Gil Shwed (Hebrew: גיל שויד; born 1968) is an Israeli software engineer and entrepreneur. He is the co-founder and

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

Check Point Check Point is an American-Israeli multinational provider of software and combined hardware and software products for IT security, including network security, endpoint security, cloud security, mobile security, data security and security managem ...

Software Technologies Ltd, one of Israel's largest technology companies and the world's largest pure-play cybersecurity company.

Biography

Shwed was born in

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

. He started programming at the age of 13, and two years later began studying computer sciences at

Hebrew University The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; he, הַאוּנִיבֶרְסִיטָה הַעִבְרִית בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם) is a public university, public research university based in Jerusalem, Israel. Co-founded by Albert Einstein ...

in Jerusalem, while he was still in high-school. During his military service he was part of the Intelligence Corps'

Unit 8200 Unit 8200 ( he, יחידה 8200, ''Yehida shmone -Matayim''- "Unit eight - two hundred") is an Israeli Intelligence Corps unit of the Israel Defense Forces responsible for collecting signal intelligence (SIGINT) and code decryption. Military pu ...

. 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

with

Shlomo Kramer Shlomo Kramer ( he, שלמה קרמר), is an Israeli information technology entrepreneur and investor. He is the co-founder of cyber-security companies Check Point and Imperva, as well as Cato Networks, a cloud-based network security provider. ...

, Shwed's friend from the military unit, and Marius Nacht with whom he worked at Optrotech. That year, Shwed invented and patented stateful inspection, which served as the basis for the first version of the company's renowned FireWall-1, released in 1994. Stateful Inspection is still widely used in network firewalls today. Shwed is the chief executive officer and director of

. He previously served as president of Check Point and chairman of the board. 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 Company with a 7.7% stake worth $1.3 billion at present. Shwed and Check Point emphasize the "fifth generation" of cybersecurity, addressing the underlying issues behind such vulnerabilities as the

WannaCry The WannaCry ransomware attack was a worldwide cyberattack in May 2017 by the WannaCry ransomware cryptoworm, which targeted computers running the Microsoft Windows operating system by encrypting data and demanding ransom payments in the Bitco ...

and NotPetya security breaches in 2017. He has stated that enterprise businesses are "two generations behind" in their security thinking, and describes the industry as being at an "inflection point." He is currently a member of the Board of Trustees of

Tel Aviv University Tel Aviv University (TAU) ( he, אוּנִיבֶרְסִיטַת תֵּל אָבִיב, ''Universitat Tel Aviv'') is a public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Locate ...

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.

Acknowledgments

In 2002, Shwed appeared on the front cover of

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...

’ Billionaires issue. He received an honorary Doctor of Science from the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, which he received in June 2005. He was acknowledged by the World Economic Forum's Global Leader for Tomorrow as one of the world's 100 top young leaders, due to his commitment to public affairs and leadership in areas beyond immediate professional interests. In addition, 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. Shwed received the Israel-America Chambers of Commerce Industry Award on behalf of Check Point Software Technologies, for companies who demonstrate entrepreneurial abilities and excellence in the field of advanced technologies. In 2010, Shwed was recognized as the

Ernst & Young Ernst & Young Global Limited, trade name EY, is a multinational professional services partnership headquartered in London, England. EY is one of the largest professional services networks in the world. Along with Deloitte, KPMG and Pricewat ...

Entrepreneur of the Year in Israel. Globes honored Shwed as their "Person of the Year" in 2014. In September 2017, Shwed was ranked 12th in TheMarker Magazine list. In 2018, Shwed was the recipient of the first-ever

Israel Prize The Israel Prize ( he, פרס ישראל; ''pras israél'') is an award bestowed by the State of Israel, and regarded as the state's highest cultural honor. History The Israel Prize is awarded annually, on Israeli Independence Day, in a state cer ...

in technology.

Biography

Acknowledgments

References

External links