Management
Iddo Geltner, PhD
CEO & Co-founder
Prior to co-founding Arugga, Iddo was VP of R&D at Dune Medical Devices, having joined the company as its third employee and led its R&D efforts for 14 years. The company applied newly developed real-time tissue recognition technology to an FDA-approved product that helped reduce repeat lumpectomy surgeries. Iddo holds a Ph.D. in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from Princeton University, and a B.A. in Physics and Computer Science from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Hamutal Slonim
VP R&D
Hamutal leads our R&D. Before joining Arugga she was Director of Hardware, RF and Modem Algorithms at Gilat Satellite Networks. Hamutal holds a B.SC. in Electrical Engineering from Tel-Aviv University, and a B.A. in Linguistics. She is an avid amateur gardener.
Eytan Heller
VP Business Development & Co-founder
Prior to co-founding Arugga with Iddo, Eytan lead European sales & business development efforts at SolarEdge Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: SEDG). Eytan started his career as an Economic and Trade Advisor for the European Commission in Israel. He is also the founder of Kimiyaa, a nonprofit organization supporting refugee integration through professional mentoring. Eytan holds a M.Sc. in Politics of the World Economy from the London School of Economics.
Adi Adar
VP Finance and Operations
Adi has over 18 years of leadership experience in operations, finance & supply chain in the Israeli Industry. She joins Arugga as Head of Operations. Adi previously managed Supply Chain and Logistics at Tosaf Components. She previously spent four years managing the Binyamina Winery. She held CFO positions in previous roles. Adi holds BA in Economics, M.A. in Economics and M.A. Law all from Bar Ilan University.
Nadav Rotem
Head Agronomist
Nadav oversees Arugga’s greenhouse agronomy investigations and trials. He has 15 years of experience in multiple aspects of cultivation. Previously, Nadav led international sales efforts in the cut flower division of Danziger. He also managed dLED's agricultural LED farming solutions. Nadav holds a B.Sc. in Agriculture Studies from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Advisory Board
Godfrey Dol
Godfrey has extensive experience in the planning, construction, project management and operation of high-tech glasshouses, specializing in tomatoes. He managed medium to large size facilities in seven different countries and has been involved in 15 different projects. Originally from the Netherlands, Godfrey was awarded the New South Wales Grower of the Year in Australia in 2013. He also guided the AuTomatoes team to victory in the prestigious 2020 Autonomous Greenhouse Challenge organized by the University of Wageningen in the Netherlands. Godfrey was previously GM at Village Farms (US) and COO at BayWa Ag (UAE). Godfrey holds a B.A. in Analytical Chemistry from Laboratorium School Deventer.
Dani Zamir
Dani Zamir is a Professor of Genetics and Plant Breeding at the Faculty of Agriculture of The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel. He did his PhD at the University of California, Davis, specializing in plant genetics and since then his lab at the Hebrew University aims to develop approaches to enhance the rate of progress in breeding using tomato as a model. Prof. Zamir served as the co-chair of the Steering Committee of The International SOL Genome Project (2003-2011) that sequenced Solanaceae genomes, and received the Kaye Innovation Prize from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the EMET prize for agriculture. He is also the recipient of the 2020 ISRAEL Prize in Agriculture, and was a founder and Chief Scientist of ‘AB Seeds’, presently owned by Monsanto.
Itzhak Reichman
Throughout his career, Itzhak was involved with multiple agriculture and food related companies. He served as Chairman and CEO of Nature Sweet, North America's largest greenhouse tomato grower. Itzhak was also Chairman of Inventure, one of the US largest grower and processor of berries for IQF (Individual Quick Freeze). He started his career at McKinsey and Co., conducting studies in electronics and consumer packaged goods, moved to Israel to become Frito Lay’s first CEO there, and joined Borden as part of its new senior management when acquired by KKR. Itzhak has a B.Sc. in Civil Engineering from the Technion, Israel Institute of Technology and M.Sc. in Management from MIT’s Sloan School of Management.