Dr. Ami Appleboom, Chairman of the Innovation Authority and Chief Scientist at the Ministry of Economy and Industry.
Applebaum has over 35 years of experience as a scientist, entrepreneur, lecturer, senior business, operational and technological manager in one of the world’s leading hi-tech companies, and has a deep knowledge of the Israeli industry and the defense industry.
Applebaum worked at Rockwell International in Wisconsin; He managed the startup GAD which was involved in semiconductor development for gallium arsenide diodes and building marketing and sales systems for customers in the USA.
In 2002 he joined the global corporation KLA Tencor, which develops and manufactures systems for controlling semiconductor production processes. Later, he was appointed CEO of the Automation and Robotics Division of KLA Tencor Global, and managed the company’s operational system. Later, he was appointed President of KLA Tencor Israel and Vice President of the global corporation. In addition to his position at KLA Tencor, he served on the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee of Ort Brauda College in Karmiel, and on the Professional Advisory Committee of Jordan Valley College, in Zemach
During his military service, Appleboom served in classified technology units in the Intelligence Corps. Has a bachelor’s degree from the Faculty of Materials Engineering of Ben Gurion University; and has a master’s degree in materials engineering and a thesis supervised by Prof. Dan Shechtman; and holds a doctorate from the Department of Materials Engineering at the Technion in Haifa. His doctoral research was in the field of semiconductors. In addition, he holds an MBA for managers from Stanford University.