Hosted and moderated by Debby Blakey, Chief Executive Officer HESTA, and Kelly Power, Chief Executive Superannuation Officer Colonial First State on 13^th February 2025, we invite you to join this thought-provoking innovation program connecting Australian superannuation and wealth management leaders with globally renown Israeli innovation leaders.

• Gil Arazi, Founder and Managing Partner of FinTLV Venture Capital
• Uri Gabai, CEO of RISE Israel Institute and former co-General Manager of Start-Up Nation Central
• Natalie Refuah, General Partner of Viola Growth

Building an organisational culture of innovation and resilience

This workshop is designed to provide an understanding of the drivers behind Israel’s unique innovation culture and to identify key learnings for Australian organisations and leaders.

Delivered in a unique deep-dive afternoon session in Sydney, the program is designed to educate and stimulate new thinking. Participants will learn from experts presenting from Israel. Each presentation will be followed by a moderated, interactive discussion with the speaker and participants.

HOSTS & MODERATORS

Debby Blakey has been CEO of HESTA since 2015, she has more than 25 years’ experience in super and financial services, including 12 years as founder and principal of an employee benefits consultancy.

Debby’s leadership of the $87 billion fund is dedicated to responsible investment, and she has overseen HESTA’s commitment to a Climate Change Transition Plan which is on target to achieve ‘net zero’ by 2050.

On behalf of HESTA’s more than one million members (80% women) Debby is a strong advocate for a fairer financial system that prioritises their financial security.

Debby is the President of the Australian Council of Superannuation Investors, a Director of the International Corporate Governance Network and Chair of the 40:40 Vision initiative.

Debby holds a Bachelor of Science with majors in Mathematics and Computer Science from the University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. She is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® and a graduate of the AICD.

Kelly Power was appointed CEO Colonial First State Superannuation in July 2021. This role is accountable for oversight of the superannuation business, including as a member of the Trustee Board. In this role Kelly is also responsible for investments, product and strategy.

Kelly joined CFS as General Manager Product in 2018, adding marketing and strategy and responsibility for the Wrap business in October 2020.

Prior to joining Colonial First State, Kelly was the Head of Platforms at BT Financial Group. Kelly held a number of other executive management roles at BT.

Kelly holds a Bachelor in Communications from UTS, a Diploma of Management from the Australian Institute of Management, a Diploma of Financial Services from Integratec and has also completed the Company Directors course at the Australian Institute of Company Directors. 

Kelly is a Co-Chair of the Financial Services Council’s Superannuation Board Committee and was a former Director of the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia.
 

PRESENTERS

Gil Azari is the Founder and Managing Partner of FinTLV Venture Capital - a leading global late-stage Insurtech VC (Hippo, Next Insurance, Unqork, Akur8, Corvus, wefox and many more). FinTLV works very closely with dozens of the leading global insurers and re-insurers - to provide real value to its’ portfolio companies. Therefore, Gil is a board member/observer in Hippo, Next Insurance, Pattern, Assured Allies, Lovys, iFeel, and more.

Gil has 20 Years’ experience as a senior executive and board member at the largest insurance companies in Israel and is a seasonal entrepreneur in the insurtech startup ecosystem.

Uri Gabai is the CEO of RISE-Israel, an independent think-tank focused on fostering innovation, resilience, and socio-economic development. RISE-Israel aims to shape the future through strategic insights and innovative policies. The think-tank collaborates with major tech companies such as Google, Intel, and many others on various projects, while also working closely with the public sector in Israel to drive innovation and economic growth.

Uri Gabai served as the co-General Manager of Start-Up Nation Central (SNC), where he oversaw the Finder database, the most comprehensive database on Israeli startups. Prior to that, Uri was the Chief Strategy Officer at the Israel Innovation Authority (IIA), where he was responsible for designing new support programs and evaluating existing ones.

Uri holds a bachelor’s degree in economics and computer science and a Master of Economics, specializing in game theory, both from the Hebrew University.

Natalie Refuah is a General Partner at Viola Growth, Israel’s first and largest growth fund. The fund manages over $786M and invested in over 40 companies to date.

Natalie is an experienced investment professional with a vast network and connections in the Israeli high-tech and the VC/PE industry.

She served on the board of Dynamic Yield, a company acquired by McDonalds, and Zoomin acquired by Salesforce. She is currently on the boards of Guesty, Buildots, Inshur and Pyramid.

Prior to joining Viola Growth, Natalie worked at Israeli venture capital fund Evergreen Venture Partners.

Previously, Natalie served as an associate in the Office of the Legal Advisor of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a position in which she was responsible for the economic bilateral and multilateral international agreements of the Israeli Government.

She also served as a member of the Global Consulting Practicum Program staff of the Recanati School of Business Management in Tel Aviv University together with the Wharton Business School.

Natalie served in an elite Intelligence Unit in her military service.