User:Ryry1984/Yossi Dashti

Dr. Yossi Dashti (born in 1952), is a researcher, lecturer, and manager in the field of computer information systems and innovation entrepreneurship. In his early career, Dr. Dashti was engaged with Information Technology and software applications and was among the pioneers in the development of Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) and E-Commerce platforms. Throughout his career, he served in an executive management capacity, in multinational corporations and startup companies. Since 2008, he has been actively promoting China-Israel collaboration in academia and industry, teaching in several universities and setting technology transfers in the two countries. Dr. Dashti has also been involved in social activities, mainly in the field of education, serving as a board member of several associations.

Personal life
Yossi Dashti was born in Jerusalem, Israel, in 1952 to Rachel and Shmuel. He is named after his grandfather, Rabbi Yosef Chai Matana, who served the community in Jerusalem. He grew up in Tel Aviv and lived intermittently in the United States and Israel. In the IDF, he served in the Israel Air Force mobilized missile air defense unit. He is married to Ivy (Eisenson), a family therapist and an artist, who immigrated to Israel from New York City at the age of 17. Today they live in Ra'anana and have four children and seven grandchildren.

Engagement in the Academia
Dr. Dashti holds a B.Sc. in computer systems from the University of San Francisco (USF), and a MBA with an emphasis on Information Technologies (IT) and international marketing from the University of California at Irvine (UCI). In 2001, he began his doctoral research at the California Graduate Institute (CGI). In 2005, he moved to the Faculty of Management at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU), where he completed his research, focused on the success factors of technology startup companies. In his doctoral dissertation, "Alliances and the Success of Technological Ventures", he examined the factors that contributed to the successful exit of startup companies that were acquired in Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) transactions.

Dr. Dashti's academic work focuses on the ways to create economic value in an innovative entrepreneurial environment. Among the topics of his research are regional ecosystems development through innovation hubs, success factors of high-tech ventures, mergers and acquisitions among high-tech companies, exit strategy of Start-Up companies, process improvement of the supply chain through the implementation of electronic commerce, and leveraging business support networks to improve the performance of technology-based start-ups. In addition, he is teaching innovation, entrepreneurship, and strategy for graduate students at the Technion - (the Israel Institute of Technology) and in entrepreneurship and innovation programs at Peking University (PKU) and Renmin University of China (RUC) in Beijing, and Sichuan University (SCU) in Chengdu.

Engagement in the Industry
Dr. Dashti began his professional career at Tel Aviv University (TAU), where he administrated the operation of computers at the computing center of the Recanati School of Management and instructed computer programming languages at the Lahav management development program. In 1983, he joined the Israeli subsidiary of the American computer company Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) and in 1985 he moved to the company’s headquarters in California. At DEC he pioneered the development and implementation of the EDI program that set the platform for e-commerce, enabling data exchange among multi-national companies. He served as a member of the UN/EDIFACT international standards committee under the United Nations, and the standards committee for Electronic Commerce in the Associations of Computer (CompTIA) and Health Industries (HIDA).

Dr. Dashti served in global management roles both in multinational and start-up companies, including Western Digital Corporation (WDC) and AST Computers, where he led and implemented ongoing process improvement in manufacturing, operations, sales, finance and information systems. Dr. Dashti prepared and positioned Safeskin Corporation for exit through M&A in which the company was acquired by Kimberly-Clark. He joined the management team of the California based Broadcom Corp in an early stage and served in the team that prepared and led the company to a record setting IPO in NASDAQ (1998). During the years following the IPO, he planned and executed the post M&A integration processes of more than 20 companies that were acquired by Broadcom, including Maverick Networks, Epigram, BlueSteel Networks, Innovent Systems, Altima Communications, Newport Communications, and VisionTech.

The contribution to China-Israel relations
In 2008, Dr. Dashti took part in the Smart Business Network Forum initiated by Tsinghua University (THU) in Beijing, China, and in collaboration with several universities from around the globe where he shared and presented his academic research findings. The visit to China paved a new path in his work, and since then, he has been working to promote China-Israel relations in academia and industry. Among his activities are: teaching in several universities in China, providing training in the industry, exchanging academic faculty and students, arranging capital investment of Chinese funds in innovative technologies in Israel such as the CEIIF Capital Fund, and setting joint R&D and technology transfer between the countries, including Yeda Research and Development, the technology transfer arm of the Weizmann Institute of Science.

In 2013, he took part in the Beijing Forum, where he presented the policies, programs, and initiatives that Israel implemented in order to shift from a traditional and agricultural focused economy to innovation-driven economy. Dr. Dashti serves as the deputy director of the China-Israel Innovation Center in Jilin University and has been delivering keynote speeches in various conferences throughout China, including, Xian education and Hangzhou Artificial Intelligent (AI). He participated in the Wuzhen World Internet Conference (WIC) that was initiated by Alibaba’s CEO Mr. Jack Ma. In 2017, he joined a delegation of businessmen and academics led by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu including the ministry of health, economic, and environment. During this visit, the China-Israel Innovation Comprehensive Partnership agreement was announced and signed. In 2018, Dr. Dashti participated in the meetings with the Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan and his delegation and at the Fourth China-Israel Innovation Conference.

Social Involvement
Along with his academic and professional pursuits, Dr. Dashti has been involved in several social projects and organizations, mainly in the field of education. Among his engagements are:


 * The Merage Foundation for Israeli-US trade relations, through which hundreds of Israeli entrepreneurs have been trained in a leadership program.


 * The Merage 45+ Entrepreneur Competition, aimed at training and funding entrepreneurs who are over 45 years old to commercialize their innovative ideas.


 * A member of the audit committee of NATAL, the Israel trauma center, a nonprofit organization that provides support for victims of terror and war.


 * A member of the Board of Directors at the association of IDF, Israel Air Force’s Airborne Rescue and Evacuation 669 Unit, which he also serves as a mentor for the unit's graduates.

Dr. Dashti served as a board member of the American Technion Society (AST), a member of the American-Israeli Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), and a member of the Israeli Venture Network (IVN) for social impact and sustainable social change.

Publications
Dashti, Y. and Schwartz, D. (2018). Should start-ups embrace a strategic approach toward integrating foreign stakeholders into their network? International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal.

Dashti, Y. and Schwartz, D. (2015). The Role and Contribution of Networks in M&A of Innovative Ventures: Can Lessons Learned from Networks of Israeli Start-ups be applied by China? Journal of Technology Analysis & Strategic Management.

Dashti, Y. (2009). Social networks and high-tech entrepreneurs: The power of networks and how to put it to use. In A. M. Pines and M. F. Ozbilgin (Eds.) Handbook of Research on High-Technology Entrepreneurs. Cheltenham UK:  Edward Elgar Ch. 20.

.Dashti, Y., Schwartz, D. and Pines, A. (2008). High technology entrepreneurs, their social networks and success in global markets: The case of Israelis in the U.S. Market, Current Topics in Management, 13, 8.