Business Scene

One of Israel's veteran wineries, Teperberg 1870, has appointed Benny Cohen-Weinberg, 39, as marketing manager.

By GREER FAY CASHMAN
moti teperberg 88 224 (photo credit: Courtesy )
moti teperberg 88 224
(photo credit: Courtesy )
ALMOST EVERY change of administration in a government ministry also brings about a change in senior staff. New ministers like to bring in their own people because they want to turn their own theories into practice and they don't necessarily want to be reminded of policies set by their predecessors. Thus spokespeople and media advisors come and go; some simply transfer from one government office to another, some accompany the minister as he or she switches portfolios or goes into private enterprise, and some join public relations firms, set up their own or find an entirely new profession. But there are some veterans such as Eli Yosef, spokesman for the Finance Ministry, and Haya Peri, spokeswoman for the Industry, Trade and Labor Ministry, who have outlasted a long succession of ministers and, like Tennyson's Brook, they could presumably go on forever. After 25 years, Yosef, who has served more than a dozen finance ministers, has decided that the time has come to step down. He has been feted with a merry-go-round of farewell parties, one of which was attended by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, a former finance minister who worked with Yosef not once, but twice. (Olmert took over the finance portfolio in the period between Avraham Hirschson's fall from grace and the appointment of Ronnie Bar-On.) Olmert is one of five prime ministers who have also served as finance minister. The others were Levi Eshkol, Shimon Peres, Yitzhak Shamir and Binyamin Netanyahu, who has held the portfolio three times. PROFESSOR EMERITUS of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Bracha Rager, was recently elected president of ORT Israel. A member of ORT Israel's board of directors, she succeeds Uzi Steinberg, CPA. Another of her predecessors in office was Chaim Herzog, Israel's sixth president. Prof. Rager, who has served as the Health Ministry's chief scientist, received the 2005 Sarov Prize for Excellence for her unique contribution to clinical research in microbiology. PENDING FINAL approval by the Channel 10 board of directors for him to succeed Gilad Adin as the director-general of Channel 10 News, Roudor Benziman, who up until now was Adin's deputy, will take over as acting director-general. THE RECENTLY elected chairman of the Israel Postal Company's workers union is Baruch Weizman, who heads all the operations of postal services in Tiberius. Weizman was previously deputy chairman under Reuven Karazi. Weizman, married and the father of seven, joined the IPC in 1967 when it was still the Israel Postal Authority. He started out as a postman pounding the pavement, and worked his way up through the ranks to his present position. He now represents some 6,500 workers in approximately 700 post office branches. THE NEW Glilot Outlet Mall on the site of the Tel Aviv Country Club is being headed by Lilach Dolev, 28. The mall is owned 50/50 by the Fishman Group and Silon Sport. Dolev was appointed by Yuvalim, which specializes in the marketing and management of shopping malls. AS PART of its expansion policy, Zevik Dror Public Relations has appointed Avshe Agassi, 28, as the company's general manager. CROCKER ISRAEL has appointed Yigal Oren, 42, as deputy CEO. Oren comes to Crocker from Fox, where he worked for two years, most recently as head of overseas business development. He previously headed the Fox chain of stores in Israel, when he set up the Fox Men division. The Crocker Israel franchise, which comprises 29 stores with total annual turnover of NIS 100 million, is owned by Ettie and David Levy. ONE OF Israel's veteran wineries, Teperberg 1870, has appointed Benny Cohen-Weinberg, 39, as marketing manager. Cohen-Weinberg has wide-ranging experience in branding, marketing and advertising. Previously known as Efrat, the winery, founded in 1870 by the Teperberg family in the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem's Old City, moved its operations to Motza in the early 1960s. Its products catered mainly to the Orthodox community. In the 1990s, it also started producing table wines. Five years ago it moved its production facilities to Kibbutz Tzora and began developing a wider range of wines. In line with its more sophisticated image, it also decided to capitalize on its vintage history and officially changed its name from Efrat to Teperberg 1870. Still owned by the Teperberg family, it is the fourth largest winery in Israel. THE TEL AVIV-Jaffa Academy has announced the appointment of Amir Feigenboim, 51, as head of information systems. Faigenboim is a Bar-Ilan University psychology and political science graduate. In his most recent position he was in charge of systems and statistics in the computer department of Clalit Health Services. ALONY, THE group that specializes in home, office and hotel décor utilizing a wide range of marble, Jerusalem stone, ceramics, terrazzo tiles and sanitary fittings, has announced the appointment of Gil Zilberman, 41, as deputy manager of its private sector. COFFEE TIME, which has the exclusive rights for distributing Gaggia coffee-making machines in Israel, has appointed Arik Sudai, 38, as the company's CEO. Sudai has an executive MBA in marketing from Bar-Ilan University. He will be responsible for the re-launching of Gaggia in Israel, and the building of an organizational infrastructure for marketing, sales, distribution, service and business development. TWO NEW appointments have been announced by Israir: Dori Shoshan, 48, is the new deputy head of marketing, and Hadas Margalit, 42, is the new deputy head of human resources. In addition to marketing the company's brand name, Shoshan will be responsible for reservations, customer services, contacts with travel agencies and image promotion. Margalit will be responsible for the social welfare of employees, manpower recruitment, training, instituting organizational norms and developing employee loyalty to the company. MULTILOCK HAS signed an agreement with the Castorama chain in Poland for the distribution of Multilock cylinders and locks in all of Castorama's 38 stores throughout Poland. Castorama is Poland's largest DIY chain. According to Multilock CEO Shimon Shekel, the NIS 1.2 million deal will enable Multilock to more than double its exports to Poland. Multilock's total exports to Poland in 2007 were NIS 1.5m., and the forecast for 2008 is NIS 3.2m. Multilock's total exports to Eastern Europe in 2007 were approximately NIS 40m. FEEDING THE hungry is a tough job for the various nonprofit organizations who have dedicated a large segment of their activities to acquiring and distributing food. Some of these organizations also distribute clothes, blankets and heaters. It's one thing for major companies to make a cash contribution to any of these organizations. It's a much more emotional experience when in addition to their monetary donations they also make a hands-on effort. That's what happened last week when 15 department managers of Israel Malls temporarily left their jobs in marketing, public relations and advertising, and showed up in Rishon Lezion to help Pitchon Lev (Open Heart) distribute food, clothing, toys, blankets and heaters to the needy. Israel Malls marketing manager Ben Dvash told Pitchon Lev chairman Doron Sheli that the Israel Malls Group saw itself as part of the community and recognized its responsibilities toward the community. WITH THE TEACHERS strike and that of university lecturers thankfully behind her, Education Minister Yuli Tamir was free to enjoy herself at a gala evening organized at Tel Aviv's Dan Panorma Hotel by the Israel Britain Chamber of Commerce in honor of David Lewis, the Lord Mayor of London, who was in Israel as part of a regional business tour to promote investment and joint ventures in the UK.