Shlomo Kramer

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Shlomo Kramer
Born1966
CitizenshipIsraeli
Alma materTel Aviv University (B.C.S and BMath), Hebrew University (M.C.S)
Occupation(s)Entrepreneur, investor

Shlomo Kramer (Hebrew: שלמה קרמר born 1966),[1][2] is an Israeli information technology entrepreneur and investor. He is the co-founder of cyber-security companies Check Point[3] and Imperva, as well as Cato Networks, a cloud-based network security provider.

As of January 27, 2024, Forbes listed Shlomo Kramer net worth at US$2.2 billion, ranking him 1412 on the Billionaires list[4] and he was ranked 17th among the top wealthiest people in Israel.[5]

Personal life[edit]

Shlomo Kramer has been actively involved with technology all his life. As a youth, he worked on mainframes and sold video games.[6] He landed his first job – selling personal computers at a Tel Aviv shop – at age 15. After discovering that one of the shop's best-selling games was developed and marketed by a 17-year-old in Britain who had set up his own company, Kramer knew that he "wanted to be like him – an entrepreneur, even though it would be quite a few years before I knew the word."[7]

Kramer served in the Israel Defense Forces' Unit 8200, a crack cybersecurity and intelligence team whose operations include gathering, analyzing and decrypting data; over the years, the unit has produced many of Israel's top high-tech entrepreneurs.[8] After completing his military service, Kramer earned a master's degree in Computer Science from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and a bachelor's degree in Mathematics and Computer Science from Tel Aviv University.[9]

Career[edit]

Kramer, who has been called "the godfather of Israeli cybersecurity," is a serial high-tech investor and entrepreneur with "a long track record of success".[10] He founded his first startup during high school in the 1980s along with Ofer Shemtov, and the company was later sold to a software firm.[11] In 1993, he co-founded Check Point Software along with Gil Shwed and Marius Nacht;[12] the company introduced the first firewall to the commercial market[13] and went on to become "a world leader in protecting the information that flows round the Internet, and a flagship of Israel's high-tech industry".[14] Kramer left Check Point in 1998 and used the money from the sale of his stake to strike out on his own as an entrepreneur and investor in numerous startups.[3][15]

In 2002, Kramer founded his second startup, WebCohort, renamed Imperva in 2004, together with Mickey Boodaei and Amichai Shulman.[16][17] Imperva moved away from perimeter defenses such as firewalls and instead deployed its software to protect against hackers and business-data theft by identifying and preventing attacks before they find their way to the inside of an organization.[18]

The company's initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange raised $90 million, with its shares gaining 33% on its first day of trading on 9 November 2011.[19] In 2014, Imperva acquired Skyfence, a cloud security gateway startup in which Kramer was a lead investor, and bought the shares it did not already own in Incapsula, a cloud-based website performance and security service in which it had already invested.[20] The acquisitions helped Imperva extend its data security strategy throughout the cloud.[21]

Kramer's belief in the cloud as the next big development in cybersecurity[18] led him to establish Cato Networks in 2015, together with former Imperva colleague Gur Shatz.[22] Kramer acted as the Cato Network's CEO since its inception.[11] Cato Networks' software integrates all the elements of an organization's network – including branch locations, data centers, mobile users and more – into one encrypted network in the cloud. This means the enterprise is no longer tied to an array of location-bound appliances to protect its data.

Investments[edit]

In addition to co-founding Check Point, Imperva and Cato Networks, Kramer has invested in many companies and startups including Palo Alto Networks, Exabeam, Trusteer, WatchDox and LightCyber,[22][11] mostly in the field of data security.

