PHILADELPHIA, Aug. 27, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Philadelphia-Israel Chamber of Commerce (PICC) , PA, NJ, and DE announced the appointment of a new Executive Committee to its Board of Directors, effective August 7, 2013. The PICC is the region's leading independent, professional business network dedicated to furthering business relationships between the Greater Philadelphia Region and Israel.
Richard Bendit, Senior Vice President, Assistant General Counsel at Berkadia Commercial Mortgage LLC , will champion PICC as its newly appointed President. Mr. Bendit has been an active member of the PICC's Board of Directors and Executive Committee since 2008. "I am honored to lead the PICC as its new President and congratulate and welcome the newly appointed Executive Committee," said Mr. Bendit. "Our team consists of talented professionals who possess exceptional expertise and a wealth of experience in creating business ventures, attracting investments to our region, developing innovative R&D, and forming profitable business alliances. Their knowledge will be invaluable in promoting business collaborations and economic development between Israel and the Philadelphia region."
New members of the PICC Executive team also include:
Vice President: Richard M. Fox, Managing Partner at Beachhead Partners
Deputy Vice President: Rivka Kreitman, PhD, Sr. VP, Head of Scientific Evaluation and Alliance Management, Global R&D at Teva Pharmaceuticals
Deputy Vice President: Jordan Warshafsky, Partner at Ashton Tweed, LTD
Deputy Vice President: Joel Smith, President and CEO at JF Smith & Associates, LLC
Treasurer: David J. Allon, MBA, Senior Financial Professional at Firstrust Financial Resources LLC
Secretary: Joshua Cline, President and CEO at The Cline Group
Immediate Past President: Beth Cohen, Director of Global Emerging Growth Services at Greenberg Traurig, LLP
Past President: Marc Tapper, Partner at Buchanan Ingersoll PC
Executive Director: Vered Nohi-Becker
"I would like to congratulate the Philadelphia Israel Chamber of Commerce for selecting a strong leadership team," said Yaron Sideman, Consul General at the Israeli Consulate to the Mid-Atlantic located in Philadelphia. "We work hand-in-hand with the PICC to expand business partnerships and R&D between Israel and Pennsylvania, Delaware and Southern New Jersey. PICC has been instrumental to increasing Israel's profile in the business and academia communities resulting in partnerships and substantial economic impact for both nations."
"As the recently appointed Executive Director of the PICC, it is exciting to be a part of this dynamic team; I am confident that the knowledge and passion that the Committee brings to this endeavor will spark new opportunities and ideas, which will strengthen our bi-national partnerships," remarked Mrs. Nohi-Becker.
About the Philadelphia Israel Chamber of Commerce (PICC)
The Philadelphia-Israel Chamber of Commerce (PICC) , PA, NJ, and DE, established in 1987, is an independent, member-based, not-for-profit network of business professionals who share an interest in furthering business relationships among each other and between the Greater Philadelphia Region and Israel. In recent years, PICC supported many business collaborations in the cleantech, biotech, life science, IT and cyber security industries. Based in Philadelphia, PICC serves constituents in Southeastern PA, the Lehigh Valley, Southern New Jersey, Delaware and Israel. PICC also represents the BIRD Foundation that has made more than $10 million in industrial R&D grants regionally to US – Israel company technology ventures. In 2013, the Philadelphia Business Journal ranked the PICC among the top 25 chambers in the region.
Vered Nohi-Becker Executive Director Philadelphia Israel Chamber of Commerce 215-790-3722 www.phillyisraelchamber.com
