Business Scene

Uriel Lynn, President of the IFCC, recently added another feather in his cap when he was elected to the Eurochambres Executive Council.

By GREER FAY CASHMAN
uriel lynn 88 224 (photo credit: Courtesy)
uriel lynn 88 224
(photo credit: Courtesy)
EUROPE SHOULD exploit its proximity to the Middle East to create a global economic center through implementation of the European Neighborhood Policy, Uriel Lynn, president of the Israel Federation of Chambers of Commerce told the annual Eurochambres convention in Paris. Eurochambres is the umbrella organization for all the European chambers of commerce and industry. The gathering focused on Europe's economic policy in a competitive world, in particular in relation to the fast-paced development of China, India, Russia and South America. Lynn, who was speaking as a panelist in a forum dealing with ways in which Europe can enhance her relative advantage in a global environment, noted that signing agreements with countries in the region in general and with Israel in particular, would serve to maximize that relative advantage with regard to services and capital in human resources, and would thus enlarge Europe's share in the global market. Lynn noted that while Europe's share of export services stands at 9 percent, that of Israel stands at 13%. Lynn, who was recently elected unopposed to the presidency of the Federation, added another feather in his cap in Paris where he was elected to the Eurochambres Executive Council. MUCH HAS been published about the extraordinary triumphs of Israel's contestants in the Special Olympics who returned from China bearing many more medals than the sum total of medals won by Israelis in the regular Olympics throughout all the years in which they've been competing. What is less known is the number of business establishments that employ mentally challenged young people with a view to developing their capabilities, giving them a better sense of self esteem and, of course, an income that is not charity but rather something they have earned by working. One of the establishments that employs these youngsters is McDonald's Israel, whose CEO Omri Padan was heavily involved in helping to raise funds so the Special Olympics athletes could travel to China and bring honor and glory to Israel. Maurice Ohana, a Jewish community leader in China, prepared 10,000 bracelets with the Special Olympics logo and sent them to Israel. Padan distributed them through the McDonald's chain where they were sold and the proceeds allocated to the Special Olympics. The Spirit of Israel also contributed to the project. Last week, three of the medalists, Udi, Lynn and Tal, who also happen to be McDonald's employees, came by to share their success with Padan in the McDonald's branch in the Ayalon Mall in Ramat Gan, along with people from various organizations who helped them along the way. XEROX INTERNATIONAL has announced the appointment of Vili Fine as Office Business Executive Director - the third Israeli to be promoted to an executive position in the company's roof body in the past year. He was preceded by Yoram Levanon and Omri Schwartz who were transferred to Brazil and London. For the past four years, Fine, 40, headed the office division of Xerox Israel. His promotion was lauded by Alex Remez, CEO of Xerox Israel, who said the promotion of Xerox Israel personnel to Xerox branches abroad, was a sign of the recognition by the parent company of Israel's management capability. Fine will be replaced by Doron Melamed, 45, who three years ago joined Xerox Israel's marketing division. Three other local appointments that will be become effective on November 1 are those of Yaron Peretz to Distributors Manager, Einav Medina, Channels Manager, and Sharon Naveh as Sales Manager. BRITISH HOTEL entrepreneur David Lewis, who owns the Isrotel chain of hotels, and can be credited with having played a major role in the development of the tourism industry in Eilat, hosted President Shimon Peres during the latter's two-day visit to Eilat at the end of last week. Peres was in the southern resort area primarily to participate in the 50th anniversary celebrations of Kibbutz Yotvata, which continues to maintain a commune lifestyle, despite its urban income generator of dairy restaurants in various parts of the country. While in Eilat, Peres attended a dinner presided over by Lewis at the Royal Beach Hotel, which is part of the Isrotel chain. Lewis, who has known Peres for many years and has met with him on numerous occasions, said he had been waiting for a long time for Peres to become president and he was glad it had finally happened. The dinner was attended by some 100 of Eilat's most prominent residents. ATTORNEY AND television personality Pnina Dvorin has joined the board of directors of Netvision which is part of the IDB group controlled by Nochi Dankner. Dvorin will function as an external director and will receive NIS 2,500 for every meeting she attends. ANOTHER ATTORNEY and Notary Public, Michel Znaty, 44, who heads the French desk in the law firm of Eldad Yaniv and Partners has been appointed legal adviser to the French Embassy as well as to the French Consulate General, which is one of the larger French Consulates in the world. Of some 100,000 French citizens living in Israel, 40,000 are registered at the Consulate. Znaty has provided legal services for a large number of these French citizens, and this came to the attention of the Embassy and the Consulate General. MACCABI HEALTHCARE Services has received a special grant from the European Union in recognition of its research and development advances. Maccabi director-general Ehud Kokia received a special citation from EU Ambassador Ramiro Cibrian Uzal. The purpose of the research is to help develop an international network that can predict the dangers to public health from war, plague, natural disasters etc. Maccabi received its recognition for research undertaken in cooperation with the Health Ministries of Israel, Spain, Italy, Denmark, France and other institutions in pinpointing the dangers to public health that could arise from emergency situations. THE TECHNION has announced the appointment of two deputies to President Yitzhak Apeloig - Prof. Zvi Cochavi and Prof. Paul Feigin. Cochavi also has the title of director-general while Feigin is the senior deputy. Haifa-born Cochavi earned his first degree in electrical engineering at the Technion and subsequently completed his Master's degree and doctorate in the US, where he was a member of the electrical engineering faculty at MIT. He joined the Technion in 1970, and has served inter alia as Dean of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences. He also headed the Technion's research and development institute. Feigin who was born in Melbourne, Australia, holds a doctorate in statistics from the Australian National University in 1975. He has been at the Technion since 1976, serving as a member of the Faculty of Industrial Engineering and Management. He has been a member of the Public Council for Statistics, and was president of the Israel Statistical Association. NEW YORK-headquartered Agent Video Intelligence Inc. (Agent Vi), a provider of pure video analytics for business intelligence and enterprise security solutions, has been awarded the prestigious Detektor International Award 2007 for Innovative Achievement in CCTV Products. The awards were announced in conjunction with the opening of the Sectech Exhibition & Conference for security professionals in Stockholm, Sweden. Detektor is a leading security technology trade magazine for the EMEA market. Agent Vi, which is deployed in more than 25 countries, with sales, distribution and research and development operations around the globe, recently moved its expanded R&D staff to a spacious new research and development facility near Tel Aviv. "We're extremely grateful to receive this award from Detektor International in recognition of our technology," said Agent Vi CEO Buddy Flerl. "This distinction was underscored in the past year by the seventy-plus new customers in over 25 countries from the business intelligence and security surveillance sectors, and their loyal support of Agent Vi as a trusted provider of enterprise analytics software." Other winners in the Innovative Achievement category were: Axis Communication, Checkpoint Systems/Milestone Systems and Sony.