View source for Yossi Vardi

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Joseph (Yossi) Vardi is one of Israel's early high-tech entrepreneurs. For over 40 years he has founded and helped to build over 60 high-tech companies in a variety of fields, including software, energy, Internet, mobile, electro-optics and water technology.

==Entrepreneurial activities==
At the age of 26, in 1969, he co-founded and was CEO of Tekem, one of the first software houses in Israel (which was sold to Tadiran, went public and now is part of Ness). Vardi also co-founded Alon oil company, International Laser Technologies (ITL, which went public) and Granite Hacarmel (went public).

Vardi is an early stage "angel," actively engaged in founding and helping young internet companies. In 1996 he was the founding investor of Mirabilis, the company which created ICQ, the first Internet-wide Instant messaging, and which was sold to Yahoo for over 400 million dollars. Other companies he invested in or helped to build include: Answers.com (went public), Gteko (sold to Microsoft), Airlink (sold to Sierra Wireless), Tivella (sold to Cisco), Scopus (went public), CTI2 (sold to Audiocodes), Foxytunes (sold to yahoo), Tucows (went public), and Starnet (sold to IAC/InterActiveCorp). He also invested in Wibiya (a web search engine aggregator,) SeeToo (a social viewing site,) Come2Play (a social gaming site,) fring, speedbit, Cellogic (developer of a widget engine for mobile platforms) and BloggersBase (a discovery platform for premium UGC).

==Government and industrial career==
Vardi served as Director General of the Ministry of Development (at the age of 27). He served as the chairman of Israel Chemicals (at the age of 28), of Mifaley Tovala, of Harsit and Hol Zach, and as a member of the boards of Israel Electric Corporation, Dead Sea Works, Dead Sea Bromine, Dead Sea Periclase, Haifa Chemicals, Chemicals and Phosphates, and others. He also chaired the Oil Explorations Concessions Council and Fertilizers Development Council.

He was then sent to the U.S. to serve as the Director of the Investment Authority in North America, and Consul For Economic Affairs of the State of Israel in New York. Upon returning to Israel he served as the first Director General of the Ministry of Energy. Vardi also chaired the Israel National Oil Company, and was member of the board of the Oil Refineries Ltd. During his tenure Israel discovered and developed oil fields in the Gulf of Suez.

==Kinnernet==
To help foster a culture of innovation and creativity in Israel and abroad, Vardi founded Kinnernet, an annual three-day gathering of creative people from all over the world at the shores of the Lake of Gallilee.

==External Links==
*Wikipedia bio: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yossi_Vardi
*Crunchbase profile: http://www.crunchbase.com/person/yossi-vardi
*Vardi's Kinnernet page: http://kinnernet.editme.com/yossivardi
*Kinnernet 2008: http://2008.kinnernet.com

[[Category:People]]