Eldad Matityahu (born 1962) is the founder and chairman of the board of
Net Optics, a privately held
California
California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
-based provider of network visibility solutions that allow companies to protect against hacking, intrusion, confidentiality breach and other malicious attacks.
Net Optics specializes in designing visibility into networks to address challenges related to virtualization, compliance and security.
Early life and business ventures
Born and raised in Israel, Matityahu moved to the United States with his parents as a teenager in 1976. He attended high school in
Palo Alto, California
Palo Alto ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for ) is a charter city in northwestern Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a Sequoia sempervirens, coastal redwood tree known as El Palo Alto.
Th ...
, and earned a business degree from
San Jose State University
San José State University (San Jose State or SJSU) is a Public university, public research university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the List of oldest schools in California, oldest public university on the West Coast of ...
.
His parents ran a restaurant that was only open for breakfast and lunch. While in business school, Eldad ran a barbecue business at their restaurant during dinner hours.
He went on to open two
frozen yogurt
Frozen yogurt (also known as frogurt or by the tradename Froyo; ) is a frozen dessert made with yogurt and sometimes other dairy and non-dairy products. Frozen yogurt is a frozen product containing the same basic ingredients as ice cream, but c ...
stores called "IT'S A RIOT! YOGURRT" based on a business plan he wrote for school. He sold the yogurt business three years later, switching gears to work in networking technology at a fiber optics company.
He was involved in marketing and leadership development for AMP (now a division of
Tyco International
Tyco International was a security systems company incorporated in the Republic of Ireland, with operational headquarters in Princeton, New Jersey, United States (Tyco International (US) Inc.). Tyco International was composed of two major busin ...
).
[Executive Profile]
''Bloomberg Business Week''.
Net Optics
Matityahu founded Net Optics in 1996, investing the proceeds from a frozen yogurt business.
Net Optics took shape in a spare room in Matityahu's apartment, bootstrapped without venture capital funding.
Under his leadership, Net Optics has been profitable for every quarter since its inception.
In 2011, the company was recognized by the Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal as one of Silicon Valley's fastest growing companies,
and by Red Herring in its North America and Global Top 100 lists.
Its customers include 85% of the Fortune 100 companies.
The company delivers solutions for real-time IT visibility, monitoring and control.
Matityahu oversees the launch of six to eight new products each year, guiding the vision and direction of the company with a ‚"Customer First!" philosophy.
In 2012, Matityahu led the company's global expansion with the acquisition of Australia's TripleLayer Networks and without venture capital funding.
Automobile enthusiast
Matityahu has been an
automobile enthusiast ever since he watched his brother build a go-cart while they were growing up in Israel. As an avid collector, he incorporates his passion into the corporate culture.
The company's fleet of branded
Mini Cooper Mini Cooper may refer to:
*Performance Cars of the original Mini series with uprated drive train and brakes, called the "Mini Cooper", made by the British Motor Corporation and also the successors 1961–1971, and 1990–2000
*Cars of the Mini (mar ...
s serve as an employee perk.
His interest in customizing and driving cars has been compared to his unorthodox approach to business, and Matityahu credits the hobby with stimulating his creative thinking.
In 2011, Net Optics sponsored the
Mille Miglia
The Mille Miglia (, ''Thousand Miles'') was an open-road, motorsport Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance race established in 1927 by the young Counts :it:Franco Mazzotti, Francesco Mazzotti and Aymo Maggi. It took place in Italy 24 times f ...
North America Tribute and the 25th annual Santa Barbara
Concours d'Elegance
Concours d'Elegance ( French: ''concours d'élégance'') is a term of French origin that means a "competition of elegance" and refers to an event where prestigious vehicles are displayed and judged. It dates back to 17th-century France, where a ...
, and Matityahu competed in the 1,000 mile race in a
1954 Corvette.
(video). July 20, 2011.
Investment and philanthropy
Matityahu supports young startup companies, including a $75,000 investment in a teenage entrepreneur's business plan.Palo Alto
Palo Alto ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for ) is a charter city in northwestern Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a Sequoia sempervirens, coastal redwood tree known as El Palo Alto.
Th ...
, and is active with Sunday Friends, a charity that helps families move out of poverty.
References
External links
* Brooks, Chad
IT Exec Shares Passion for Cars with Employees
IT Tech News Daily, October 3, 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20111015161320/http://www.ittechnewsdaily.com/160-rewarding-employees-cars.html
{{DEFAULTSORT:Matityahu, Eldad
1962 births
Living people
Israeli emigrants to the United States
Silicon Valley people
American company founders
American computer businesspeople
Businesspeople from the San Francisco Bay Area
San Jose State University alumni