About

N-trig’s Chairman of the Board since 2005, Benjamin Kahn serves as CEO for Atlantium Technologies. Chosen as a “Hero of the Environment” in 2007 by Time Magazine, Mr. Kahn is passionate about improving water quality and security around the globe. In addition to his environmental activities, he serves as president of Coral World International Ltd., an owner/operator of marine parks worldwide that specializes in creating ecologically friendly tropical life systems in symbiotic environments. During the past decade, Mr. Kahn has initiated and led the development of Maui Ocean Center, the world-renowned Hawaiian aquarium, and Palma Aquarium, which opened in Spain in 2007 and set a new standard for aquariums in Europe.

In addition to his substantial management background in aquaculture, Mr. Kahn has an extensive portfolio of investments in technology companies in many different fields, including education, computer software, life sciences and touch screen technologies. He leads them from a sustainability perspective, and keeps a focus on the mission from startup through commercial success.

Boaz Dinte

Boaz Dinte is a managing partner at Evergreen Venture Partners and founding manager partner at Qumra Capital. He serves on the boards of N-trig, Pontis and QualiSystems, and is an observer in eASIC.

Since joining Evergreen in 1996, Mr. Dinte has initiated and led 26 investments, including Exalink (acquired by Comverse), Metalink, P-cube (acquired by Cisco), BigBand, Dune Networks (acquired by Broadcom), Envara (acquired by Intel) and Aeroscout (acquired by Stanley Black & Decker). He previously served as corporate business development manager for M-Systems Ltd. (acquired by SanDisk). Mr. Dinte holds a B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering from the Technion and an M.B.A. (magna cum laude) from Tel Aviv University.

Don Kirby

Don Kirby is a management advisor with a focus on emerging fabless semiconductor companies. In addition to N-trig, he has served as an independent board member for several Silicon Valley start-ups, including Validity Sensors and Gtronix. Assignments include Intel, Siport, Gtronix, Waveconnex, and Validity.

Mr. Kirby served as interim CEO of Validity from 2007 through March 2009. In this role, he refocused the company strategy and business model to focus on revenue growth in the PC and mobile markets. Prior to joining Validity, he served as General Manager and Senior Vice President at Synaptics Inc.,  where he led revenue and profit growth initiatives that resulted in market share leadership and a successful IPO.

Mr. Kirby served for 28 years with National Semiconductor Corporation in a variety of senior positions, including: Managing Director of National’s Wafer Fab Operations in Salt Lake, Israel and Texas; Co-General Manager of the LAN Division; Vice President of the Technology and Strategic Planning Group, and Vice President of the Design Technology and Support Groups.

Izhar Shay

Izhar Shay serves as general partner of Canaan Partners Israel, having headed up the Israel office since 2006. He has led Canaan’s investments in promising Israeli tech start-ups such as N-trig and LiveU, and until recently served as a board member for Prime Sense (acquired by Apple).

Mr. Shay has more than 20 years of operational experience as a successful entrepreneur. He previously served as Chairman and CEO of V-Secure Technologies, which was acquired by RadWare in 2005. Prior to V-Secure, Mr. Shay was CEO and Co-founder of Business Layers, which was acquired by Netegrity in 2003.

In addition to N-trig, Mr. Shay serves on the board of directors of the IATI – Israeli Advanced Technology Industries Association, as well as Ort Israel Sci-Tech, the largest network of science and technology schools in Israel. He writes a weekly column in Globes, Israel’s leading financial newspaper, and is a frequent speaker on Israeli TV and radio, as well as various industry conferences. Mr. Shay is the founder of “Start-Up Stadium,” the largest online community for high-tech entrepreneurs in Israel. He holds a B.Sc. in Electronics Engineering from the Technion Institute in Haifa, Israel, and served as a paratrooper and officer in the Israeli army.

Nili Lesnik

Nili Lesnik is the CEO of Aurum Group. Prior to joining Aurum in 2012, she led major European and Australian campaigns for Elbit Systems’ Land and C4I divisions. She also served as a consultant for Elbit Systems Group’s subsidiary companies, providing high level commercial support with emphasis on cutting-edge procurement methods that were assimilated in local and international marketing business processes.

In 2006, Ms. Lesnik completed 16 years of service in the IAF, retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel. She held numerous professional positions in the IAF Budget Department, including Head of the Planning & Economics Division and Head of the Sales Division. Ms. Lesnik holds a B.A. in Economics and a M.Sc. in Industrial Engineering & Management from Ben-Gurion University.

Eilat Baras

Eilat Baras is leading Tamares Capital activity in Israel and serves on the boards of several Tamares portfolio companies.  She is responsible for the firm’s investments, as well as business development activity for its subsidiaries in Israel. Prior to joining Tamares in 2007, Eilat served as a senior project manager with TASC Strategic Consulting. In this capacity, she led strategic and financial projects for key players in various sectors in the Israeli market in. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics and Statistics (magna cum laude) and an MA in Economics from Tel Aviv University.