The Best & Brightest in Technology
Executive Team
Yaron Galai
Co-Founder and CEO
Yaron Galai
Co-Founder and CEO
Yaron Galai is the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer at Outbrain.
Prior to founding Outbrain, Galai was Co-Founder and SVP of Quigo, Inc., a provider of performance-based marketing solutions for advertisers and premium publishers. He served as CEO of the company for three years until Quigo was acquired by AOL in December 2007.
Galai was also Co-Founder and Vice President of Business Development at Ad4ever, a developer of rich-media, web-based advertising technologies, later acquired by Atlas, a division of aQuantive.
Earlier, he was the Founder of NetWorks Web Design, an SEO and Web Design firm. At NetWorks he oversaw the production and search engine optimization of over 30 websites.
Galai studied Industrial Design at the Holon Technological Institute, and is a Major Reserve Officer in the Israeli Navy.
David Kostman
Co-CEO
David Kostman
Co-CEO
David Kostman is the Co-CEO of Outbrain, and has served in this role since November 2017.
In addition to his role at Outbrain, Kostman is Chairman of the Board of NICE Ltd., Director of privately held companies ironSource and TIVIT SA, and Co-Founder of Nanoosh.
Prior to this, Kostman acted as CEO of Delta Galil USA and COO of Verticalnet. He was also a Managing Director in the investment banking division of Lehman Brothers, heading the Global Internet Group, and earlier, an Investment Banker at NM Rothschild & Sons.
Kostman holds a Bachelor of Law degree from Tel Aviv University and a Master of Business Administration from INSEAD.
Ori Lahav
Co-Founder, CTO, and General Manager, Israel
Ori Lahav
Co-Founder, CTO, and General Manager, Israel
Ori Lahav is the Co-Founder, CTO, and General Manager of Israel at Outbrain, while also overseeing the company's R&D center located in Netanya, Israel.
Prior to co-founding Outbrain, Lahav led the R&D groups in Search and Classification at Shopping.com, which was acquired by eBay for $634 million. Ori also previously led the Video Streaming Server Group at technology company Vsoft.
A practical engineer from the Rupin Academic Institute, Lahav is also a Major Reserve Officer in the Israeli Navy.
Elise Garofalo
CFO
Elise Garofalo
CFO
Elise Garofalo is the Chief Financial Officer at Outbrain.
From February 2010 to April 2014, she served as the Senior Vice President of Treasurer and Investor Relations at Revlon, Inc. Prior to that, Garofalo was the Chief Financial Officer of Marakon Associates, Inc.
Garofalo holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from The University of Connecticut’s School of Business and a Master of Business Administration from Vanderbilt University.
Eytan Galai
CRO
Eytan Galai
CRO
Eytan Galai is the Chief Revenue Officer, responsible for Outbrain's global revenue organization.
A seasoned member of Outbrain's Executive team, Galai joined the company in 2007 as Director of Finance, then moving on to become the Vice President of Business Development, leading Outbrain's early expansion into Europe. Later, he spearheaded the company’s growth and extended its footprint into new markets taking the role of International Managing Director.
Galai has over 20 years of experience in International Business Development across the Media, Technology, Web, and Finance industries. Prior to joining Outbrain, he worked at Citibank, Clal Finance, and Bank of Israel.
Galai is a graduate of the Hebrew University, and was awarded both a Bachelor of Art in Economics and Statistics, and a Master’s of Business Administration with honors.
Gilad de Vries
Senior Vice President, Strategy and Corporate Development
Gilad de Vries
Senior Vice President, Strategy and Corporate Development
Gilad de Vries is the Senior Vice President of Strategy and Corporate Development at Outbrain, and has served in this role since January 2016.
Prior to this, de Vries served as Vice President of Products and BI and Head of the Brands and Agencies business at Outbrain since he joined the company in 2011.
de Vries brings more than 25 years of experience in the digital media and technology fields. Before joining Outbrain, de Vries was VP of Digital Media and Principal at Viola Ventures, one of Israel’s top-tier venture capital firms, where he lead Carmel’s investments in digital media, Internet and mobile startups.
de Vries served as a Lieutenant in Mamram, the prestigious Israeli Defense Forces’ Technology Unit. He holds a B.A. degree in Economics and Business Management from the Bar-Ilan University and a Global MBA from IDC Herzelia.
