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Executive VP & Director General

Dr. Rafi Aviram

Tel

073-378-2906

073-378-2589

E-mail

evpdg@technion.ac.il

Fax

073-378-2777

The Executive Vice President & Director General of the Technion is responsible for a wide range of administrative functions. Direct responsibilities which are managed with a team of deputy Directors include operations and infrastructure, finance, human resources, and information technology. These areas encompass the entire Technion, including its various faculties, academic units, and administrative departments.

The purpose of the administrative system is to provide a high-quality, diverse, and skilled workforce capable of adapting to a changing environment and delivering effective services to meet the needs of the entire Technion community. Since May 2023, the management forum leads numerous projects to advance the Technion as a whole and the administrative system in particular.

By virtue of his position, the Executive Vice President & Director General serves on the Technion’s Board of Governors, the Central Committee, the Senate, and several professional committees, including the Academic Absorption Committee, the Steering Committee for Computing and Information Systems, and the Physical Development Committee. The Executive Vice President & Director General serves as the head of the Tender Committee and serves on the boards of the Technion Research and Development Foundation Ltd, the Samuel Neaman Institute, the Rappaport Institute, the Sports Center, and the Institute for Marine Engineering.

Contact Details

Office of the Executive Vice President & Director General

Irit Gertzwolf

Head Office

Bat-el Selekter

Administrative Assistant

Biography

Dr. Rafi Aviram serves as the Executive Vice President and Director General of the Technion since January 2023.

The Executive Vice President & Director General of the Technion is responsible for a wide range of administrative functions. Direct responsibilities which are managed with a team of Deputy Directors include operations and infrastructure, finance, human resources, and information technology. These areas encompass the entire Technion, including its various faculties, academic units, and administrative departments.

By virtue of his position, the Executive Vice President & Director General serves on the Technion’s Board of Governors, the Central Committee, the Senate, and several professional committees. In addition, he serves as a board member at Guangdong Technion Israel Institute of Technology, China and a board member at Jacobs Technion-Cornell Institute in New York City. Dr. Aviram functions as the Chairman of the board Coastal and Marine Engineering Research Institute.

Dr. Aviram joined the Technion after completing his role as Vice President and CEO of the Azrieli College and as Chairman of the Forum of CEOs of the Council of Heads of Public Colleges. Prior to that, he served for 8 years as the Executive Director of the Edmond and Lily Safra Center for Brain Sciences and was part of the founding team of the center at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

After being retired from the IDF in 2004 with the rank of Colonel, he worked for 4 years in New York as the Managing Director of the Friends of the IDF [FIDF] organization in the United States.

Dr. Aviram completed a bachelor’s degree in physics and Atmospheric Sciences, magna cum laude, from the Hebrew University, a Master’s degree, magna cum laude, in Business Administration [EMBA] from Tel Aviv University, and a Doctorate Degree in Professional Studies in Business [DPS] from the Lubin School of Business at PACE University in New York, USA.

Deputy Directors

Deputy Director General of Operations

Zehava Laniado

Zehava serves as the Deputy Director General of Operations at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, a public research university in Haifa that focuses on engineering and the exact sciences and offers programs in medicine and architecture. She reached this position after serving as the Assistant to the Executive Vice President and General Director of the Technion, and prior to that, she was the head of the Rappaport Faculty of Medicine Administration for 12 years. In these roles, she led projects and was responsible for the administrative management of extensive resources and infrastructure. Additionally, Zehava serves as the chair of the board of the Technion’s School for Adult Technicians, a trustee of the Maria Rossi Ascoli Memorial Fund in the Office of the General Guardian, a director on the board of the Technion Sports Center, a lecturer on management in parallel organizations, and a certified mediator. Under her leadership, the following units operate: the Construction and Maintenance Department, the Safety Unit, the Radiation Hazard Oversight Unit, the Security and Emergency Unit, and the Administration, Property, and Logistics Unit. She is also responsible for managing the relationship and operations with the Technion Student Association (AST) for both undergraduate and graduate students. Her main activities include leading complex strategic and organizational processes, meeting challenges at all levels while providing immediate responses to real-time changes and promoting and training managers and operational staff to strive for excellence and implement the Technion’s vision. Her role requires in-depth familiarity with the academic and administrative systems, managing complex issues in physical development and the ongoing operations of the Technion, expertise in negotiation and internal and external organizational interactions (such as with the Haifa Municipality, Nesher Municipality, Israel Land Administration, and colleagues at other universities in the country), crisis management, participation in mediation processes, and representing the Technion in legal proceedings. Zehava Laniado holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography and Bible studies, along with a teaching certificate for secondary schools. Additionally, she has a master’s degree from the Executive MPA program in Public Administration and Policy at the University of Haifa’s School of Political Science, Faculty of Social Sciences.

Deputy Director General of Operations site

Zehava Laniado

Etti Dawaraschvili

Head Office

Deputy Director General of Human Resources

Dalit Bizan

Dalit serves as the Deputy Director General of Human Resources at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, a public research university in Haifa that focuses on engineering and exact sciences and offers programs in medicine and architecture. Dalit was appointed to her position in July 2024 and has approximately 25 years of significant organizational experience in various fields of human resources, organizational development, and operations in senior roles across different types of organizations and industries, both local and global. Dalit brings extensive experience in planning and managing complex organizational processes, creating and implementing organizational infrastructures, organizational development, recruitment, designing and establishing compensation methods, collective labor relations, and working in a global work environment, as well as collaborating with management and boards of directors. In her most recent role, she served as Vice President of Resources at the Port of Haifa, where she was a senior partner in implementing reforms in the maritime ports. Prior to that, she held senior human resources positions at Thetaray, Mellanox, OTI, and DSP Group. Dalit holds a bachelor’s degree in political science with Honors and a Master’s degree (MBA) in Business Administration with a specialization in Management and Organizational Behaviour, both from Tel Aviv University.

