Introduction
Born and raised in Tel Aviv, Israel, I have always been interested in the world of mergers, acquisitions, investments and everything in between - even as a young child. Some of my childhood memories include reading the financial newspapers on a daily basis, searching for what deals were closed and how much money will change hands. The next thing was to try and look up what was the profit the seller gained and why was the buyer willing to pay that much. Frankly, it wasn’t easy. Looking from the sidelines, you miss a lot of context. Alongside my interest in finance, I have always had a strong curiosity for law. After all, these two areas are greatly intertwined, and every deal has to make both financial and legal sense. When it was time for academia, it only made sense for me to choose a path that combined both; a dual-major bachelor’s degree in law and business.
Today, I’m leading the entire legal GTM efforts for the Americas market (North America + LATAM) for a cybersecurity startup as a legal specialist, a unique position allowing me to combine some of my favorite topics, including law and business.
career options
skills
What are the main hard skills you use on a daily basis in your current job?
This is a core skill required, as it is used on literally a daily basis; Interpreting financial statements to assess company performance and valuation, as well as building and analyzing financial models, including discounted cash flow (DCF), comparative analysis, and accretion/dilution models.
This is an invaluable skill, used for identifying opportunities, competitor analysis, and viability assessment are key – all these are crucial capabilities to understanding the competitive landscape and scouting new opportunities, as well as for validating business recommendations aimed at in-organic growth. Thorough market research is the basis for any good, actionable strategic planning.
For a corporate development professional, every opportunity is a new project. The capabilities of leading cross-functional teams, coordinating different stakeholders, setting milestones and enforcing timelines are crucial for a successful project. While working an opportunity, you’ll need to bring on board a whole team, including internal stakeholders, such as C-levels, Finance, R&D and Product teams as well as external ones, like lawyers or bankers, and making sure they are all aligned is highly important in order to bring the project to fruition.
What are the main soft skills you use on a daily basis in your current job?
One must be able to see the ‘big picture’, anticipate trends and market dynamics. Pursuing an opportunity is a lengthy process that takes longer than the consummation of a deal, and should also consider any necessary future Intergrations and general time to market. One should also consider other opportunities running concurrently and the company’s forward-facing strategic plan.
Problems, or ‘hiccups’, are an integral part of any complicated project. Having the ability to foresee as many as possible and the ability to quickly solve or work around them is a crucial skill when working in high-stakes situations.
The ability to clearly articulate complex ideas, craft a clear, concise and persuasive presentations, actively listen and understand other viewpoints (internal and external) and negotiate in a trust-building way are all key elements that will have a direct impact on whether an opportunity is successful or not.
’s personal path
Tell us about your personal journey in
:
After graduating from University, I was certain that I would pursue a career in investment banking or business management, leveraging my business degree and financial understanding. However, in Israel, there is a mandatory legal internship one must complete before sitting for the bar exam. With that in mind, I decided to first complete this internship, sit the bar exam and only then pivot into the business-oriented career I was aiming for. I interned in a leading law firm’s transactions department, working closely with a partner focused on real estate & international M&A transactions.
Upon completing the internship, passing the bar exam and obtaining the prestigious attorney license, I figured it was time for me to start chasing the career I wanted. I was offered an analyst position with KPMG, a highly reputable accounting and advisory firm, working on the business valuation team of the Israeli branch’s Deal Advisory department. I decided it was a good place to start, learn and gain exposure to some of the most interesting transactions in the Israeli market.
From there, I moved up the ranks to a Senior Associate on the M&A team. Over the years at KPMG, I focused on working with entrepreneurs and multinational corporations, from sourcing deals, crunching numbers and justifying those ‘crazy’ amounts I used to read about in the newspapers. When one of our customers, a world-renowned Private Equity firm looked into buying major financial business, I found myself working closely with the target’s law firm, using both my legal knowledge and financial experience.
Although this target company didn’t end up with my customer, the year-long process allowed me to gain invaluable experience and insights, which led me to move back to the ‘other team’ and move back to the practice law and work with some of the world’s leading PEs and VCs on their endeavors in the Israeli market.
What would you tell your younger you regarding building your current career?
If I could speak to my younger self about building my current career, I would say this: You can never truly predict where your journey will take you. While it’s important to have long-term goals to provide direction, don’t get too caught up in rigidly defining your path. Instead, focus on doing your best in every role you take on. Every position is a chance to learn, grow, and build skills that might surprise you by becoming crucial later. Treat every experience as an opportunity to shape your story, even if it doesn’t seem connected to your ultimate goals at first. Take chances and embrace the unexpected. Say yes to opportunities that push you out of your comfort zone, even if they come with risks of failure. Fear of failing can be paralyzing, but it’s often in those moments of uncertainty that you learn the most and grow the fastest. Mistakes and setbacks are inevitable, but they’re also stepping stones.
Final thoughts & tips
In conclusion, don’t let fear stop you from moving forward. Trust yourself, stay curious, and be open to possibilities—because the best parts of your career might just be the ones you never planned for.
