Management

Yona Ovadia serves as Gilat’s Chief Executive Officer

Mr. Ovadia joined Gilat in April 2015 and had previously served in various managerial posts at Amdocs for 30 years, including as Amdocs Executive Management member.
Yona holds a BSc in Math and Computer Sciences from Tel Aviv University.

Adi Sfadia serves as Gilat’s Chief Financial Officer.

Prior to joining Gilat, Adi served as CFO of Starhome Mach,a leading provider of products and services for the telecommunication mobile market, since January 2013.

From 2008 to 2013, Adi was CFO of RADVISION (Nasdaq: RVSN), a leading provider of products and technologies for unified visual communications over IP. From 2004 until 2008, he served as RADVISION’s Corporate Controller and Vice President of Finance.

Prior to RADVISION, Adi served in various senior financial positions in Israeli private and public companies, including Corporate Controller, Director of Finance, and Senior Manager at Ernst & Young.

Adi holds a B.A. degree in Business Administration and an MBA (magna cum laude) from the College of Management in Tel Aviv and Rishon Lezion. He is a Certified Public Accountant.

Alik Shimelmits serves as Gilat’s Vice President of Research and Development

Mr. Alik Shimelmits has nearly 20 years of experience in research and development. He has served in various technological positions at ECI Telecom, most recently as Head of Transport Networks, where he managed a multi-disciplinary, multi-geographical organization, building and managing new development groups in remote locations. Previously, Alik served as VP R&D for Axerra, leading the company’s technology activities. He is the co-author of three patents.
Alik holds a B.Sc. in Computer Science and a M.Sc. in Applied Mathematics.

Michal Aharonov serves as Vice President Commercial – NA, EMEA & APAC at Gilat.

Prior to joining Gilat, Michal spent twelve years at Amdocs, rising to the position of Vice President, Global Strategic Sourcing. In this role, she was responsible for driving large managed services deals with leading telecommunications companies in Asia, Europe and Canada. Subsequently, Michal took a leadership post at Essence Group where she served as Vice President, Head of Sales and Services.

Michal holds a Master Degree in Public administration focusing on financial information systems from Clark University in Massachusetts, USA. She also holds a BA in Business Management and Finance from the College of Management – Academic Studies in Tel Aviv, Israel.

Russell Ribeiro serves as Gilat’s Vice President Commercial – Latin America.

Mr. Ribeiro has over 25 years of experience in telecommunications, satellite technologies, mobile and internet, governmental networks, homeland security and defense.

Mr. Ribeiro joined Gilat in 2001 as VP of Sales for Brazil. In 2003 he became the General Manager of Brazil and in 2008 he was promoted to the role of VP of Sales for the entire LATAM region.

Prior to joining Gilat, Mr. Ribeiro worked for Sprint International and Global One, a multinational telecom service provider. Having joined Global One as Sales Director in 1995, he became President of the company’s Brazilian subsidiary, before moving to Gilat.

Mr. Ribeiro is an electronic engineer. He graduated with a BA in Electronic Engineering. In 1997 he attained an MBA in Business Administration and Management at the IBMEC PDG-EXEC Business School in Rio de Janeiro, then gained a further MBA in Business Finance at Heriot-Watt Business School at Edinburgh University in the UK in 1999.

Ron Levin serves as Gilat’s Vice President Global Accounts

Mr. Ron Levin is Vice President of Global Accounts at Gilat Satellite Networks, where he leads Gilat’s activities with Satellite Operators and Broadband Managed Services.  Prior to Gilat, Ron headed Strategic Sales at ECI Telecom, a leading telecom equipment provider. Previously he headed Product Management at Jungo Software Technologies, a developer of software for home and small business gateways, which was later acquired by NDS and Cisco.
Ron holds a MSc in Management from the University of Tel Aviv and a BSc in Computer Engineering from the Technion, Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa.

Michael (Miki) Barak serves as Gilat’s Vice President Commercial Aviation & Mobility

Mr. Michael (Miki) Barak serves as VP, Head of the Commercial Aviation & Mobility Division at Gilat since Dec.2016. Mr. Barak joined Gilat in 2012 and served as Head of Mobility & Defense Line-of-Business Overseeing R&D, Marketing and Sales of Gilat’s Defense and Mobility product lines. He was then appointed RVP Commercial Aviation & Mobility and spearheaded Gilat’s strategic entry into the commercial aviation IFC market.

Prior to joining Gilat, Mr. Barak was part of the founding and management team at RaySat Inc. and served in several key positions in the company:  VP Marketing, VP Sales and Business Development, until its full acquisition by Gilat in late 2012.

Mr. Barak holds a Master Degree in Corporate Financing and a B.A. degree in Computer Science (Graduated Cum Laude) from the Interdisciplinary Center Herzeliya.

Arieh Rohrstock serves as Gilat’s Corporate Vice President Peru

Mr. Rohrstock joined Gilat Satellite Networks in 1998. Since 2008 he has served as General Manager of Gilat Peru. Previously, Mr. Rohrstock has held the positions of COO of Spacenet Rural, COO of Gilat Latin America, Planning and Development Manager, among other management positions. Prior to joining Gilat, Mr. Rohrstock rendered military service in Israel. Mr. Rohrstock is an electronic engineer from Ort Brauda University of Israel.

Zeev Botzer is Gilat’s Vice President Delivery & Operations

Mr. Zeev Botzer serves as Gilat’s VP Delivery and Operations. Zeev has more than 25 years of experience in global operations management for fast growing hi-tech companies. Prior to joining Gilat, Zeev served as COO at FST Biometrics, for 2 years. Previously, he served as Vice President of Operations at Visonic for seven years, following a 13-year period as Vice President of Global Operations at Verint Systems. Prior to this, Ze’ev held various operations management positions in Optrotech and in Laser Industries. Ze’ev holds a BSc with honors in Industrial and Management Engineering from Tel Aviv University.

Nirit Barnea serves as Vice President of Human Resources for Gilat.

Ms. Nirit Barnea serves as Vice President of Human Resources for Gilat. Nirit is a seasoned HR professional with 20 years of experience as an HR consultant and with public and global organizations active in many industries.

Prior to joining Gilat, Nirit served for 4 years as the Global VP HR of 3M Attenti (formerly DMATEK). Prior thereto, Nirit held several senior management HR positions for various software and telecommunications companies.

Nirit holds an M.A. in Sociology from Tel Aviv University and a B.A. in Economics and Business Administration from Haifa University.