Asaf Porat
Senior Vice President, Global Head of Operations
Asaf Porat
Senior Vice President, Global Head of Operations
Asaf Porat is the Senior Vice President of Operations and leads Outbrain’s Business Operations and Business Intelligence Departments as well as the Global Business Optimization efforts.
Prior to that, Porat served as Vice President of Corporate Operations where he led and supported a variety of strategic initiatives aimed at increasing the organizational effectiveness with an emphasis on operational excellence and corporate development.
Porat joined Outbrain in 2014 as a Business Analyst and held positions of increasing levels of responsibility. He played a key role in the acquisition and integration of Ligatus, AdNgin and Zemanta.
Prior to Outbrain Porat served as a Captain and Squadron Leader in the Israeli Navy.
Porat holds an International Master of Business Administration from Tel Aviv University and graduated its exchange program with Johnson Business School at Cornell University.
Daphna Michaeli
Vice President, Global Head of People & Culture
Daphna Michaeli
Vice President, Global Head of People & Culture
Daphna Michaeli is the Vice President, Global Head of People & Culture and joined Outbrain in 2012. She has successfully led HR efforts for a variety of companies and carries nearly two decades of experience in recruiting, employee development and training.
Prior to her current role, Michaeli was the Vice President of Human Resources for ICQ where she developed and implemented policies for staff recruitment and professional training and development. She also helped define the organization's mission statement and spearheaded initiatives instilling core values of transparency and trust throughout the workforce.
Michaeli holds a B.A. Degree in Psychology and Sociology and actively mentors professional women who are both entering the workforce or have an interest in human resources as a career path.
Sarah Baird
General Manager, North America
Sarah Baird
General Manager, North America
Sarah Baird is the General Manager for Outbrain's North America business. In this role, she leads our commercial teams and is responsible for revenue growth, product adoption and setting the region's strategy.
Baird has held several roles at Outbrain since joining the team in 2014. Prior to becoming GM, she served as VP of Account Strategy & Operations where she built commercial relationships with leading publishers and advertisers in North America.
Prior to joining Outbrain, she was the Director of Business Operations for Studio One Networks. In this role, she ran the commercial relationships with the firm's largest advertisers and was a member of their deal team leading up to their acquisition in 2014.
Baird is a graduate of the University of Miami, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts.
Yaron Galai and Ori Lahav founded Outbrain in 2006. Today, the company operates out of 18 global offices and partners with publishers and marketers in more than 55 countries.
Veronica Gonzalez
Chief of Staff & Vice President, Head of Business and Legal Affairs
Veronica Gonzalez
Chief of Staff & Vice President, Head of Business and Legal Affairs
Veronica Gonzalez is the Chief of Staff to Outbrain's Co-CEOs and Vice President, Head of Business & Legal Affairs at Outbrain. Prior to joining Outbrain, Veronica served as an Associate with the law firm Day Pitney LLP from September 2008 to April 2013.
Gonzalez graduated from Brown University where she earned her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and attended Fordham School of Law where she earned her Juris Doctor.
Ayal Steiner
Vice President, Global Ad Revenue
Ayal Steiner
Vice President, Global Ad Revenue
Ayal Steiner is the Vice President of Global Ad Revenue at Outbrain, responsible for leading Advertising Sales and Commercial Strategy, globally.
After completing his Master’s of Business Administration and working for several tech-startups in Product Strategy positions, Steiner joined Outbrain in 2012, launching both the Australia and New Zealand markets. He later became the Managing Director of the APAC business and oversaw expansion into several new markets in Asia.
In 2017, he became Vice President of International Revenue, leading Commercial Strategy and Revenue across all markets outside of the United States before being promoted to Vice President of Global Ad Revenue.
Stephanie Himoff
Vice President, Global Publishers and Platforms
Stephanie Himoff
Vice President, Global Publishers and Platforms
Stephanie Himoff is the Vice President of Global Publishers and Platforms at Outbrain, responsible for the strategic growth of the global organization.
Since joining in 2012, she has grown the business into a dominant market player in the Native Advertising space, building commercial relationships with leading publishers and advertisers.
Himoff has over 20 years of experience spearheading the growth of Internet businesses in Europe, working with innovative digital start-ups and world-leading technologies.
Himoff holds a Master’s of Business Administration from the University of San Francisco as well as a Masters from IESEG.
