AppointmentGoldman Sachs Asset Management appoints Irit Kahan head of growth equity for Israel
Appointment
Goldman Sachs Asset Management appoints Irit Kahan head of growth equity for Israel
“Goldman is very committed to Israel, especially at this time,” says Kahan about the investment firm’s new growth investment fund in Israel.
Irit Kahan has been appointed as a managing director and head of growth equity investing in Israel by Goldman Sachs Assets Management. Kahan was until now a partner at DTPC where she was responsible for sourcing and leading investment opportunities in Israel and Europe, focused on cyber security, software, and infrastructure technology investments. Before DTPC, she was an investor at Vintage Investment Partners. Kahan holds a bachelor's degree in business administration with honors from Reichmann University and an MBA from Columbia University.
Earlier this year, Goldman Sachs announced the closing of its first growth equity fund at $5.2 billion. Goldman Sachs' previous investments in Israel include Mobileye, Appsflyer, Redis, and Lightricks. In addition to Kahan's recruitment, Anna Phillips, previously a vice president in Goldman Sachs' Asset Management’s External Investment Group (XIG), has also joined the growth equity team in Tel Aviv.
"Goldman Sachs brings a unique network and depth of expertise to help the world’s leading founders scale and build category-defining businesses," said Kahan. "I look forward to building out Goldman Sachs’ growth equity investing team in Israel and to partner with leading Israeli entrepreneurs and companies. We look forward to making the significant resources of the Goldman Sachs Asset Management platform available to the companies we partner with.”
Goldman Sachs has had an office in Tel Aviv since 2007, employing about 30 people. Following the Hamas’ attack on October 7, the company announced that it would commit $2 million to organizations providing critical support and humanitarian relief in Israel.
In conversation with Calcalist, Kahan said: "We raised a new fund with external money, not just ours, and this is our first investment office in Israel. We have made many investments in Israel in the past, and we now have a growth investment fund for the first time, and it is important for us to open a long-term office here. Goldman is very committed to Israel, especially at this time. Israel is a long-term partner of the company. I bring the bank's values to Israel. We are looking for investments in growth stages, ranging from $30-200 million. We will add additional senior professionals to our team with a massive fund that will invest in Israel and help promote the Israeli tech industry."