Awards and honors[edit]

In 2006, Kramer was selected by Network World magazine as one of 20 luminaries who changed the network industry.[23] In 2008, he was named CEO of the Year by SC Magazine.[24] In 2013, Kramer was inducted into the Infosecurity Europe Hall of Fame.[25]

Other interests[edit]

Based in Israel, Kramer enjoys deep-sea diving and photography.[18] He was a weightlifting champion in his youth.[6]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Shlomo Kramer". finder.startupnationcentral.org. Retrieved 2023-06-09.
  2. ^ "שלמה קרמר: חדשות, עדכונים ומידע אודות שלמה קרמר - כלכליסט". כלכליסט- www.calcalist.co.il. Retrieved 2023-06-09.
  3. ^ a b Michal Lev-Ram (2016-02-10). "Can Check Point Founder Strike Again?". Fortune.com. Retrieved 2017-04-13.
  4. ^ "Shlomo Kramer". Forbes. Retrieved 2024-01-27.
  5. ^ "Wealthiest People in Israel (January 22, 2024)". CEOWORLD magazine.
  6. ^ a b "Kramer's Startup Spree Helps Turn Israel Into Cyber Power". Bloomberg. 2014-02-04. Retrieved 2017-04-13.
  7. ^ [1][dead link]
  8. ^ "Inside Israel's Secret Startup Machine". Forbes.com. 2016-05-11. Retrieved 2017-04-13.
  9. ^ Shlomo Kramer. "Shlomo Kramer, Imperva Inc: Profile & Biography". Bloomberg. Retrieved 2017-04-13.
  10. ^ Krupkinyesterday, Taly (2015-08-29). "The heart of Israeli cyber, a Check Point brotherhood - Business". Haaretz.com. Retrieved 2017-04-13.
  11. ^ a b c Shulman, Sophie (2022-01-22). ""The secondary celebration will not continue. The market of 2021 is over"". CTECH - www.calcalistech.com. Retrieved 2022-09-29.
  12. ^ "Check Point Software Co-Founder Launches Simple Network Security In The Cloud". Forbes.com. 2016-05-12. Retrieved 2017-04-13.
  13. ^ Roy Goldenberg (2015-10-27). "Network security co Cato Networks raises $20m". Globes English. Retrieved 2017-04-13.
  14. ^ Tali Tsipori (2013-08-15). "Shlomo Kramer to reap some $240m from Trusteer sale". Globes English. Retrieved 2017-04-13.
  15. ^ Cowan, Lynn (2011-11-09). "Imperva Jumps in IPO". WSJ. Retrieved 2017-04-13.
  16. ^ "Check Point Software Co-Founder Starts New Security Company - WebCohort, Raises First Round From Accel Partners". Imperva. December 1, 2002 [May 27, 2002]. Retrieved 2023-06-09.
  17. ^ "Dun's 100 - Imperva". DUN'S 100 Site. Retrieved 2023-06-09.
  18. ^ a b c Cohen, Tova (2016-02-10). "Firewall pioneer Kramer bets on shift to cloud security". Reuters. Retrieved 2017-04-13.
  19. ^ "Imperva IPO goes high at $90M". Silicon Valley Business Journal. 2011-11-09. Retrieved 2017-04-13.
  20. ^ Krupkinyesterday, Taly (2014-02-09). "Shlomo Kramer's Imperva buys two of his Israeli firms - Business". Haaretz.com. Retrieved 2017-04-13.
  21. ^ "Imperva Makes Three Acquisitions, Unveils New Cloud Strategy". SecurityWeek.Com. 2014-02-07. Retrieved 2017-04-13.
  22. ^ a b Orbach, Meir (2021-10-19). "Shlomo Kramer's Cato Networks hits $2.5 billion valuation in $200 million round". CTECH - www.calcalistech.com. Retrieved 2022-09-29.
  23. ^ "Exabeam Raises $10 Million in new Funding to Continue to Develop Its Anti-Cyberattack Software - Jewish Business News". Jewishbusinessnews.com. 2014-06-11. Retrieved 2017-04-13.
  24. ^ "SC AWARDS EUROPE 2008: Winners announced". Scmagazineuk.com. 2008-04-24. Retrieved 2017-04-13.
  25. ^ "Infosec Pro - The Independent Information Security Blog". Infosecprofessional.com. 2013-04-24. Retrieved 2017-04-13.

External links[edit]

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