Mr Israel Makov is Chairman Biolight, a leading ophthalmic company investing in companies and managing projects in the field of eye diseases and ocular treatments. He is also Chairman of QuantalX Neuroscience, a company developing Direct Electro-Physiological Imaging (DELPHI) for early, precise, and objective evaluation of brain function and Chairman of Nextage Therapeutics, a pharma company that develops next-generation cannabinoid-based products.

Mr Makov is the former Chairman of Sun Pharma - the world’s 4th largest specialty generic pharma company and the largest pharma company in India, former Chairman of Given Imaging - the developer and world’s leading provider of capsule endoscopy and Netafim - the pioneer and global leader in smart irrigation solutions.

Mr. Makov is also the former President & CEO of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. He led the company’s global expansion and under his leadership Teva became the undisputed global leader in the generic pharmaceutical industry and a global leader in the treatment of Multiple sclerosis.

Mr Makov is a member of the Executive Board & Management Committee of the Weizmann Institute of Science, a Director at Yeda Research and Development Company Ltd and on the Board of Governors of the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. Mr. Makov is also Chairman of the Gesher Theatre, one of Israel’s leading theatres.

Mr. Shimshon Harel  Chair, Executive Board  Shimshon Harel has served on the Board of the Weizmann Institute of Science since 1999, as a  member of the International and the Executive Boards. He was elected Chair of the Executive  Board in November 2017, and currently serves as a member of the Management, Nominating,  and Honors committees, and as a member of the Board of the Davidson Institute of Science  Education. Shimshon was elected Chairman of the Israeli Friends Association of the Weizmann Institute in  January 2006, and has been active within the framework of the Association and its  management for over two decades.  Shimshon is the CEO of America Israel Investments Ltd., a company specializing in real estate  investments in Israel and abroad. He also serves as a member of the board of directors of  several commercial companies: Chairman of the Board of Directors of Bashan Radiators Ltd.,  Studio C Ltd, and Mango Ltd. He has been a Director of Jerusalem Economy Ltd. since  December 2015.  Shimshon is involved in various social causes. He is a member of the Friends Association of Ilan,  the Chairman of the Haifa Sami Ofer Stadium, member of the Board of Directors of Haifa  Economic Corporation, member of the Board of Governors of the University of Haifa, and is the  Honorary Consul of Sri Lanka in Israel.  Shimshon holds a Bachelor’s degree in economics, and a Master’s degree in business  administration. He and his wife Orna reside in Haifa.  

Martin Gerstel was born in 1941 in Norwalk, Connecticut. He received a BS degree from Yale University in 1964 and an MBA from Stanford University in 1968.Directly after graduation from Stanford, Mr. Gerstel participated in the founding of ALZA Corporation in Palo Alto, California, a pharmaceutical company based on developing new technologies for controlled drug delivery. Initially vice president and treasurer, he subsequently held a number of management positions leading to his appointment as President and Chief Operating Officer (1982 to 1987), and Co-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (1987 to 1993). During his tenure, ALZA Exchange listed company with a multi-billion dollar market valuation.Since retiring as CEO of ALZA in 1993, Mr. Gerstel has focused on board and consulting activities with a number of educational, civic and research organizations including, in the United States, the Foundation for the National Medals of Science and Technology, the Stanford Graduate School of Business and Stanford University and, in Israel, the Weizmann Institute of Science, Beit Amir, the Shalem Center, and in Jerusalem Foundation. In the private sector in Israel, he is Chairman of Compugen (a bioinformatics company), Founder/Vice Chairman of Itamar Medical (a medical device company), and a director of Teva Pharmaceuticals (a pharmaceutical company) and Yeda Ltd. (Technology Licensing company for the Weizmann Institute). In addition, Mr. Gerstel is a frequent lecturer and seminar leader in various areas of corporate management and strategy, negotiations and finance.

Born in Argentina in 1938, David Mirelman emigrated with his family to Israel in 1949. He received his Ph.D. from the Weizmann Institute of Science in 1968, and then spent two years as a Research Associate at Tufts University Medical School in Boston. In 1970, Prof. Mirelman returned to Israel, where he joined the staff of the Weizmann Institute's Department of Biophysics (now Biological Chemistry). He was appointed Associate Professor with tenure in 1976, and Full Professor in 1985. Sabbaticals include periods at the University of California at Berkeley, Harvard University, and as a Fogarty Scholar-in-Residence at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. In 1987, Prof. Mirelman was appointed Chairman of the Board of YEDA Research and Development Company, Ltd., which commercializes the inventions of Weizmann Institute scientists. In 1993, when the post of Vice-President for Technology Transfer was established, he was nominated to be in charge of all aspects of technology transfer of Institute research, in addition to serving as Chairman of Yeda. At the end of 1998, he completed his term of office in both these posts, returned to his laboratory full-time, and at the same time was appointed to serve as Dean of the Institute’s Faculty of Biochemistry, a post he held until January, 2004. He also headed the Weizmann Institute’s Y. Leon Benoziyo Institute for Molecular Medicine until January, 2004.

Prof. Mirelman's research interests lie in the field of molecular biology, within which he is especially interested in the interactions between microbial pathogens and mucosal cells in the human intestinal tract. His studies of the molecular biology of the amoeba parasite (Entamoeba histolytica) are directed towards understanding the molecular mechanisms of virulence, differentiating between pathogenic and non-pathogenic forms, and investigating the host response and effects of the associated microbial flora. Prof. Mirelman has also developed a novel delivery system for a potent anti-amoebic drug, and is currently attempting to develop a vaccine using a genetically modified and non-virulent amoeba. In recent years, he has also become interested in the mode of action of allicin, the biologically active molecule of garlic, and its application against a number of human diseases, including cancer. Prof. Mirelman has published over 180 scientific publications in international journals, and is the recipient of a number of research prizes. He is the incumbent of the Besen-Brender Professorial Chair of Microbiology and Parasitology.