startupmania

Israeli start-up Neocleus, which is working on a virtualization solution for personal computers, appointed a new CEO, replacing it’s reigning CEO Ariel Gorfung, who also founded the company.

Gorfung founded Neocleus in 2006, along with Itai Bogner, one of the founders of SofaWare, and spearheaded two venture capital fund raising operations from the Gemini Capital Fund and Battery Ventures. According to previous publications, Neocleus has managed to raise over 16 million dollars from the two venture capital funds.

Gorfung will be replaced as CEO by Les Yetton, who worked in the virtualization start-up Softricity until they were purchased by Microsoft, and then joined the company Desktone.

In a StartUpMania interview, Gofung tells that he came to the decision following the heavy work load inside the US, and that the company has reached the point where an American CEO, who can dedicate all his time to handling big clients in American financial and government fields, is required. It is these areas, according to Gorfung, that Neocleus is making the most progress.

“Nearly everyone at Neoclues who would show up to meetings with American government offices had an American passport,” Gorfung relates a relatively unknown problem that nevertheless plagues many Israeli entrepreneurs. “Itai Bogner (Neocleus second founder – ed.) has an American passport as well. I had many problems with my Israeli passport when trying to enter meetings Neocleus had inside government facilities. You can’t meet these people in a coffee shop outside the premise.”

Following a month of overlapping service, Gorfung is handing the reigns into Yetton’s capable hands. Gorfung, in turn, is turning to new ventures. “It is only just beginning,” Gorfung concludes,
“we are just starting our search for investors. This new direction, however, is cleantech.”

Translated by Itai Rosenbaum