Benjamin (Benny) David Gaon, was the founder of B. Gaon Holdings Ltd. since its incorporation until his passing away in May 2008.
Gaon, one of the leading figures in Israeli society for over four decades, was born in Jerusalem in 1935. He married Rachel with whom he fathered four children who currently walk in his footsteps: Michal, Moshe, Boaz and Yoav. Benny Gaon was the beloved grandfather of twelve.
Gaon was the founder of B. Gaon Holdings Ltd. ("Gaon Holdings"), one of Israel's largest holdings companies. The Gaon Holdings' main objective, from its inception, was the promotion of investment in various industries in Israel, the Middle East and throughout the world. In addition, Gaon was a prominent advocate for peace and believed deeply in a shared regional future.
Since June 2007, Gaon Holdings has been a public company traded on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. Benny Gaon served as the company's President and Chairman since the establishment of the company until his passing away on May 10, 2008.
Prior to the establishment of Gaon Holdings Ltd., Gaon served as President and CEO of Koor Industries, Israel’s largest and most profitable industrial enterprise. Only three short years after his appointment as CEO, in May 1988, Gaon succeeded in turning a company with $1.4 billion in debt, negative shareholder equity and losses which exceeded $400 million, into the flagship of Israel's economy, with a market value of $2 billion and annual sales of approximately $4 billion. Koor Industries was taken public on the New York Stock Exchange with an offering of $400 million.
Before joining Koor, Gaon served as President and CEO of the Co-Op Blue Square Consumers’ Corporation Ltd. From the time he joined in 1982, until his departure in 1988, he tripled the annual sales of the nearly-bankrupt organization, increasing it to over $500 million and turning it into Israel’s largest and most profitable supermarket and retail chain.
Following the signing of the Camp David Accords, Gaon opened a Koor trade office in Egypt. Koor was the first Israeli company to do so. In later years, while heading Koor Industries, Gaon continued his pioneering approach to the formation of ties between Israel and its neighbors. Under his headship, Koor entered into a series of joint ventures with Jordan as well as with other Arab partners, hosted corporate leaders from Oman and Qatar, and became the exclusive supplier of cement and steel to the Palestinian National Authority. In 1996, Gaon headed the first official Israeli business delegation to Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim country.
Gaon further served in the following public positions: President of the Israeli Cancer Association, Chairman of the Committee for the Development of Economic Ties with Arab Countries at the Manufacturers Association of Israel Member on the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Tel-Aviv University Boards of Trustees, Chairman of the America-Israel Friendship League, Chairman of the Moshe David Gaon Center for Ladino Culture and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Sami Shamoon College of Engineering in Beer Sheva.
Mr. Gaon received the President’s Award of the Manufacturers Association of Israel, the Max Perlman Award for Excellence in Global Business Management and the Romansiaro Award for Economics of Tel Aviv University and the International Partnership Award from he California-Israel Chamber of Commerce.