General of Human Resources site

Dalit Bizan

Inbar De Goede

Head of the Office of the VP of Human Resources

Deputy Director General of Computing & Information Systems

Shoshi Levavi

Shoshi serves as the Deputy Director General of Computing and Information Systems at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, a public research university in Haifa that focuses on engineering and exact sciences and teaches medicine and architecture. Shoshi came to this position after serving as the Deputy Director General of Technology and Information Systems for the Haifa Municipality. Prior to that, she held positions at Clalit Health Services – as the Director of Computing and a member of the management team at Carmel Medical Center, and later as the Director of Staff and Planning in the Information Systems and Digital Division at Clalit’s headquarters. In all these roles, she managed large computing units that provided services to thousands of users, led major projects to upgrade and establish computing infrastructures and systems, and managed the implementation of tools and platforms in the digital and data fields. Additionally, Shoshi serves as a member of the board of directors of IUCC (Inter-University Computation Center), a non-profit organization that provides computing and technology services to universities and the academic sector in Israel. Under her management and responsibility, all units of the Computing and Information Systems Division at the Technion operate, providing infrastructure, communication, information security, development, and implementation of information systems and websites for all Technion bodies and institutions. Her main activities include addressing all technological and computing needs of the Technion, leading projects for the implementation of technological systems and tools to improve and streamline service and operational processes for all employees and students at the Technion, providing ongoing computing support for all users of computing systems at the Technion, and providing a comprehensive response to the growing cyber challenges. Shoshi Levavi is a Technion graduate through the Academic Reserve Program, holding a degree in Industrial Engineering and Management and an MBA in Business Administration.

General of Computing & Information Systems site

Shoshi Levavi

Suzie Eid

Administration Assistant

Deputy Director General of Finance

CPA Keren Berko

Keren serves as the Chief Financial Officer at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, a public research university in Haifa that focuses on engineering studies and exact sciences and teaches medicine and architecture. She came to this position after serving as the Chief Financial Officer at the Technion Research and Development Foundation Ltd., which is the Technion’s subsidiary, and led changes in processes work, managing the commercial knowledge and transferring research activity from the Technion R&D to the parent company, the Technion. Keren also serves as a director and as an observer in number of Israeli start-up companies originating from Technion technology, which was researched and developed at the Technion. She built up her experience and professional toolbox in various positions throughout her career. Keren served as the global CFO of Degania Medical, a global company engaged in the production of medical products from silicone. Prior to that, she held headquarters positions at Microsoft Israel and began her career in the financial world at Unilever Israel, a company for the production and marketing of food and personal care products, a company where she held several positions, which included accountant positions alongside economics positions and FP&A, and she was a partner in analyzing and dealing with cross-organizational processes. This, after an internship at EY, an accounting firm. Keren Berko, a CPA with a BA in accounting and economics and a MA in economics and finance, both from the University of Haifa. Lives in Haifa with her husband Gal, daughters Shahar and Zohar, her son Sahar and the dog Moka. Her love for photography is the balance and thread that connects all aspects of life, personal and professional, the creativity and refinement of the point of view on events that affect the professional and managerial daily life.

Finance site

CPA Keren Berko

Keren Berko

Sharon Laster-Zaguri

Office Head

Deputies to the Vice President and Director General

Deputy Vice President for Safety Matters

Prof. Yaron Paz

Yaron Studied for BSc (Chemical Engineering) at Technion, and obtained his MSc and PhD (Chemistry) at The Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel. Following performing Post-Doctoral research at The University of Texas at Austin, he joined the Department of Chemical Engineering at Technion in 1996, where he currently serves as a professor and as the holder of the Yitzhak Rabin Memorial Chair in Science, Engineering and Management of Water Resources. Professor Paz was a vice dean at the Department of Chemical engineering, a deputy dean for graduate studies and a safety officer at the same department. Yaron was a member of the library committee at Technion, a member of the Technion’s senate, the representative of the professors at the Technion’s Board of Governors and head of the Technion’s committee for the dissemination of theses. He served as the president of the Israel Vacuum Society (IVS) and as the vice president of the Israel Institute of Chemical Engineers (IIChE). The core of the scientific work of professor Paz is the utilization of the energy of light for carrying out chemical processes via the use of photocatalytic materials. Within this framework, Paz, (together with A. Heller), invented the “Self-Cleaning Glass” and contributed for many years to the understanding of the activity of photocatalysts as a mean for decontamination of water, air and surfaces. Currently, Yaron develops ways to obtain highly selective photocatalytic materials and devices, and acts to implement transient Infra-Red spectroscopy as a substantial scientific tool for the characterization and design of new photoactive materials. In parallel to his scientific activity, Yaron dedicates his time to prose writing. So far, he published two collections of short stories (“Shorties”, 2013; “The principles of a-morality”, 2015) and one novel (“The Six Days of Yonathan Yabbok”, 2023). Approximately forty of his short stories were published in a variety of literary journals as well as in five anthologies. At present, Yaron is engaged in writing his fourth book, whose plot takes place in a fictitious academic institution…

Prof. Yaron Paz

Deputy Vice President for Computing and Information Systems

Prof. Mark Silberstein

Mark Silberstein is a professor in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, and the head of the Accelerated Computing Systems Lab. His research spans a broad range of topics in computer systems, including future operating systems, next-generation computer networks, accelerated hardware architecture, and hardware security. His works have been published in leading international scientific venues, with some winning prestigious awards and some being adopted by the industry. He regularly serves on program committees of top international conferences, including as a program committee chair.