Rafi Ton, Founder & CEO
Mr. Ton brings to NewACT a rich background in international business development and sales. Prior to founding NewACT, he served as the business manager of the Instant Messaging and Presence business unit at Comverse (Nasdaq:CMVT.PK) where he was responsible for all commercial and business development activities. Prior to joining Comverse, Rafi was VP Asia Pacific and head of Business Development at Followap, now part of NeuStar (NYSE:NSR), where he managed the expansion of Followap to Asia and formed its alliances with handset vendors, Value Added Resellers and OEM channels. Previously, Mr. Ton worked for the law offices of Eitan, Pearl, Latzer and Cohen-Zedek, specializing in intellectual property law, corporate law and venture capital investments.
Rafi holds an LLB degree from the Haifa University.
Yoad Gidron, Founder & CTO
Mr. Gidron is a recognized technology leader and authority in the mobile industry. Prior to founding NewACT, Yoad served as the CTO of the Integrated Messaging and Data Infrastructure division at Comverse (Nasdaq:CMVT.PK). In this capacity, Yoad led the long-term strategic planning and evaluation of new technologies and market trends. Previously, Yoad was co-founder and CTO of Mobilitec, provider of mobile content management and delivery solutions, acquired in 2006 by Lucent (NYSE:ALU). In this capacity Yoad led the design and technology direction of Mobilitec's offering. Prior to Mobilitec, Yoad held various positions in the IBM Research Laboratory in Israel where he designed, and subsequently implemented large-scale distributed software systems.
Yoad holds a B.Sc. (Cum Laude) and M.Sc. in Computer Science from the Technion, Israel Institute of Technology.
Zur Yahalom, VP Sales and Marketing
Mr. Yahalom brings to NewACT an intimate knowledge of the mobile Value Added Services market. Prior to joining NewACT Zur spent seven years with Comverse (Nasdaq:CMVT.PK), a world leader in Value Added Services for the telecom industry, in various sales and marketing management positions. Zur drove Comverse SMS business from a non-player position to become a recognized market leader. In his last role, Zur led the sales of the Comverse Messaging and Content businesses in EMEA with annual revenues in excess of $100M.Prior to Comverse, Zur held various project management and R&D positions at Scitex (now part of Kodak) and Kulicke & Soffa (NASDAQ:KLIC)
Zur holds a B.Sc. Summa Cum Laude and MBA from the Technion, Israel Institute of Technology.
Roy Erez, VP Business Development and GM North America
Mr. Erez leads the company's global corporate and business development efforts as well as heads the US office and overall North America activities. Prior to NewACT, Roy was the VP of Business Development for iSkoot, the leading mobile VoIP and Internet solution provider, where he was instrumental in guiding overall business and corporate strategy and initiatives from early on and responsible for the company's strategic customers and partners. Previously, he spent seven years with Cedar Fund, a prominent Israel-related venture capital firm, where he invested in companies in the mobile, Internet, software and telecommunication industries.
Roy holds an MBA with high distinction from Columbia Business School in New York City.
Avinoam Bernstein, VP Engineering
Mr. Bernstein brings to NewACT the expertise of a veteran research and development manager for mobile technologies. Prior to his appointment at NewACT, Avinoam served as VP Engineering at Followap, now part of NeuStar (NYSE:NSR), where his duties included managing the R&D, QA & Professional Services groups. Avinoam was responsible for the development and delivery of Followap's Presence & Instant messaging solutions to global mobile operators.
Prior to Followap Avinoam was VP Engineering at Tundo, a leader in delivering IP Telephony systems. Previously, Avinoam held various positions in Telrad Networks, culminating in Division Manager, responsible for all software deliverables for Telrad's PSTN products.
Gad Cnaan, COO
Mr. Cnaan brings to NewACT more than 20 years of experience in international finance and operations management. Gad was CFO and G&A manager for Followap, now part of NeuStar (NYSE: NSR), CFO of Celletra, acquired in 2006 by Unity Wireless Corp. and financial manager of Galtronics, a leader in innovative antenna solutions for mobile phones. Gad brings vast experience in managing and directing finances through the corporate life cycle from start-up and fund raising, through contract and risk management, to established and profitable organizations.
During his career, Gad has setup subsidiaries in the USA, China and Europe.
Gad holds a BA in Economics and MBA (Cum Laude), from the Hebrew University.
Ziv Orovan, VP Professional Services
Mr. Orovan brings to NewACT years of experience in management and design of telecommunications software solutions. Prior to joining NewACT, Ziv was chief architect for Comverse (Nasdaq:CMVT.PK) Converged Messaging division were he lead the design of the company's messaging evolution towards IMS. Previously, Ziv managed a group of 40 developers in Comverse MMS division, driving new releases focusing on increased performance and efficiency. Previously Ziv served in a number of R&D management positions at Emblaze Systems (LSE:BLZ.L), EverAd and NetManage (NASDAQ: NETM) where he led worldwide R&D operations and QA.
