Over the course of her career, Brachie Sprung has been asked the question of who takes care of her children while she is working.
“I replied that the question was extremely offensive,” she told the Israeli magazine Calcalist, recalling a specific episode. “I am not the one to be on the street with signs but I want my place at the table. I don't want to be questioned if it's okay to have a place at the table and still have a family.”
Today, Sprung - 39 and a mother of three - is the Chief Communications Officer & Head of Investor Relations at aMoon, a global health-tech and life sciences investment fund based in Israel that manages over $1.3 billion.
Sprung, a member of aMoon's management team, works closely with more than 120 investors from around the world who are a mix of financial institutions, family offices, and successful entrepreneurs. Her main focus is supporting portfolio companies that are at the convergence of technology and biology. She works with these companies to refine their value propositions, build their brands and attract investor attention.
"Brachie's guidance has helped many portfolio companies navigate the complex world of HealthTech and secure the funding they need to thrive," aMoon's communication team shared with The Jerusalem Post.
In the past, she served as the senior international affairs advisor to Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat, before being sent to New York to established the International Office of Jerusalem Partnerships. She described that job that in an interview with Makor Rishon as “a little foreign ministry within the municipality.”
In her years in the US, Sprung became the face of Israel’s capital in the Big Apple and beyond, constantly engaging a variety of public figures, from Hollywood celebrities such as Woody Allen and Julia Roberts, to major philanthropists such as Sheldon Adelson and Lynn Schusterman.
Speaking with Makor Rishon, she revealed how she once met at a restaurant with the Academy Award winning filmmaker Woody Allen to discuss the possibility of him producing a movie in Jerusalem.
“Woody Allen looked at me and asked why I wasn’t eating, I told him I only ate kosher, and said ‘don’t worry – I’m managing.’ Allen thought for a moment and replied: ‘Shabbat is about to come in any minute. Are you planning to go back to your hotel room and eat cold kugel in the dark?’” she recalled. “Allen wrote a joke about me – for me that was worth everything.”
Perhaps, the root of Sprung’s drive to succeed is to be found in what she describes as a “special and unique” childhood: Sprung was raised by a single and newly religious father in the village of Mevo Modiin, attending all-girls Orthodox schools.
“The lucky thing in my career is I came in as an underdog, but I am hungry and I wasn't scared so people took a chance on me,” she told Calcalist.
The manager does not believe that being a woman affected her career.
“Gender wasn’t a thing when I grew up as my dad did mom roles,” she said.
However, she did have to overcome being immersed in an educational environment that did not support women having a seat at the table.
“My schools would be disappointed in where I am today, they wanted me to be smaller,” she remarked. “However, at home, there wasn't any of that. We were religious but progressive.”
At aMoon, Sprung manages relationships with the fund’s global investor base, strengthens and scales the company’s rapidly growing team, and oversees marketing, communications and brand strategy, working closely with the portfolio companies.
“I am here because I am good at what I do,” she told Calcalist. “It is always very matter of fact, I want to bring value because of who I am and not because of my gender”.
To other women working to build their careers, Sprung says “sit comfortably in your seat. There is something powerful in owning it and letting the noise go over your head.”
“Also, remember that the people who hold us back the most are usually ourselves,” she adds. “We are constantly finding reasons why not as opposed to why yes. Start being your biggest ally. Give yourself room to grow.”
Brachie Sprung will speak at the Jerusalem Post Annual Conference in New York on June 5. Tickets are available at www.jpost.com/AC23.