Shy joined Viola’s finance team in 2009, bringing with him a decade of experience in financing, accounting and taxation. As VP Finance for Viola Growth and Viola Partners he covers many aspects of the funds’ management including cash flow, valuation of investments, financial reporting, tax issues and investor relations.

Shy holds a B.A. in Accounting and Economics with distinction from Tel Aviv University, Israel. He is a Certified Public Accountant in Israel.

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

Shy was a senior auditor at Somekh Chaikin, the Israeli affiliate of KPMG, where he led multiple audit projects and specialized in auditing public and private companies in various sectors, particularly media and communication companies. He performed auditing in accordance with US GAAP, Israeli GAAP and IFRS.

THINGS YOU MIGHT NOT KNOW ABOUT SHY

He loves sports, specifically running: “Just a few months ago, Adam Ingram (Controller at Viola Ventures) and I organized for 2 teams to represent Viola Group in one of the most famous running events in Israel, the Mountain to Valley run (M2V) – a 215km relay race combining personal challenges with team comradery, that involved running throughout both the day and night in rural areas, from Northern Israel to the Yizrael Valley.”

Even though no one from his family is from Iran, he can read and write Persian (Farsi): “I learned the language as part of my military service in the Israeli intelligence corps.”

He is inspired by (and admires) people who can create something new using only their minds, like composers: “I find this ability and skill to be the closest thing to magic.”

A couple of his favorite mantras to live by include “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take” (Wayne Gretzky) and “If someone does not smile at you, be generous and offer your own smile. Nobody needs a smile more than the one who cannot smile at others.” (Dalai Lama)

He is almost completely vegan “except when it comes to chocolate” 🙂