Amir Gal Or

Biography

Gal-Or was born on September 5, 1962, in Haifa, Israel. His parents, Leah and Benjamin, are professors at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology. Gal-Or's mother specializes in chemistry and materials; his father specializes in machinery. Gal-Or attended the Hebrew Reali School in Haifa, where he graduated from the Science-Physics Department. Gal-Or earned a BSc in economics and business management from the University of Haifa and an MBA from Tel Aviv University. Later he graduated from Harvard University's program in venture capital and private equity investments.

Gal-Or has four children: Raz, Amit, Talia and Hila.

Air force career

Gal-Or served as a combat pilot in the Israeli Air Force (IDF/AF) for 24 years, flying the F-4 Phantom, F-16 and A-4 Skyhawk. He was also a member of the IDF/AF aerobatic team. On October 16, 1986, he flew in the same formation with Israeli MIA navigator/weapon systems officer (WSO) Ron Arad, who went missing that day. Gal-Or is retired from active reserve duty and serves as an instructor in the military flying school.

Business career

Gal-Or's career as a private entrepreneur began at the Technion incubator in 1990 upon completing seven years of army service. He returned home to Haifa, registered at the University of Haifa and, together with his mother, established two materials companies: TAN, developing high-grade refractory ceramic oxides, and a venture with the largest Israeli fuels company: Paz Oil Company. Eventually, the latter venture integrated with Paz in exchange for royalties, and TAN was sold. In 1994, Gal-Or was nominated as a manager of Mati Ra'anana, a business development center in Ra'anana jointly established by the JDC, the Ministry of Absorption, the Israel Small and Medium Enterprise Authority (ISMEA), ESRA organization, and the Ra'anana Municipality. Mati Ra'anana provides professional consulting services, business plan formulation, professional business training, on-going consulting and mentoring, and assistance in obtaining the necessary funding to realize the goals set in the business plan assistance to small and medium sized businesses, and technological start ups. Gal-Or founded a special forum for startup ventures in Mati Ra'anana.

In 1998, Gal-Or switched to venture capital and helped found Infinity Group. In 2002 the Office of the Chief Scientist (OCS) of Israel began a program to privatize the technology incubators. Under the umbrella of Infinity, Gal-Or founded Maayan Ventures, a publicly traded company, where he serves as chairman. Maayan, headquartered in Beersheva, is a working partner of the Israeli government for seed investments and manages more than 60 investment holdings. Infinity also operates technology incubators in Dimona and Sde Boker and is purchasing a share in the incubator in Ofakim. Each incubator has a specialization and Infinity provides them with services and support.