Gil Shwed
גיל שויד‎
Speaking at the 2021 World Economic Forum
Born1968 (age 55–56)
Jerusalem, Israel
Occupation(s)Co-founder and CEO, Check Point Software Technologies

Gil Shwed (Hebrew: גיל שויד; born 1968)[1][2][3][4] is an Israeli software engineer and entrepreneur.[5][6] He is the co-founder and CEO of Check Point Software Technologies Ltd, one of Israel's largest technology companies and the world's largest pure-play cybersecurity company.[7][6]

Biography

Shwed was born in Jerusalem. He started programming at the age of 13, and two years later began studying computer sciences at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, while he was still in high-school.[6]

During his military service he was part of the Intelligence Corps' Unit 8200.[8] After his military service had ended, Shwed joined the Israeli startup company Optrotech (currently Orbotech), where he worked as a Software Developer.

In 1993, Shwed founded Check Point with Shlomo Kramer, Shwed's friend from the military unit, and Marius Nacht with whom he worked at Optrotech.[6]

That year, Shwed invented and patented stateful inspection,[9] which served as the basis for the first version of the company's renowned FireWall-1, released in 1994.[10] Stateful Inspection is still widely used in network firewalls today.[11]

Shwed is the chief executive officer and director of Check Point. He previously served as president of Check Point and chairman of the board.[12] As of 2018, Shwed is the leading shareholder in Checkpoint, owning 19.1% of the company, with an estimated worth of US$3.4 billion. The second largest shareholder in Check Point is US investment company Massachusetts Financial Services with a 7.7% stake worth $1.3 billion at present.[13]

Shwed and Check Point emphasize the "fifth generation" of cybersecurity, addressing the underlying issues behind such vulnerabilities as the WannaCry and NotPetya security breaches in 2017.[14][15] He has stated that enterprise businesses are "two generations behind" in their security thinking, and describes the industry as being at an "inflection point."[16][17]

He is currently a member of the Board of Trustees of Tel Aviv University and the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Youth University of Tel Aviv University. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of Yeholot Association founded by the Rashi Foundation whose charter is, among other things, to reduce dropout rates in high schools.

On 5 March 2021, Forbes listed his net worth at US$2.9 billion.[18]

Acknowledgments

He received an honorary Doctor of Science from the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, which he received in June 2005.[19]

In 2002, Shwed received the Academy of Achievement's Golden Plate Award at a ceremony in Dublin, Ireland, for his innovative contribution to business and technology.[20][21]

In 2010, Shwed was recognized as the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year in Israel.[22]

Globes honored Shwed as their "Person of the Year" in 2014.[23] In September 2017, Shwed was ranked 12th in TheMarker Magazine list.[24]

In 2018, Shwed was the recipient of the first-ever Israel Prize in technology.[20][25][26]

References

  1. ↑ "Gil Shwed". www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org.
  2. ↑ "Gil Shwed wins first-ever Israel Prize in high-tech". Globes. 4 March 2018.
  3. ↑ "Check Point CEO to receive Israel Prize in Technology and Innovation - Israel News - Jerusalem Post". www.jpost.com.
  4. ↑ "Markets : News - Marketscreener.com". www.marketscreener.com.
  5. ↑ CIO. 1 October 2002. Retrieved 21 August 2011.
  6. 1 2 3 4 "A Fortune In Firewalls". Forbes. 18 March 2002. Archived from the original on 23 January 2013.
  7. ↑ Morgan, Steve. "Meet the World's Largest Cybersecurity Companies". Forbes. Retrieved 3 November 2016.
  8. ↑ "The Unit". Forbes. 8 February 2007. Retrieved 21 August 2011.
  9. ↑ Paul Fisher (22 September 2009). SC Magazine interviews Gil Shwed, co-founder of Check Point. SC Magazine UK. Retrieved 21 August 2011.
  10. ↑ Kessler, E. H.; Wong-Mingji, D. J. (2009). Cultural mythology and global leadership. ISBN 9781848447387. Retrieved 21 August 2011.
  11. ↑ "What is stateful inspection?". Searchnetworking.techtarget.com. 17 August 2011. Retrieved 21 August 2011.
  12. ↑ "Bloomberg Executive Profile". Bloomberg News.
  13. ↑ "Check Point to give Shwed options worth $144m". Globes. 19 July 2018.
  14. ↑ Arkin, Dan (30 January 2018). ""It's imperative to develop innovative, sixth-generation defenses": Check Point Founder and CEO Gil Shwed said at the opening plenary of Cybertech Tel Aviv 2018 that "fifth-generation cyber-attacks excel in identification theft, as well as in targeting cloud services and mobile systems"". Israel Defense.
  15. ↑ Murphy, Ian (25 January 2018). "Check Point warns of mega attacks". Enterprise Times.
  16. ↑ Harding, Scharon (9 February 2018). "Check Point CEO: Enterprises 'two generations behind' in cybersecurity: The average enterprise hasn't made it past app security, Gil Shwed tells conference". ChannelNomics.
  17. ↑ Panettieri, Joe (7 February 2018). "Check Point Software CEO Gil Shwed Addresses Fifth Generation Cyber Attacks". MSSP Alert.
  18. ↑ "Gil Shwed". Forbes.
  19. ↑ "March 2003". Pard.technion.ac.il. 27 March 2011. Archived from the original on 26 July 2010. Retrieved 21 August 2011.
  20. 1 2 Yefet, Nati (4 March 2018). "Gil Shwed wins first-ever Israel Prize in high-tech". Globes.
  21. ↑ "Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement". www.achievement.org. American Academy of Achievement.
  22. ↑ "The Israeli Entrepreneur of the Year award". Archived from the original on 20 January 2013.
  23. ↑ Dover, Shiri (7 December 2014). ""Globes" names Gil Shwed "Person of the Year"". Globes. Globes. Retrieved 3 November 2016.
  24. ↑ Vidal, Elihay (18 September 2017). "High-tech Execs Dominate List of 100 Most Influential People in Israeli Economy". Haaretz. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
  25. ↑ "Cybersecurity Pioneer Gil Shwed to Receive First Israel Prize in Technology: Founder and CEO of Check Point Software Technologies has been awarded the first Israel Prize in the newly formed technology category". Haaretz. 5 March 2018.
  26. ↑ Orbach, Meir (3 April 2018). "Check Point Founder Gil Shwed First Israel Award Laureate in the Field of Technology and Innovation". CTech / Calcalist.
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