Business and a J.D. from New York University School of Law.
Moshe Lichtman
Director
Moshe Lichtman brings more than 35 years of product and leadership experience and 20 years of investment experience in the global high tech industry. In 2011 he retired from Microsoft where he was Corporate VP responsible for several of its consumer businesses. As head of MSN’s international business in the late 90′s, Moshe was responsible for quadrupling the business to become the #1 network in Europe, Canada, Australia and many other international markets. Under Moshe’s leadership in the early 2000′s, Microsoft’s TV business became the leading provider of IPTV platforms to telecom operators globally. Upon returning to Israel in 2006, as President of Microsoft’s R&D center in Israel, Moshe was responsible for turning the Israel operation into one of the three largest strategic innovation hubs outside the US. Mr. Lichtman was also among the leaders of the Windows 95 team and President of Softimage, a leader in media creation software.
Prior to Microsoft, Mr. Lichtman held software development and management positions in several high-tech startups.
Mr. Lichtman is the co-author of the best-selling book “The complete guide to the C language” and holds a BSc Cum Laude in Computer Engineering from the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, and an MBA from the MIT Sloan School.
In 2009 Mr. Lichtman was selected Top High Tech CEO of a large multinational company in Israel by the Israel Management Institute.
Uri Erde
Director
Uri Erde has over 15 years of experience in the fields of finance and capital markets.
Prior to joining IGP Uri was a senior investment manager with KCPS Private Equity, a buyout firm focusing on Israeli related companies, where he led investments, acquisitions and integrations in the fields of agri-tech, logistics, healthcare, industry and IT. Earlier in his career, Uri held several positions with Gornitzky & Company, KPMG and Prof. Itzhak Swary & Company, where he provided financial and legal advisory services in the fields of capital markets, taxation and private equity.
Uri is a CPA and a Lawyer, and holds B.A in Accounting (summa cum laude) and L.L.B (magna cum laude), both from Tel-Aviv University.
We don't do it for the awards, but we appreciate the recognition.
