Orna Berry facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Orna Berry
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| ארנה ברי | |
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| Born | December 19, 1949 |
| Nationality | Israeli |
| Education | Haifa University (BA) Tel Aviv University (MA) University of Southern California (PhD) |
| Occupation | Computer scientist |
| Children | 3 |
| Parent(s) | Yoash Tsiddon (Chatto) Raisa Tsiddon |
Orna Berry (Hebrew: ארנה ברי; born December 19, 1949) is a famous Israeli computer scientist. She is also a successful business person in the world of high-tech. She has held many important jobs in science and technology in Israel.
In 1996, Orna Berry made history. She became the first woman to be the chief scientist for the Israeli Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labour. This role meant she was in charge of industrial research and development (R&D) for the country. In 2012, she received a special award called "Yekirat Hanegev" from Ben-Gurion University. Since 2021, she has been working as the Director of Technology at Google Cloud.
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Early Life and Education
Orna Berry was born in Jerusalem and grew up in Tel Aviv. Her parents were Raissa and Yoash Tsiddon. In 1967, when she was 17, she joined the Israeli Air Force. She served as an officer for the flying school until 1970, reaching the rank of lieutenant.
After her military service, Orna went to college. She earned a bachelor's degree in statistics and mathematics from Haifa University in 1975. Then, she got a master's degree in statistics and operations research from Tel Aviv University. She continued her studies at the University of Southern California (USC) in the United States. There, she earned her PhD in computer science in 1986. During this time, she also received a special scholarship from the RAND Corporation.
Orna's research for her PhD showed how computer programs that work together could run faster. She found out she had dyslexia, which is a learning difference that affects reading. She says this actually helped her choose a career in science.
Career Journey
Working in Research and Development
After finishing her studies, Orna Berry started working at a company called System Development Corporation. This company later became Burroughs and then Unisys. Here, she began her work with Local area networks (LANs), which are computer networks that connect devices in a small area.
In 1987, she decided to move back to Israel. She joined the IBM Haifa Research Laboratory. At IBM, she worked on how computer hardware could be simulated for different Intel computer chips. In 1989, she moved to Fibronics. There, she led projects that connected different types of LANs, like Token Ring and FDDI.
Starting Ornet Data Communication Technologies
In 1993, Orna Berry helped start her own company called Ornet Data Communication Technologies. This company created special network switches that were very efficient and could handle a lot of data.
While raising money for Ornet, Orna also worked as a technical manager at Elbit Systems. She also advised Intel. In September 1995, a large European company called Siemens bought Ornet. This was a big deal because it was the first time a European company bought an Israeli startup.
Serving the Public
In late 1996, Orna Berry started working for the Israeli government. In January 1997, she was officially named the chief scientist and director of the Industrial Research and Development Administration. She was the first woman to hold this important position, and she is still the only woman to have done so.
In this role, she led the BIRD Foundation, which helps American and Israeli companies work together on R&D. She also helped Israel join a big European program for R&D. She led groups that managed joint R&D funds with countries like Canada, the UK, South Korea, and Singapore.
Orna Berry also participated in committees that looked at Israel's defense budget. From 2018, she led national projects in advanced science, like quantum computing and artificial intelligence.
Business Leadership
After her time in government, Orna Berry returned to the private sector. From 2000 to 2010, she worked at Gemini Israel Ventures, a company that invests in new businesses. In this role, she was the chairperson for several companies. These included Lambda Crossing, which made optical parts, and Riverhead Networks, which helped protect against cyber attacks. Riverhead Networks was bought by Cisco in 2004. She also chaired PrimeSense, a company that made 3D sensing technology, which Apple bought in 2013. She also worked with Radware, a communication company.
From 2006 to 2009, Orna Berry was the chairperson of the Israeli Venture Capital Funds Association. In 2008, she joined a project to invest in very early-stage Israeli startups.
In 2010, Orna joined EMC Corporation as a vice president. She was in charge of the company's main centers in Israel. Later, she was promoted to corporate vice president of innovation. As part of her job at EMC, she helped set up a new R&D center in Beer Sheva. EMC was the first company to move into the Beer Sheva high-tech park in July 2013. She stayed with EMC after it merged with Dell in 2016, leaving in 2018 to return to public service.
In October 2021, Orna Berry returned to the private sector. She was appointed as the director of technology in the office of the Chief Technology Officer at Google Cloud.
Volunteering and Community Work
Orna Berry also spends a lot of time volunteering. She believes in using technology to help people learn, grow, and improve society. She wants to help both the local Israeli community and the wider international community.
Some of her volunteer activities include being on the board of the Kav Mashve Association. This group helps Arab university graduates find jobs based on their skills. She also serves on committees at Ben Gurion University and is on the board of Ramot, which helps bring new technologies from Tel Aviv University to the market.
Orna was part of a group called WIR (Women in Industrial Research) that shared ideas with the European Commission. She also helped with studies on how science and technology can boost economic growth. She was also a member of the research team for the Association for Computing Machinery.
Since 2000, Orna Berry has volunteered to promote education, equal job opportunities, and social fairness in Israel and around the world. She also works to improve Israel's standing globally.
From 2009 to 2017, she was the chairperson of the Israel, Australia, New Zealand and Oceania Chamber of Commerce. From 2010 to 2017, she led the executive committee of the Academic College of Tel Aviv-Yafo.
Awards and Honors
Orna Berry has received many awards for her work:
- 2021: Hugo Ramniceanu Prize in Economics from Tel Aviv University
- 2021: Peres Center for Peace and Innovation Award
- 2019: Ranked 51st on "The 100 most influential people in Israel" list by The Marker magazine
- 2018: Cyber Protector Award during Israeli Cyber Week
- 2018: Honorary degree from McGill University
- 2017: Honorary fellowship award from the Academic College of Tel Aviv Yafo
- 2017: Honorary fellowship award from the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya (IDC)
- 2015: Certificate of appreciation from the Israeli branch of IEEE
- 2014: Inducted into the Women in Technology International Hall of Fame
- 2012: "Yekirat HaNegev" award from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
- 2012: Ranked 70th on "The 100 most influential people in Israel" list by The Marker magazine
- 2011: Viterbi Award from the USC Viterbi School of Engineering
- 2008: Ranked 4th in the "most influential women in the Israeli capital market" survey by Calcalist
- 2005: Named "One of the 25 most influential and important women in the technology world" by Red Herring magazine
Personal Life
Orna Berry's mother, Raisa Shrira, was a nurse. She served in the Palmach (a Jewish defense force) and in camps in Cyprus during the British rule in Israel. She also worked at the Sheba Medical Center and in public health services.
Her father, Yoash Tsiddon (Chatto), helped Jewish people illegally immigrate from Europe and Cyprus to Israel. He was also a member of the Palmach and helped protect convoys to Jerusalem during the 1948 war. Tsiddon was one of the first combat pilots in the Israeli Air Force. He founded the 119 Squadron and was the only pilot in a special mission called Operation Tarnegol. He became a high-ranking officer before leaving the military after 41 years. Later, he became a successful business person and was even elected to the Knesset, which is Israel's parliament.
Orna has two brothers: Professor Daniel (Dani) Tsiddon, who was a top executive at Bank Leumi, and attorney Ram Tsiddon. Orna Berry lives in Tel Aviv. She has three children named Amit, Yael, and Avital, and four grandchildren.