Alex Erlmeier
International Managing Director
Alex Erlmeier
International Managing Director
Alexander Erlmeier is the International Managing Director at Outbrain, responsible for sustainable growth and product adoption for all international markets across APAC, EMEA, and LATAM.
Erlmeier joined Outbrain in 2012, and has led the DACH business as Managing Director, Central Europe into a high and sustainable growth market. He also established Outbrain as the market leader in Germany and Austria for native discovery.
Erlmeier has more than 20 years of professional experience in the online sector, has founded several start-ups, and worked for leading international companies such as AOL and Mail.Ru.
Before joining Outbrain, Erlmeier was Country Manager of DACH for ICQ and established the brand as the market leader in Instant Messaging in the region.
Erin McCallion
Vice President of Global Marketing
Erin McCallion
Vice President of Global Marketing
Erin McCallion is the Vice President of Global Marketing at Outbrain, overseeing the company's marketing efforts worldwide, including corporate communications, product marketing, lead generation & retention activities, and creative services.
McCallion has been a career marketing practitioner in BtoB and BtoC, serving most recently in marketing leadership roles in the advertising technology and publishing industries. Before joining Outbrain in 2018 she oversaw marketing at Mediaocean, a Vista Equity portfolio company; INVISION, a cross-media advertising technology company; and media companies & publishers, TheStreet and The Deal.
McCallion studied International Marketing at Pace University.
Board of Directors
Yaron Galai
Yaron Galai
Yaron Galai is the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer at Outbrain.
Prior to founding Outbrain, Galai was Co-Founder and SVP of Quigo, Inc., a provider of performance-based marketing solutions for advertisers and premium publishers. He served as CEO of the company for three years until Quigo was acquired by AOL in December 2007.
Galai was also Co-Founder and Vice President of Business Development at Ad4ever, a developer of rich-media, web-based advertising technologies, later acquired by Atlas, a division of aQuantive.
Earlier, he was the Founder of NetWorks Web Design, an SEO and Web Design firm. At NetWorks he oversaw the production and search engine optimization of over 30 websites.
Galai studied Industrial Design at the Holon Technological Institute, and is a Major Reserve Officer in the Israeli Navy.
Shlomo Dovrat
Shlomo Dovrat
Shlomo Dovrat has served as a director of our company since 2009.
Dovrat is a co-founder of the Viola Group and General Partner and Co-Founder of Viola Ventures, an Israeli venture capital firm. Dovrat previously served as the Chairman of ECI Telecom Ltd. from 2002 through its acquisition in 2007 for approximately $1.2 billion.
Dovrat also served as the President and CEO of OshapTechnologies Ltd. (formerly NASDAQ: OSHSF), which was acquired by SunGard Data Systems Inc. (NYSE: SDS) in 1999. Mr. Dovrat also founded Tecnomatix Technologies, Ltd. (formerly NASDAQ: TCNO) and served as its CEO and President from its inception until 1995, as its Chairman until 2001 and thereafter as director until 2005.
Dovrat currently serves as a director of ironSource, Red Bend, cVidya, eXelate and other privately held companies.
David Kostman
David Kostman
David Kostman is the Co-CEO of Outbrain, and has served in this role since November 2017.
In addition to his role at Outbrain, Kostman is Chairman of the Board of NICE Ltd., Director of privately held companies ironSource and TIVIT SA, and Co-Founder of Nanoosh.
Prior to this, Kostman acted as CEO of Delta Galil USA and COO of Verticalnet. He was also a Managing Director in the investment banking division of Lehman Brothers, heading the Global Internet Group, and earlier, an Investment Banker at NM Rothschild & Sons.
Kostman holds a Bachelor of Law degree from Tel Aviv University and a Master of Business Administration from INSEAD.
Jonathan (Yoni) Cheifetz
Jonathan (Yoni) Cheifetz
Jonathan (Yoni) Cheifetz has served as a director of our company since 2008.
Cheifetz has served as a Partner at Lightspeed Ventures since June 2006. Mr. Cheifetz serves as a Director of BlueVine Inc., eBuzzing, EyeView Inc., Personetics Technologies Ltd., Ginger Software, Inc., Scodix Ltd. and SolarEdge Technologies Inc.
