(Another?student view of Teva Pharmaceuticals, Google, TASE and BetterPlace)
Our day began with a visit to the modest headquarters of Teva Pharmaceuticals where we met with the VP of Corporate IP and Legislative Affairs: Yehudah Livneh. I was shocked to discover that the building was not owned, but rented.? Livneh attributed Teva?s success to the motto of former CEO Eli Horowitz: investment in people, not buildings. Livneh first regaled us with his personal journey as an American undergrad studying biochemistry in Israel to becoming the founder of the patent department at Teva in 1990. He then informed us of Teva?s transformation from a small store ran by three pharmacists into the global leader in generic pharmaceuticals with production sites in 25 countries. Teva now earns only 5% of its revenue from sales in Israel, yet it still stands as a model for start-ups by demonstrating that it is possible to become a world leader without leaving Israel.
Next, our group found ourselves at Google where we met with Amir Shevat who works in Developer Relations. This building, distinct from Teva, featured cutting-edge interior design that mirrored the high-tech atmosphere at the company. As an American firm in Israel, Google is the second largest employer (with 300 employees), employs the most engineers and is the most perceived brand in the country. I was curious to find out if there had been an Israeli search engine present in Israel prior to Google?s arrival, but I was informed that prior companies such as Walla were merely index engines. The Google incubator in Tel-Aviv fosters creativity and success of start-ups by using the 20% plan that encourages ?Googlers? to spend one day a week working on an independent project. Well-known outcomes of this strategy include Gmail and our speaker?s very own ?Buddhist Meditation? app. We closed with a tour of the building.
We spent the next hour wandering around the market in enjoying the best pomegranate and chicken shwarma that Tel Aviv?s back alleys have to offer.? After lunch break, we made our way to the Tel-Aviv Stock Exchange to meet with Kobi Avramov. In St. Louis, our class learned about the resilience of the Israeli market, yet it was fascinating to hear from an employee of TASE about how despite a troubled economy, Israel?s GDP grew 4.7% in 2011 and the GDP per capita is in the top 80% of the OECD average. It is difficult to believe that Israel was not named a fully developed nation by MSCI until May 2010. Now the biggest task of companies is to ?market Israel? as a desirable location for further investment.
We ended our business day at BetterPlace with Scott Mortman, Director of Global Business Development. At the location of the world?s first economically efficient electric car, we learned about founder Shai Agassi?s vision of a gasoline-independent world. Due to Israel?s size and condensed population, it is the ideal site to invoke such a paradigm shift. Aside from the environmental, geopolitical, and economic benefits of ceasing gasoline consumption, the cars drive silently because they run solely on lithium batteries. Our class had the opportunity to test drive these beautiful automobiles around the track, however I was disappointed to learn that the cars will not be available in American markets for several years.?
Saul Singer also made an appearance at BetterPlace to discuss his book Start-Up Nation with us. He informed us that one of the greatest moments was when the book was translated into Hebrew so that Israeli readers could become aware of the nation?s strengths. According to Singer, the three ways Israel can still continue to improve are by continuing to attract large investors from the US (such as Google), by solving global problems in Israel and then scaling the technology to a global level (such as with Better Place), and by appealing to emerging markets.
Our night concluded with a family-style dinner with Lone Soldiers. I sat at a table with Yoni and Maya, two 24 year old soldiers from California. It was incredible to discover how much we had in common with them and I really appreciated hearing about voluntary military life from the perspective of peers. This trip is primarily focused on the business sector of Israel, however this meal served to provide an understanding of the cultural context of the nation. I am eager to discover everything Israel has to offer our group this week.
Monica ? Arts & Sciences ? Freshmen ? Florida
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