BIRD - Israel-U.S. Binational Industrial R&D Foundation Selects New Executive Director

TEL AVIV, Israel, Dec. 12, 2022 /PRNewswire/ --  The Board of Governors of the BIRD Foundation has selected Mr. Jaron Lotan to serve as the new Executive Director for the BIRD Foundation. Mr. Lotan will succeed Dr. Eitan Yudilevich, who has served in the position since 2006.

The BIRD Foundation promotes collaborations between U.S. and Israeli companies in various technological sectors for joint product development.  In addition to providing conditional grants of up to $1.5 million, the Foundation assists by working with companies to identify potential strategic partners and facilitate introductions.

Mr. Jaron Lotan brings to the Foundation many years of experience in key executive roles with leading technology companies. He currently serves as Vice Chairman of the Aaron Institute for Economic Policy at the Reichman University.

Ms. Mojdeh Bahar, Associate Director for Innovation and Industry Services at the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and co-Chair of BIRD's Board of Governors said: "We are very excited about the BIRD Foundation's future fostering innovation through cooperative R&D in advanced technology sectors. We thank Dr. Eitan Yudilevich for his efforts leading the Foundation and expanding its reach and impact through the establishment of the BIRD Energy and Homeland Security programs. Under his leadership, BIRD's grant funding diversified to include important sectors such as healthcare IT, pharmaceuticals, and environmental technologies and he helped increase the number of joint ventures between small and early-stage enterprises. We look forward to working with Mr. Jaron Lotan as we adapt to a changing innovation landscape in the U.S. and Israel."

Dr. Amiram Appelbaum, Chief Scientist, Chairman of the Israel Innovation Authority, and co-Chair of BIRD's Board of Governors said: "I would like thank Dr. Eitan Yudilevich the BIRD Foundation's Executive Director for his 17 years of leadership and successful orchestrating innovation collaborations between Israel and the U.S. In addition to the ongoing execution of the bilateral collaborations on innovation with the private sector, Eitan expanded the horizon of the BIRD Foundation to new areas, engaging the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Israel Ministry of Public Security, as well as the U.S. Department of Energy and the Israel Ministry of Energy. These activities raised the BIRD foundation's reputation as a strong anchor of the innovation and technology cooperation between the two countries. I would like to welcome Mr. Jaron Lotan as the new Executive Director of the BIRD Foundation. The fast-paced progress in science and technological innovations create new challenges and opportunities for more advanced collaborations between the U.S. and Israel, creating new opportunities for the BIRD Foundation to play a pivotal role in driving an extended vision and strategy, and leading to strengthening the binational collaboration on technology innovations and implementations. I wish Jaron and the BIRD foundation much success in leading BIRD to new heights."

Dr. Eitan Yudilevich, Executive Director (outgoing) of the BIRD Foundation, said: "It has been a great privilege for me to serve as the Executive Director of BIRD for 17 years. I wish Mr. Lotan and the great BIRD team lots of success in fulfilling BIRD's mission, and I thank the Board of Governors for almost two decades of continued support." 

About the BIRD Foundation

The Israel-U.S. Binational Industrial Research and Development (BIRD) Foundation works to encourage and facilitate cooperation between U.S. and Israeli companies in a wide range of technology sectors and offers funding to selected projects. The Foundation supports projects without receiving any equity or intellectual property rights from the participating companies. BIRD funding is repaid as royalties from sales of products that were commercialized as a result of BIRD support. The Foundation shares the risk and provides funding of up to 50% of a project's budget, beginning with R&D and ending with the initial stages of sales and marketing.

Contact: 
Eitan Yudilevich, Ph.D.
[email protected]
Tel: +972-3-6988301

SOURCE The BIRD Foundation