France Alumni Day 2026 – Scientific talent: study in France, innovate, discover, engage in entrepreneurship in Israel

1st round-table

Elodie TORDJMAN, AlumniIsrael

Having studied at Sciences Po and ESSEC, she has built a career at the intersection of ideas, communication, entrepreneurship and community engagement. Based in Israel, she now supports leaders, businesses and organisations in developing their public messaging, editorial strategy and brand narrative. Through her work, she helps business leaders clarify their vision and ensure their business vision is heard.

Elodie Tordjman also founded AlumnIsraël, a network that now brings together more than 1,000 French-speaking professionals living in Israel. This network builds bridges between career paths, skills, generations and ambitions, whilst maintaining a strong link with French culture, French intellectual rigour and the spirit of openness that characterises leading French educational institutions.

Ayalon VANICHE, EDF power solutions Israel (Polytechnique, Corps des mines)

Ayalon Vaniche is the CEO of EDF power solutions Israel, a subsidiary of the French utility EDF specialized in renewable energies. Ayalon lives since 2007 in Israel with his wife and their 3 daughters. He graduated as an Engineer from the French Ecole Polytechnique and holds a Business and Public Administration degree from the Corps des Mines. He started his career as a civil servant in the fields of energy and technology. In 1999, Ayalon joined McKinsey & Co where he advised top management of major organizations, before joining EDF group in 2011. Since then, Ayalon manages the sustained growth of EDF power solutions in Israel, a company that employs 115 people and manages the largest portfolio of solar projects in the country.

Inbal SVIRSKY, Monday.com (INSEAD)

Hi, I’m Inbal Svirsky, an INSEAD MBA graduate (Class of July 2025) with a background in growth marketing and strategy. Before INSEAD, I spent nearly four years at monday.com leading global growth and digital marketing initiatives. I hold a B.Sc. in Industrial Engineering and Management from Tel Aviv University and previously served as an officer in the Israeli Defense Forces. My experience combines analytics, operations, and cross-functional leadership in international tech environments.

Emmanuel IFRAH, Segula Technologies (HEC)

Emmanuel Ifrah is Director of AI Performance & Business Impact and Managing Director for Israel at SEGULA Technologies, an international engineering group operating in 30 countries with 15,000 employees. Based in Israel for the past 10 years, he works at the interface between major international industrial groups and the Israeli technology ecosystem. A graduate of HEC Paris and INALCO, he previously ran a start-up specialising in Knowledge Management and spent 12 years with the Renault Group. 

Pnina COHEN, Researcher in biofinformatics, Former Chateaubriand fellow

I completed my PhD in Bioinformatics at the Department of Evolutionary and Environmental Biology, University of Haifa, and am currently affiliated with the Laboratory of Paleogenomics, School of Archaeology and Maritime Cultures, University of Haifa. My research focuses on ancient and modern DNA of Israeli heritage crops, including grapes, dates, and figs, which are important for understanding our history and may contribute to agricultural sustainability in the face of climate change. In addition, I develop mathematical and statistical inference approaches to address challenging problems in ancient DNA research.

2nd round-table

Joseph BISMUTH, Deloitte, director of NeuroReflexivity

Joseph Bismuth, Senior Advisor at Deloitte Israel in the Cross-Border Corporate Finance department and founder of NeuroReflexivity France, a start-up dedicated to mental health and wellbeing prevention in the French-speaking world. He is a graduate of ESCP, holds an Executive MBA from Harvard Business School and is a qualified accountant. He has built a career in venture capital and private equity in Europe, first as a director at Apax Partners and subsequently as a partner at Duke Street Capital. He has also been working for the past 10 years with Bar-Ilan University and Tel Aviv University to facilitate the integration of French baccalaureate holders into the Israeli academic system.

Sarah NOCHIMOWSKI, French Tech

Sarah Nochimowski is a pricing, monetization, and business analytics leader specializing in monetization optimization and growth strategy across SaaS businesses. She has held leadership roles at companies including Similarweb and HiBob, driving initiatives across pricing, packaging, customer value, and commercial performance. Originally from France, Sarah spent 10 years in the US working at Louis Vuitton in business and merchandising planning before moving to Israel 13 years ago. She is married and the proud mother of three boys.

Julien ROITMAN, President of the Israel-France chamber of Commerce and Industry

Julien Roitman is currently President of the Israel-France Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCIIF). A graduate of Supélec with a Master’s degree in Physics from UPMC Paris and a former trainee at CHEAr, he spent his entire career at IBM in various senior roles before becoming Chief Operating Officer. Founder of the IHEDN Union’s Cyberstrategy Commission, Honorary President of the Association of French Engineers and Scientists, and an active member of numerous associations, he is also a Knight of the Legion of Honour.

Tatiana SILBERMAN, Director of Employment Hubs, Qualita

(taken from the Qualita website) Born in Israel, after completing a Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources and a Master’s degree in Organisational Consulting, she began her professional career at one of Israel’s largest recruitment firms, where she worked for five years. Driven by a desire to improve and facilitate the integration of French Olim, she subsequently took charge of a group of French-speaking Bnot Shirut living alone in Israel. She joined the Employment Hub in May 2018, where she can now combine her two passions: recruitment and helping French-speaking Olim integrate.