Board of Directors

Major General (ret.) Ami Shafran, has served since 2018 as a venture partner at Moneta Capital, an Israeli venture capital fund focused in the fintech and data sciences domains. Since 2013, Mr. Shafran has served as the head of the Cyber Innovation Center at Ariel University. From 2006 through 2011, Mr. Shafran served as Commander of the information, communications and cyber command (C41 of the Israel Defense Force). In 2002, Mr. Shafran served as head of the research and development unit of the Israeli Ministry of Defense, MAFAT (chief of science) and chief of staff of the Ministry of Defense and the Research and Development Attaché to the Israeli Embassy in Washington DC. Since 2017, Mr. Shafran has served as a director of Paz Group (TASE), and a non-executive chair of Elsight (Australian Stock Exchange or ASX), and since 2017 has served as head of the advisory board at Security Matters (ASX). Mr. Shafran served as Chairman of the Board of Pazkar Ltd. and Paz Lub Ltd., as a member of the board of directors of Waterfall Security Solutions and President of Enigmatos Ltd., an automotive cyber security company and other non-public companies. Mr. Shafran holds a B.Sc. degree in Electrical Engineering from the Ben Gurion University in Israel and a M.B.A. degree from the Tel Aviv University.

Mr. Aylon (Lonny) Rafaeli is a strategy and business development manager and consultant, and joined Gilat’s board of directors in 2016. From 2007 through 2012, Mr. Rafaeli was Director of Business Development at MST, a concentrated photo voltaic company. Prior to joining MST, Mr. Rafaeli was Managing Partner at E. Barak Associates, a strategic consulting company. Before this role, Mr. Rafaeli was Chief Executive Officer of Hasbro Israel (toys). Mr. Rafaeli is a member of the board of directors of the TALI Education Fund and a veteran association of an IDF elite unit.  Mr. Rafaeli also served in the past as a director of Lenox Investment and Azimuth Technologies. Mr. Rafaeli holds an Executive M.B.A. in Strategic Management from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Ms. Dafna Sharir is an Independent Consultant in the areas of mergers and acquisitions, and business development, and joined Gilat’s board of directors in 2016. Ms. Sharir served as Senior Vice President Investments of Ampal Corp. between 2002 and 2005. Prior to this, she served as Director of Mergers and Acquisitions at Amdocs, until 2002, before which she served as a tax advisor with Cravath, Swaine & Moore in New York from 1994-1996. Ms. Sharir is a director of Frutarom Industries Ltd. and served in the past as a director of Ormat Industries Inc. Ms. Sharir holds BA degrees in Economics and Law, both from Tel Aviv University, plus an LL.M. in Tax Law from the New York University, and an MBA from the European Institute of Business Administration (INSEAD), in Fontainebleau, France.

Ms. Hilla Haddad Chmelnik is a senior executive with extensive experience in the public and private sectors, specializing in strategic leadership of complex projects in the fields of innovation, transportation, and space technologies. Since 2023, she has served as Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer of Moonshot, a startup developing an innovative electromagnetic launcher for raw materials and cargo to space. Ms. Haddad Chmelnik also led strategic and fundraising efforts at DOTS, an agri-tech company, and since 2023 has served as an external director at NextGen Biomed Ltd. (TASE). From 2021 to 2023, Ms. Haddad Chmelnik served as the Director-General of the Israeli Ministry of Innovation, Science, and Technology. Prior to that, she held senior roles at Israel National Roads Company and the Ministry of Transport, including Vice President of Strategy and Innovation and Head of the National Infrastructure Directorate. Earlier in her career, she held key positions in Israel’s Ministry of Defense. Ms. Haddad Chmelnik holds a B.Sc. degree in Aerospace Engineering from the Technion, an M.A. in Diplomacy and an MBA from Tel Aviv University, and an M.A. in Public Policy from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Ms. Dana Porter Rubinshtein has more than 20 years of professional experience as a marketing, product, and strategy executive in the high-tech industry. Ms. Porter Rubinshtein had served as a Board member of Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd. between 2015 and 2017, and as a Board observer of Inception XR between 2022 and 2025. Ms. Porter Rubinshtein also serves on the Advisory Board of Sapiens International Corp NV (NASDAQ: SPNS) since 2023, and as a Board member at Elem, Israel’s leading nonprofit supporting youth in distress, since 2021. Prior to that, Ms. Porter Rubinshtein held senior management positions, including Head of Strategy and Marketing at the ILDC of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) between 2013 and 2016, and as Chief Marketing Officer of Amdocs Limited (NASDAQ: DOX) between 2010 and 2013, and other senior roles in Amdocs between 2003 and 2010. Prior to Amdocs, Ms. Porter Rubinshtein was an international consultant at Deloitte and Teffen. Ms. Porter Rubinshtein holds a degree (B.Sc.) in Industrial Engineering from Ben-Gurion University and an MBA from New York University (NYU).

Major General (ret.) Elyezer Shkedy is a business development manager and consultant. From January 2010 to March 2014, Mr. Shkedy was the Chief Executive Officer of El-Al Israel Airlines. Prior to that, Mr. Shkedy served from April 2004 until May 2008 as Commander of the Israeli Air Force, culminating a distinguished career as a fighter pilot, as well as serving in several senior command positions in the Israeli Air Force. Mr. Shkedy holds an M.A. degree in Systems Management from NPS, the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California and a B.Sc. in Mathematics and Computer Science from Ben Gurion University in Israel.

Mr. Amir Ofek is a CEO and Board Member for a number of technology-based companies, with more than 20 years of professional experience. Since 2021, Mr. Ofek has served as CEO of AxoniusX, the innovation unit of Axonius. He is also a Venture Partner at Planven, a Zurich based VC focusing on growth investments. Prior to Axonius, Mr. Ofek was the CEO of Alcide Ltd. and CyberInt Ltd., and held various leadership positions at Amdocs Ltd. and Elbit Systems Ltd. Mr. Ofek also served as a member of the Gilat’s Board of Directors from 2014 to 2019. Mr. Ofek was a Captain in the IDF 8200 Unit and holds a BSc. (Cum Laude) in IT Engineering from the Technion and an MBA from INSEAD.