Presidential posting for Levy

AFTER five successful years serving as Israel’s trade commissioner to Australia and New Zealand, Ethy Levy returned to Israel last week to prepare for her prestigious new role of senior economic advisor in the office of Israeli President Reuven Rivlin.

The passionate promoter of Australia-Israel business and investment ties – which reached an all-time peak under her watch – is also looking forward to continuing to be active in that space through another important appointment.

Levy will also be the CEO in the Israeli office of Australian impact investment firm the Blue River Group, which is working closely in Israel’s agri-tech sector with a focus not only on achieving commercial returns on investments, but delivering positive, measurable impacts on society and the environment.

She told The AJN that out of all the postings around the world with the Israel’s Ministry of Economy, her time in Australia was “the most meaningful” for her and she will miss Australian and its people dearly.

But she is equally excited about beginning both of her new high profile roles.

“I start in September,” Levy said, “and I will also continue my work of connecting Australian organisations to the Israeli innovation ecosystem and act as a bridge for Israeli companies looking to do business in, or seek capital in, Australia.”

Levy said she feels lucky to have served in Australia “in the most active period in terms of Israel-Australia economic activity” but feels what’s been achieved is just the tip of the iceberg.

“There have been several firsts during my time in Australia, which culminated in the first ever visit of an acting Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, together with over 20 leading [Israeli] CEOs.

“One of the main highlights of my term, which many people refer to as the tilting point in the relationship, was the launch of the Bridge Summit, bringing some of Israel’s most brilliant minds to Australia, like USB inventor Dov Moran.

“The idea was to expose Israel to specific sections of the Australian business community, and it led to lots of investment between the two countries.”

Levy said other highlights included working closely with the Trans Tasman Business Circle and the Australian Securities Exchange to encourage more Israeli firms to establish a presence on our shores.

“The fact that today we have 16 Israeli companies listed on the ASX, mostly in the past 12 months, really shows that our markets are open to each other.

“We’ve also seen important contracts signed between our countries, like the Innovation and Technology Research and Development Agreement of Co-operation.

Shai Zarivatch will replace Levy as Israel’s Trade Commissioner to Australia and New Zealand, commencing at the end of August.

SHANE DESIATNIK