PICO Venture Partners

Claudia De Antoni is Head of M&A at TeamSystem. She has experience in company building, investment, and commercial strategy, with a focus on scaling businesses in the sustainability sector.

Elie Wurtman is co-founder and Managing Partner at PICO Venture Partners, with a background as an entrepreneur and investor. He founded his first company in 1993 and has taken three companies public, including Deltathree, where he served as co-founder and CEO. He was previously a General Partner at Benchmark Capital Israel and earlier served as CEO of JVP Studio, focusing on early-stage consumer and media investments.

Frayda Leibtag is Managing Director for Israel at HRS Management, where she oversees the portfolio and manages strategic relationships across multiple sectors. She brings fifteen years of experience in venture capital, global business, and international diplomacy, including roles leading investor relations and communications at PICO Venture Partners, directing public affairs for WeWork across the Middle East, Russia, and Central Eastern Europe, and serving as Senior Adviser for Foreign Affairs and International Media to former Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat. Her work focuses on the intersection of capital, communications, and public affairs.

Keren Kenan is a Partner at PICO Venture Partners, where she leads finance and operations. She has more than fifteen years of business development experience, having served as Chief of Staff at the food company Tnuva, VP of Strategic Projects at Zap Group, and in senior financial management roles at Ashdar and as a financial advisor at Prof. Itzhak Swary & Associates. She holds a BA in Economics, Accounting and Business Administration and an MBA in Financial Management from Tel Aviv University.

Hila Krainer is an associate at PICO Venture Partners. She previously worked as an investor at a single-family office in London focused on early-stage investments and business development, and held a business development role at Playtech, a company listed on the London Stock Exchange. Earlier, she worked as a corporate lawyer at Goldfarb Seligman & Co. in Israel, and she holds an LLB and a BA in chartered accounting from Tel Aviv University.

Tal Tochner is COO and Chief Product Officer at Tastewise, where he leads product strategy, global operations, and finance. Previously an investor, he has experience guiding companies through product development and scaling. He is a Forbes 30Under30 honoree and Kauffman Fellow.

Tamir Carmi is a Venture Partner at PICO Venture Partners, where he mentors founders and serves on the boards of several portfolio companies. He is co-founder and COO of IronSource (NYSE: IS), an app monetization and distribution company, and previously founded Volonet, which produces viral content for social media, and Web 3.0, an interactive media company serving broadcast clients in Israel. He earned a Kellogg-Recanati EMBA from Tel Aviv University and a B.A. from the University of Haifa.

Benjamin Calmas is a Senior Associate at BNY in Asset Servicing Relationship Management. He holds a joint honours degree in Economics and Management from the University of St Andrews and has professional experience in deal sourcing, private equity research, and alternative asset management across offices in New York, Los Angeles, Tel Aviv, and London. His areas of focus include financial services, strategy, operations, venture capital, and startups.

Erez Nachmanson is a Program Manager at PICO Kids, where he leads the robotics program, working with schools across Jerusalem to run science and robotics activities, train teachers, and build scalable program models. He previously served as Program Coordinator at Friends By Nature, running neighborhood empowerment projects, and is a trained military combat medic who worked with the Magen David Adom ambulance service. He holds an M.A. in Law from Bar Ilan University, a B.Ed. in Education from the University of Haifa, and a B.Sc. in Agroecology & Plant Health from the Hebrew University.

Hagar Levin is an Executive Assistant and Project Manager at PICO. Before joining the firm, she worked for more than ten years in public relations, operations, and public diplomacy, including as VP of Operations at Unik Public Image, where she managed events, international partnerships, and internal operations. She holds a BA in Political Science and Middle Eastern History and an MA in Public Policy, both from Tel Aviv University.

Hila Ashuri is the Jerusalem Office Manager at PICO Venture Partners, where she oversees administration and development of PICO Spaces Jerusalem along with operations at PICO Kids and Bat Shlomo Vineyards. She previously worked as a pastry chef at the King David Hotel in Jerusalem and as a personal assistant to three partners at JVP Media Labs. She holds a degree in Anthropology, Sociology, and Art History from The Hebrew University.

Lenore Morag is the Office Manager and Executive Assistant at PICO Partners, handling the firm's daily operations and supporting the partners administratively. She previously worked in the hospitality industry and studied Pastry Arts at Danon Culinary School. She holds a B.A. in Archaeology and Ancient Near Eastern Cultures from Tel Aviv University.

Meidan Alkobi is a Program Manager at PICO Kids, where he focuses on the Makers program, leads the PICO Makerspaces in Jerusalem, and directs PICO Kids events. He previously founded a photography and videography studio in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv and worked as a program manager for a nonprofit running computer centers for at-risk youth in Jerusalem. He holds a B.F.A. from the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design.

Rotem Malichi is Director of Finance and Operations at PICO Venture Partners, with over a decade of experience in financial management and reporting. She previously served as Director of Finance at iAngels and at Aerodrome, an Israeli agriculture startup, and began her career as a Senior Associate in the high-tech department at Ernst & Young. She is a CPA and holds a BA in Business and Accounting from the College of Management.

Seth Hochhauser serves as Chief Revenue Officer at Autofleet. He has held roles across mergers and acquisitions, post-merger integration, operations, and strategy at organizations spanning from seed-stage startups to Fortune 500 companies, and leads cross-functional teams on strategic initiatives.

Shelly Pinhas is an Executive Assistant at PICO. Before joining the firm, she worked in the restaurant industry and as a Senior Designer at Delta Galil Industries, where she handled marketing and global fashion trends, and previously worked as a stylist for several Israeli newspapers. She holds a degree in design and textiles from Shenkar's School of Engineering.

Zohar Frank is a Legal Advisor to PICO Venture Partners and PICO Kids, with over 15 years of experience as an attorney and business development consultant working on international companies and transactions. She previously served as COO and legal counsel of a single-family office and later as COO of PICO Venture Partners, and she co-manages the Erez-Frank multi-family office with partner Gil Erez. She holds a Bachelor of Law from Tel Aviv University.