Decision Flight: Where Is the Center of Power in Israeli Tech Moving?
For years, the discussion about Israeli tech focused on how many minds were leaving the country. Engineers, developers, entrepreneurs and technology professionals who chose to continue their careers abroad became a symbol of one of the economy’s biggest concerns. But now a broader question is coming into focus, not only who works in Israel, but who is making decisions from here.
The latest Innovation Authority report once again raised concerns about brain drain, but the more significant story is not necessarily the number of employees leaving, rather the gradual shift of management, knowledge and influence outside Israel. When senior management sits closer to investors, when strategic decisions are made overseas, and when sales or business development activity is run from the United States, it is not just a change of address. In many cases, budgets, business ties and decisions about the next stage of activity move along with the people.
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It is no longer just a story about workers
One person who encounters the phenomenon up close is Eyal Shimoni, CEO of Yezamco Pro, which operates in IT, cyber and artificial intelligence. According to him, the public debate is still focused mainly on the number of employees, while the more strategic question is where the decision-makers are located.
“We are used to looking at the number of employees and asking how many developers there are in Israel, but that is not necessarily the right question,” Shimoni says. “The important question is where the people sit who decide on budgets, investments, the technologies the organization will adopt and its strategic direction. When a senior manager, a chief technology officer or a key cyber expert moves abroad, it is not just one person who leaves. Knowledge, experience, business connections and influence leave with them.”
According to him, the process is not limited to classic tech companies. More traditional organizations are also now reexamining where it is right to locate the headquarters, management and key roles. Remote work, closeness to the American market, access to investors and customers, and lower labor costs in other countries make the move businesswise logical. But that logic may exact a broader cost from the Israeli economy.
When managers move, hiring may move too
The main concern is that the relocation of management does not stop at the senior level. Once the center of gravity moves outward, decisions about hiring employees, opening teams and making new investments may also be made outside Israel.
“I am not sure the problem is only that management moves abroad while execution remains in Israel,” Shimoni says. “Once the center of gravity moves outward, decisions about hiring new employees are also made there. If a manager sits in the United States, he will tend to hire near him or in places where costs are lower. That is a natural process that happens all over the world.”
The meaning is that Israel is no longer competing only for talent, but also for the location of centers of power. The local workforce is still considered highly skilled, but it is also more expensive. At the same time, countries like India, Poland, Romania and other Eastern European countries continue investing in training technological talent, and the AI revolution is allowing smaller teams to produce outputs that once required far more workers.
“Israel’s workforce is still highly skilled, but it is also more expensive,” says Shimoni. “At the same time, many countries have invested in recent years in training top-level technology professionals, and the gaps that existed in the past are narrowing. When you combine that with the AI revolution, which allows a few people to produce outputs that previously required large teams, the pressure on the labor market will only increase.”
Israel is not only a development incubator
On the other side of the trend are companies trying to prove that it is possible to operate in a global market while still keeping the center of power in Israel. One of them is JUMBOmail, an Israeli technology company that operates internationally but manages its strategic operations from here.
Eran Ronen, CEO and CISO of JUMBOmail, believes the root of the problem sometimes lies in the business model of local tech companies, which see Israel mainly as a development incubator or starting point, while the customers, investors and big money are overseas. In such a situation, the move of senior management abroad becomes almost natural.
According to him, the way to address the phenomenon begins with the understanding that Israel is not only a “brain factory,” but also a local market that needs technological solutions, digital infrastructure, organizational tools and information security. Companies that manage to build global activity alongside a strong domestic base create a more stable anchor for themselves and keep decision-making close to home.
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