Directors Biographies

Professor Richard Stone, Non–Executive Chairman

Professor Richard Stone joined the Board in 2001 and has been very actively involved in all of Espro’s financing for the past five years.  Professor Stone graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College in 1963 and magna cum laude from Harvard Law School in 1967.  After two years in private practice, he was then appointed Assistant Solicitor General of the United States, where he served from 1969 to 1973.

In 1974, Professor Stone was appointed to the faculty of the Columbia Law School, where he was promoted to the rank of full Professor in 1979.  In 1990, he received the Wilbur Friedman Chair in tax law, which he holds today.

Professor Stone served on the Board of Directors of Applied Neurosolutions, Inc. from 1995 until September 2005, and is on the board of several private companies. Professor Stone is a founder, principal and investment supervisor of Bluegrass Growth Fund, a hedge fund that invests primarily in PIPEs (private investments in public equities).  Richard is also active in many civic matters and serves on numerous not-for-profit boards.

Israel Gal, Director, President and CEO

Mr. Gal has served as Espro’s president and CEO since 1997.  He has transformed the Company from an OEM manufacturer into a media & technology international company. In 2004 Mr. Gal brought Espro to the London Plus market and in 2005, he led the acquisition of its main competitor Acoustiguide Corporation, and formed the Espro Acoustiguide Group.

From 1993 to 1997, he served as CEO of a subsidiary of Koor, and before that as the manager of the Tel Aviv branch of Bank Tefahot.  From 2002 to 2004 he sat on the board of directors of Elbit Vision Systems, a public company traded on NASDAQ.

Mr. Gal has a Master’s degree in social sciences from Haifa University and a Bachelor’s degree in economics and business administration from Bar-Ilan University. 

Nadav Karni, Director and CFO

Mr. Karni joined Espro in 2003. In his role as Espro's CFO, Mr. Karni led the process of bringing Espro to the London Ofex market in 2004, and subsequently, he played a key role in the acquisition process of Acoustiguide Corp. and the forming the new Espro Acoustiguide Group.

Prior to joining Espro, he worked as a senior manager at Ernst & Young for six and a half years. In his management role at E&Y, Mr. Karni was responsible for dozens of companies, some trading on Israeli and foreign markets. Mr. Karni received his Bachelor's degree in business management and accounting at the College of Management.

Shmuel Shalem, Director and CTO

Shmuel Shalem is one of the founders of Espro and is responsible for all technical functions and activities of the company from R&D, to complete design of the company’s products.

Prior to founding Espro in 1992, Mr. Shalem worked at National Semiconductors Ltd., Israel, for eight years, managing a team of chip designers and software engineers responsible for the design verification of new VLSI computer products. 

Mr. Shalem earned a Master of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Santa Clara in California, specializing in computers, digital systems and microelectronics. He has a Bachelor’s degree (BSEE) from the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology.

Pinhas Dror, Non-Executive Director

Pinhas Dror has served as a director since 1996. He was the Israeli Minister of Economic Affairs in Washington and before that, chairman of the board of directors of Oil Refineries Ltd.  After concluding his tenure in Washington in 1991, Mr. Dror initiated and managed several VC funds with a current portfolio of 13 companies valued at $50 million. He is also chairman of CMT Medical Technologies Ltd., a company that develops x-ray-based imaging systems and is traded on the Paris Nouveau Marche.

Mr. Dror received an MBA from Roosevelt University in Chicago, Illinois. He earned a Master’s of Science degree in chemistry and biochemistry from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and a Bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the Technion–Israel Institute of Technology. 

Basil Gamsu, Non–Executive Director

Basil Gamsu has served as a director since 1996. Born in 1947 in Johannesburg, South Africa, Mr. Gamsu is the Managing Director of Corex Israeli Industries Ltd., an Israeli Private Equity Company established in 1995. Mr. Gamsu immigrated to Israel in 1976.  He joined the Corex Group in 1995 after 11 years experience in senior management positions with the Israel Chemicals Group, including being a director of four companies within the Group.

Before joining Israel Chemicals, Mr. Gamsu was head of the mergers and acquisitions department of a leading management consultancy firm.

Mr. Gamsu has extensive investment experience in Israel and South Africa, generally with particular emphasis on private equity and capital markets, corporate finance, international capital markets and industry.  Mr. Gamsu is a qualified chartered accountant (licensed in Israel and South Africa) and has a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Economics from the University of Witwatersrand, South Africa.

Mr. Gamsu's experience includes membership of the Government Committee investigating the privatization of the Israeli Postal authority and he currently serves on the Investment Committee (participating policyholders) of the Phoenix Insurance Company.

Giora Meyuhas, External Director

Giora Meyuhas has served as a director since 2005. Mr. Meyuhas qualified in chemical engineering and has a Bachelor of Science degree (1967) and a Master of Science degree (1969) from the Technion–Israel Institute of Technology. He is a graduate of AMP (Advanced Management Program) from Harvard University in Boston (1985).

From 1974 to 1993 he worked at Gadot Petrochemical Industries, where he served as President and CEO of the company. He also served as an economic attaché of the Government of Israel in North America and was head of the economic delegation, responsible for developing commercial and business relations with the North American business community, and supervisor of all economic consuls in the United States and Canada.

Mr. Meyuhas currently serves as director on a number of boards, including the First International Bank of Israel, Diagnostic Technologies Ltd., Gadot Petrochemical industries, Teuza Venture Capital and more. In addition, he is very active in public activities in museums (the National Museum of Science and Technology), educational institutions (the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, University of Haifa) and more. 

Naomi Livne, External Director 

Naomi Livne has served as a director since 2005. Mrs. Livne is a graduate of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem's faculty of law (LLB) (1976). From 1977 to 1987 she served as a first senior deputy state attorney for the Ministry of Justice.  From 1989 to 1991, Ms. Livne served as an associate dean of the faculty of law at the Hebrew University.   From 1993 to 2004, she served as an attorney at the Israel Securities Authority as chief counsel of the mutual funds division and chief counsel, dept of investment regulation and supervision.

Ms. Livne is a member of the Board of Directors of Elbit Vision Systems (EVS) and the Israel Bar Capital Market Committee, and is also a member of the Israel-Austria Friendship society.