SF AND SILICON VALLEY DELEGATION INCLUDES TOP HIGH-TECH, VENTURE CAPITAL AND
BUSINESS PERSONALITIES.

(SAN FRANCISCO, CA/ JERUSALEM, ISRAEL) 4 MAY 2008- San Francisco Mayor Gavin
Newsom will lead a high-level mission to Israel taking place this week. The
trip, almost unprecedented in scope, will see some 100 San Francisco-area
leaders explore possibilities of investment, cooperation, and business
partnerships with local Israeli companies. In addition, some delegation
members will focus on the arts arena in Israel, while others will explore
the archeology scene.

The mission is being organized by San Francisco’s Jewish Community
Federation (JCF), which represents the Jewish community throughout the San
Francisco Bay Area, including much of the Silicon Valley region, covering
the world’s largest concentration of venture capital and technology
companies. The delegation of business leaders and investors are active
across the area’s high-tech, bio-tech, investment and real-estate scenes as
well as other local industries of strategic importance.

Mayor Newsom will be joining the trip’s participants with an eye toward
fostering greater relationships between San Francisco entrepreneurs and
business leaders and their counterparts in Israel.
The visiting group is being organized by Robert Blum, President and CEO of
Cytokinetics, Inc. a leading biopharmaceutical company focused on innovative
treatments for cancer and heart disease; and Bobby Lent, co-founder of Ariba
(NASDAQ: ARBA), an enterprise software company, which is the leader in
Enterprise Spend Management.

During their stay, the group will participate in a “Clean-tech” road show in
Israel’s north and will also meet with some of Israel’s top political,
business, cultural and academic leaders such as Minister of Welfare and
Social Affairs Isaac Herzog, Minister of Housing and Construction Ze’ev
Boim, Bank of Israel Governor Professor Stanley Fischer, and high-tech
personalities Yehuda Zissapel and Yossi Vardi. In addition, the mission will
visit a large number of Israeli companies, universities and institutions to
explore further investment and cooperation possibilities.

Beyond business, some participants on the trip will participate in one of
two additional tracks, – Arts & Culture and History & Archaeology. In
addition, the group will also visit Umm el-Fahm, an Arab-Israeli town that
is one of the sites for Echad – a San Francisco Jewish Community Federation
funded program focused on early childhood education in the Arab Israeli
community.

Co-chair of the trip’s planning committee, Robert Blum commented, “This
mission will offer an exceptional opportunity for us to bring together some
of the best and brightest in Silicon Valley and Israeli industry as well as
civic and political leadership. With a goal of facilitating mutually
prosperous economic ties, we look forward to exploring possibilities for
investment and collaboration between like-minded entrepreneurs and business
professionals.”

Other business leaders participating in the mission include; James Heeger,
President, CEO and Chairman of PayCycle, the leader in on-line payroll for
small businesses; Rich Freedland, Vice President, Business Development,
Laser Research Inc.; Denise Aptekar, Director, Risk Management, Paypal; Mark
Schulman, Owner, CDM Holdings, LLC; Richard Seeley, commercial real estate
investor; Norman Traeger, Partner, The Discovery Group; Dr. Ronald Cape,
investor, a founder of the biotech industry; Sam Lauter, founder and
principal of Barnes Mosher Whitehurst Lauter & Partners, a full service
public affairs firm; Thomas Kasten, former mayor, Hillsborough, California;
and John Pritzker, founder, Geolo Capital, focusing on high-growth, consumer
focused business investments. Mr. Pritzker is also the President of the San
Francisco Jewish Community Federation. Also joining the mission will be
Daniel J. Sokatch, incoming Chief Executive Officer of the Jewish Community
Federation.

In the current fiscal year the Jewish Community Federation and Jewish
Community Endowment Fund allocated over $200 million towards funding social
services, educational and cultural programs in the San Francisco Bay Area,
in the U.S., Israel and elsewhere around the world.

This entry was posted on Monday, May 19th, 2008 and is filed under news.