Change For The Better?
Do former Israeli army officers make good
business managers? It's debatable.
PENNY STARR SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS
W
hen Selma Linzer, for-
mer general manager of
West Edmonton Mall,
the largest shopping
center in the world, was visiting.
Tel Aviv's new central bus sta-
tion mall last year, her hosts
proudly announced that their
general manager was a high-
ranking ex-Israeli army man.
"How interesting!" she re-
sponded. "Do you think I'd make
a good lieutenant-colonel?"
Her guide laughed.
"No, you're a manager of a
shopping center, not an officer in
the army."
`Then why should he be a good
mall manager?"
Israeli army officers, who have
been secluded in the ranks of the
military hierarchy, are leaving
the security of regimentation to
go into business.
Never having had to "work
their way up" through a compa-
ny, and with little or no business
experience, they are leaping lad-
ders in a single bound and go in
at the top.
The only qualification they
have, or apparently need, is that
they "commanded men under
them."
Just last month, it was an-
nounced that Ehud Barak, re-
cently retired chief of staff, is
joining Shlomo "Chich" Lahat,
Ezrad Lev and Muzi Wertheim
in their investment-fund compa-
ny, Keren Hakranot.
Mr. Barak will be in charge of
U.S. fund-raising and banking.
In a similar move, the ex-head of
the GSS, the man formerly
known as "Yud," Yaakov Perry,
has been whisked into the upper
echelons of Cellcom manage-
ment.
For sure, the old regimental tie
helps, and an army buddy can
put in a good word.
But ex-army officers get ap-
pointed to top positions not be-
cause it's an old boys' club, but
because they have earned a cer-
tain reputation rising through
the ranks.
Tel Aviv University's Hana
Ofek believes ex-officers have the
right managerial skills. Ms. Ofek,
who lectures in the public ad-
ministration policy program and
has her own organizational con-
sultancy firm, explains:
`Their transition into the civil-
ian world, be it to the public or
private sector, is usually suc-
cessful. The function of officers
and managers is similar to make
good decisions, to check alterna-
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Will Royal Crown Be The King?
Jafora Tabori, the Israeli bot-
tled- and canned-soft drinks
manufacturer, has received a
license to manufacture and dis-
tribute the U.S. Royal Crown
company's soft drinks in Israel.
Royal Crown is one of the
five largest carbonated drinks
manufacturers in the United
States.
Jafora Tabori chairman Roni
Gat said Jafora will start man-
ufacttuing Royal Crown drinks
this summer.
Internet: More Than Just English
tives and to be ef-
ficient.
"The question is
whether or not they
know how to implement
the management skills
they've learned. The difference
between a leader of men and a
manager of a company is small."
The trend began after the Six-
Day War when officers started
looking for new careers. It is rel-
atively easy in Israel to move
from one elite group to another.
"Of course," Ms. Ofek adds, "if
they think in terms of army no-
tions, of commanding people,
then it won't work. To be good en-
"Their outlook has a com-
trepreneurs, they have to be pletely different time frame. En-
open, and with some ex-officers, gineering types do best in civilian
vision is problematic."
life. They're good at teamwork
and are used to making do with
limited resources.
"To be good
"But the easiest job is to go
from being in the military to
entrepreneurs, they working
for a company that sells
have to be open." to the military, like Elbit or Rada.
They've switched sides of the
Hana Ofek
table but at least they're still in
the same room."
It's still not necessarily a cinch.
Robin Hacke-Farhi, a business
Former
Chief of Staff Lt. Gen.
consultant at ELK Associates, be-
lieves that for ex-officers, dealing Dan Shomron switched to the
with the public in fields such as other side of the table (as chair-
marketing or sales is the most dif- man of ailing TAAS-Israel In-
dustries) only to find himself on
ficult thing.
And dealing with women as the other side of the door.
Industrialist Stef Wertheimer
equals in business is something
agrees that "it depends what you
many ex-officers need to learn.
Ms. Hacke-Farhi thinks two do in the army. The officers who
areas that affect the success or leave in their 20s are excellent
failure of a career officer's tran- because they are not so deeply in-
sition into the world of business doctrinated.
"The career officers in their 50s
are the nature of the field they
move into and the corps they are a different story. They are
used to having power. Things can
came from.
"People from the air force are be very difficult for them if they
extremely entrepreneurial. They haven't developed other, real-life
are used to taking command. skills. It's simply a different game
Navigators are good at giving di- on the free market.
"That's why many of them
rections. They make quick deci-
avoid
business and go into poli-
sions, as opposed to men corning
from the various no-name intel- tics. It's similar to the army struc-
ture." El
ligence corps.
Kivun Computers, known out-
Until now, Internet users
side Israel as Accent Software have been limited to English
International, has announced fonts. Now, for example, Israeli
the prototype development of a users in New York can read
revolutionary Windows-based Hebrew texts from Jerusalem
technology which will allow In- through the network, even if
ternet users to communicate in there is no Hebrew software at
any language. their workplace.
Flash Disk Issued U.S. Patent
M-Systems Flash Disk Pio-
neers of Israel announced it has
been issued a U.S. patent for
its method of data storage on
Flash semiconductor memory
devices using its TrueFFS soft-
ware program.
Mississippi To Open Office In Israel
Mississippi is expected to open with heads of major companies,
a liaison office in Israel soon such as Koor and Discount In-
and establish a fund to promote vestments.
joint business ventures.
There currently are 21 U.S.
State Treasurer Bob Holden states with independent eco-
recently visited Israel. He met nomic agreements with Israel.
Elite Divides its Headquarters
Elite Industries of Israel plans plans also involve the firing of
to establish four separate head- 70 workers in its French sub-
quarters in Europe instead of sidiary.
the major office it operated in
A source close to the compa-
Antwerp.
ny said Elite plans to replace
Elite closed down its its European managers with Is-
Antwerp headquarters two raeli ones to keep a closer
months ago as part of its reor- watch on its European activi-
ganization and efficiency plans ties.
in Europe. The company's
EFI's Profits Soar 76 Percent
Israeli firm Electronics For
Imaging (EF1) announced a 76
percent increase in first quar-
ter financial net profits to $7.1
million from $4.1 million dur-
ing the same period last year.
Earnings per share in-
creased to $0.55 from $0.33.
Fourth-quarter revenues rose
48 percent to $40.36 million
from $27.3 million.
EFI is a manufacturer of
products which enable high-
quality, short-run printing rtms
by transforming digital color
copiers into color printers.
Israel's industry leaders and
the Export Institute sent an
open letter to Finance Minister
Avraham Shohat asking him
for emergency measures to
bring about a rise in export
profitability.
"In their present state, mar-
ket interest rates are too high
for us," the letter said, citing the
dollar's revaluation and infla-
don "which is higher than is ac-
ceptable in Western nations.
"We are bending under the
weight of this burden and send-
ing you this message: No
more!"
The letter concluded with a
call for action and was signed
by some of the country's most.
important exporters.
`No More!' Say Israeli Exporters
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