About > Team

Yossi is a visionary manager and experienced entrepreneur, who has founded and managed several successful Israeli start-ups over the last fifteen years. Yossi was co-founder and co-CEO of Modem-Art (acquired for $145M), a developer of 3G baseband chipset. He was also co-founder and CEO of bSolar, a developer of bifacial silicon solar cells. Previously, he co-founded Siklu, a developer of 60-80 GHz communications systems. Dr. Kofman holds a D.Sc. in Electrical Engineering from the Technion, Israel Institute of Technology.

Danny is an innovative tinkerer and an expert on mycorrhizal production techniques. He previously focused on mycorrhizal research and development at the Volcani Center (ARO), under Prof. Yoram Kapulnik and Dr. Hinanit Koltai. During this time, Danny gained unique theoretical and practical knowledge on the topic of mycorrhiza, as well as specific expertise with ARO’s mycorrhizal strains with its proprietary cultivation protocol and field applications of mycorrhiza in agriculture.

Dan Grotsky is a serial entrepreneur and business development executive, with a passion for sustainable development. His international experience ranges from information technology and communications to agribusiness and cleantech. He holds an MBA and MS, EECS, both from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and a B.Sc., Industrial Engineering, from Tel-Aviv University. He graduated as a Fellow in the Leaders for Global Operations (LGO) program at MIT, and as a Fellow at the Heschel Sustainability Center.

Mick Messman is the Chief Commercial Officer at GreenLight Biosciences and is responsible for the development of an agricultural business for GreenLight. He leads a team that is responsible for the product portfolio, branding, business development and the customer experience. Mick has over 20 years of global agriculture experience and has held increasingly senior commercial roles at Syngenta and Corteva Agriscience. Mick has spent a significant part of his career developing new markets and creating businesses in the seed treatment and biologicals segment. He earned his M.B.A. at Colorado State University, a Bachelor of Science in Agribusiness from the University of Nebraska, Lincoln and resides in Des Moines, IA.

Brian Mixer is an investment director at Middleland Capital. Brian works with technology companies in the food, agriculture and alternative energy sectors. He led Middleland's investments in and holds the board or observer seats in Agrivida, Aquaspy, Conservis, Proterro, Rivertop Renewables, Rootility and Shenandoah Growers. Prior to joining Middleland in 2010, Brian worked in investment banking and held senior positions in multiple US political campaigns. Brian holds a BA in economics from Bucknell University, where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa. He has an MBA from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania.

Jack leads MoreVC activities in water related technologies, agritech, foodtech, and sustainable materials. Jack has extensive experience in building high-growth companies and leading management teams through successful capital raising, international expansion and acquisition processes - both from the position of an executive in a successful venture-backed company and from his years as a corporate lawyer. Prior to co-founding MoreVC, Jack was Vice President and General Counsel of Register.com, guiding the firm as it expanded operations into five countries and multiple business lines and successfully grew to become a leader in its market. He also played a central role in the company's IPO. Previously, Jack served as a corporate attorney for Tulchinsky Stern in Tel Aviv and with the New York law firm Wilkie Farr & Gallagher. Jack holds a J.D. from Columbia Law School where he was a Stone Scholar and a B.A from Harvard College.

Prof. Kapulnik was born in Netanya, Israel, in 1954. He completed his doctoral work in soil microbiology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Faculty of Agriculture in Rehovot. Following his graduation and before joining the ARO as a researcher, Prof. Kapulnik spent 2.5 years as a Fulbright Fellow in the Agronomy and Range Sciences Department at UC Davis, Davis California, USA. Prof. Kapulnik's research deals with plant-microbe interactions and rhizosphere biology, focusing on the use of beneficial microorganisms to promote plant growth and productivity. He has published more than 120 articles in international scientific journals, edited three books in his field, contributed 30 review articles and chapters in books and holds 8 patents. He has trained more than 45 graduate students (M.Sc. & Ph.D) and over the years hosted 15 Israeli and non-Israeli post-doctorate scientists in his lab. Prof. Kapulnik served as the head of the Agronomy and Natural Resources Department (1996-2000) and as the Director of the Field and Garden Crops Institute (2000-2004) at the ARO, the Volcani Center, Bet Dagan. In the Years 2004-2008 Prof. Kapulnik served as the head of the Plant Sciences Institute, in the ARO and from 2011 Prof. Kapulnik is serving as the head of the Agricultural Research Organization, The Volcani Center, Bet Dagan. During the years Prof. Kapulnik served on numerous national and international research evaluation panels, Chaired the board of the Israeli Gene Bank, the natural "food security" commission and representative of Israel in numerous international events.