Gemini expands

Gemini Israel Funds has expanded its investment team by recruiting Carmel Sofer as a full-time venture partner. Sofer joins Gemini’s existing venture partners, Orna Berry, a former chief scientist of the Israeli government, and Shahar Kaminitz, whose career in enterprise software includes ten years with Amdocs.

A graduate in electrical engineering from the Technion Institute in Israel, Sofer began his career in mobile radio before joining Comverse Technologies in 1996. In 1999, he founded Starhome as a subsidiary of Comverse and built the company to profitability. In 2001 Sofer became president of Comverse’s operations outside the US, overseeing the company’s expansion in 40 countries. And in 2002 he became president of Comverse Europe, where he refocused strategy and turned the operation to profitability and growth.