Cheifetz holds a B.Sc. in Applied Mathematics and Computer Science from the Tel Aviv University and an M.S. in Computer Science and Applied Mathematics from the Weizman Institute of Science.
Dominique Vidal
Dominique Vidal
Dominique Vidal has served as a director of our company since 2011.
Since September 2007, Vidal has served as a Partner of Index Venture Management LLP (formerly of Index Venture Management Limited), a venture capital advisory firm which provides advice to the Index Ventures fund, and serves on the board of directors of several companies in the technology sector.
Prior to joining Index Venture Management LLP, Vidal was the Managing Director of Yahoo! Europe from 2004 to 2007. Vidal received an Engineering degree from École Supérieure d’Électricité (Supélec). Vidal serves on the board of directors of Criteo S.A., a company specializing in digital performance advertising.
Vidal holds a BS in Engineering from École supérieure d’électricité, or Supelec, in Gif‑Sur‑Yvette, France.
Joel Hwang
Joel Hwang
Joel Hwang has served as a director of our company since 2018.
Hwang is a Principal for HarbourVest and focuses on originating, evaluating, and executing growth equity, buyout, and mezzanine investments in operating companies.
In addition to his time at HarbourVest, Hwang spent two years as an investment banking analyst in Citigroup’s Global Technology Group, where he focused on mergers and acquisitions and equity and debt financings for technology services and software companies. His prior experience also includes positions with Sterling Partners and Cisco Systems.
Hwang received a BA (magna cum laude) in Economics from Dartmouth College and an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
Arne Wolter
Arne Wolter
Arne Wolter has served as a director of our company since 2019.
Wolter has been Chief Digital Officer at Gruner + Jahr since autumn 2015 and is in charge of G+J’s digital business and further digital transformation. His responsibilities include the digital content brand business (including CHEFKOCH, STERN, BRIGITTE, GALA), the marketing platform AppLike, the Greenhouse Innovation Lab, M&A and the Digital Ventures fund.
Wolter has earned a joint masters degree in civil engineering and business administration in Germany and holds an MBA from URI, USA. After initial positions at G+J he moved to arvato mobile in 2002 where he built up the B2B business and was promoted to Vice President B2B/B2C and Member of the Executive Board. He returned to G+J in 2007 as Managing Director of G+J EMS.
Jonathan Khlar
Jonathan Khlar
Jonathan Khlar has served as a director of our company since 2015.
Khlar is a Managing Director with Susquehanna Growth Equity. He focuses on investments in the software, security, e-commerce and payments sectors.
Before joining Susqhehanna, Khlar spent 8 years at BRM Capital where he led investments in software and internet companies. Jonathan’s previous investments include Fraud Sciences (Acquired by eBay/PayPal), Pando (Acquired by Microsoft) and Gigaspaces. Prior to that Khlar had operational experience within the software and start-up sector.
Khlar holds an M.B.A. from Hebrew University and a B.A. in War Studies from Kings College, London where he was the recipient of the prestigious Simon O’Dwyer Russell Outstanding Student Award.
Ziv Kop
Ziv Kop
Ziv Kop has served as a director of our company since its inception in 2006.
Kop is currently a Partner at Innovation Endeavors. From its inception in 2003 until June 2013, Mr. Kop was a Managing Partner at Glenrock Israel, where he invested and served on the board of a number of private and public startup companies including Mobileye, Quigo, Outbrain, Kamada, Evogene.
Prior to Glenrock, Kop served as Chief Executive Officer of POC Management Consulting, an Israeli consultancy in the field of strategic planning. Kop currently serves as a director of Kamada Ltd. (NASDAQ: KMDA), Evogene (NYSE: EVGN), Dynamic Yield, OwnBackUp, and Hysolate.
Kop holds an LLB and a BA in business administration, from Tel Aviv University, and is a graduate of INSEAD’s Young Managers Program.
Yossi Sela
Yossi Sela
Yossi Sela has served as a director of our company since 2013.
Sela is the Managing Partner of Gemini Israel Funds, a leading Venture Capital fund, which invests primarily in seed and early stage Israeli technology companies. In this capacity, Sela sits on the boards of directors of a number of Gemini portfolio companies, including JFrog Ltd., LoyalBlocks Ltd., QualiSystems Ltd. and Xjet Solar Ltd.
Sela holds a B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering from the Technion—Israel Institute of Technology and an MBA from Tel Aviv University in Israel.