MEET OUR TEAM
50:50 Startups Staff
Shai Friedman
CEO
Shai is the CEO of 50:50 Startups, where he drives innovation and collaboration in the Israeli-Palestinian entrepreneurial landscape. Previously, he served as COO of Lives, overseeing Fundraising, strategic initiatives, and operations. Before that, Shai was the Director & Fundraiser at Keren Hayesod UIA Germany, establishing a new regional presence and enhancing fundraising efforts through strategic partnerships and events. Shai also held market development roles for companies like Guardicore and Kenshoo, where he led sales infrastructure and multicultural teams to consistently exceed targets. His background includes serving as a Parliamentary Aid in the Israeli Knesset and managing projects in the entertainment industry. He holds a B.A. in Media & Management from Open University in Jerusalem and qualifications in Communications and Journalism.
Marwan Meqbil
Director
Marwan is the Director of 50:50 Startups. He has over a decade's experience liaising between the tech sector and non-governmental organizations as a Project Manager. He also has extensive experience in the Palestinian innovation ecosystem across multiple sectors, including four years as Program Coordinator for the Palestinian Internship Program (PIP), matching Palestinian professionals with high-tech internships at Israeli companies. Marwan also has experience working in the conflict resolution arena with the Center For Emerging Futures (CEF) NGO. He holds a bachelor's degree in Information Technology from Palestine Polytechnic University and is currently pursuing a master's degree in Entrepreneurial Operations: Launching a Startup.
At 50:50 Startups, we believe that Arabs and Jews should be equal partners, which is why our Board is composed of Palestinians and Israelis, as well as international experts from across the world. Their experiences include corporate management, academia, and investing, representing CEOs, professors, and key plays in the global tech startup ecosystem.
Board of Directors
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Eran Heyman
Founder of Ericom Software, a leader in cybersecurity and virtualization, with clients including Fortune 100 companies. Eran brings more than 20 years of technical and business experience in the software industry in the US, Israel, and APAC. Ericom was acquired by Ericsson in 2023 to become its cybersecurity business unit.
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Ely Sandler
Economist and strategist with wide experience in financial services and technology. Ely worked for many years within Morgan Stanley's senior management and has a background in international capital markets. He has also worked raising capital and advising on strategy for startups, particularly in the renewable energy space.
Areen Salman
R&D Manager at Nokia, a mentor, and an advisor. Areen is highly experienced in telecommunication software and cloud-based products. She has 18 years of experience in global corporations, managing diverse and multicultural teams. Areen holds a B.Sc in computer science from the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology.”
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Amir Grinstein
Professor of Marketing at Northeastern University, Boston. Amir specializes in marketing for the greater good (e.g., health communication, sustainability, non-profit organizations), the marketing of startups, and country branding.
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Inbal Shenfeld
Startup Angel investor, having previously held senior HR and operations positions at Intel, Comverse, and Veolia Environment, overseeing their activities in Israel, Europe, and Asia. Inbal is also a founder of a dynamic medical device startup.
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Ghada Abu Ta’a
Director at Elevation Ventures, a not-for-profit company - an incubator for innovation and scalable solutions that address emerging market challenges and opportunities. Ghada is an active member of the Palestinian and Israeli ecosystems with over 12 years of experience in management and providing consulting services.
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Ruud Kronenburg
Professor of Marketing & Organizational Development at ICD (Paris) and a visiting professor at Birzeit University. Ruud has extensive senior-level international Fortune 100 business management experience, as well as essential people development expertise.
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Liz Cohen
Vice President of Marketing & Investor Community at OurCrowd, a leading global venture investing platform and VC with branches across the world. Liz has worked with dozens of startups and companies both in Israel and abroad, consulting brands at the pre-funding stage as well as established revenue-generating companies.
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Hans Shakur
Mr. Hans Shakur is a Tech and Social Entrepreneur, recognized for his roles as an Innovation Strategist and Business Catalyst, with specialized expertise in Ecosystem Building and Inclusive Economic Growth. Additionally, he serves as a board member, lecturer, mentor, and public speaker.
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Yousef Khalidi
Yousef Khalidi is a Corporate Vice President at Microsoft.
He is a member of the team that conceived and built Microsoft Azure, which is one of the biggest hyperscale public clouds in the world. He has served in several engineering, architectural, product management, and operational leadership roles in Azure over the years.
These prominent professionals help our participants develop their ventures to the best of their ability. Mentorship is a crucial part of the 50:50 Startups participants' journey, and we are proud to present some of them.
