DUN'S 100 - 2016

Eitan Madmon

CEO Globes

Technology, Democracy, the Challenge

We have recently been witnessing an attack,

unprecedented in its magnitude, on the core

values of the Western world, and damage to the

principles of democracy, based on the rule of the

people, freedom of expression and rights of the

individual. The feeling is that the rules of the

democratic system are the enemy, and present

a great obstacle to its very existence.

We are living in the age of the digital-techno-

logical revolution. It is a revolution that can be

described as larger and more dynamic than all

those that preceded it. The compression of infor-

mation so that it can be shared immediately and

swiftly is at the essence of this substantial and

dramatic change. These two elements create a

completely different reality from that which we

have known in the past.

In the democratic system, citizens have the right

to influence the public policies of their country.

In addition, contemporary democracy places at

its heart, rigorous protection of human rights,

such as the right to freedom, freedom of speech,

the right to organize, property rights and free-

dom of movement.

However, in recent years there has been a large

shift in the balance of the system of relations

between citizens and government. If in the past,

a citizen made do with electing a government

once every few years, based on who would man-

age on his behalf decision making and its pro-

cesses, today the demand and tendency is to

take decisions based on an opinion and liking,

at any given moment. Because the citizen knows

what is good for him no less than the decision

makers, he must all the time share and express

his opinion, both individually and collectively.

Another main influence is the taking advantage

of democratic principles in order to destabilize

them. This process is happening extensively to-

day in Europe, where values of individual free-

dom and freedom of speech are being exploited

as a powerful tool by extremists, to subvert the

very existence of democracy.

The basic human situation, which is causing the

processes that are occurring in the world, is a

significant lack of public faith in its leaders. The

genuine feeling of concern that the measures

being implemented are not really being taken

in the public interest, but out of extraneous in-

terests that are not necessarily for the public

benefit.

Similar processes are also underway in Israel.

Here as well, there also exists a continual ten-

sion between democratic principles and the ex-

istential threat. Moreover, this has been present

in Israel since its establishment. To our honor,

we have succeeded, even if there is harsh criti-

cism of the price, to combine here a commend-

able democratic systemwith minimum damage

to individual rights without sacrificing national

security. True, there are quite a few casualties

and the situation is less than perfect, and we

must aspire to correct the problems, but today

the eyes of Europe are watching how Israel

copes with these problems and challenges.

On the other hand, the process continues in

Israel, in which the citizen's feeling of trust in

its leadership is being chipped away. This situ-

ation generates a sense amongst the public that

only its immediate and active involvement will

change the picture. However, this involvement

makes it very difficult for the decision makers

to manage the country on a day-to-day, routine

basis. This involvement creates continual pres-

sure on the way decisions are made and the

declarations accompanying them. This involve-

ment attracts, in the best case scenario, paraly-

sis and postponement, and in the worst case

scenario, extremism that undermines society's

existence.

The main remedy for this disturbing problem

is principled leadership that leads by personal

example. Only quality, trustworthy leadership

with values and high credibility could bring

about a substantial change in the relationship

of the public to decision makers. Such a leader-

ship would restore and instill the term "public

servant". This is the major challenge that is not

easy to meet in an era when innovation appears

around every corner. Nevertheless it is the chal-

lenge that every leader, manager and source of

authority must share in order to create a public

climate and atmosphere that would lead to such

a change.

As the people and as a nation, we have been

blessed with so much talent, creativity, power

and compassion.These

attributes have led us

so far. And if we will

take the example of

the business world

– credible economic

leadership, with integ-

rity, with high business

commitment and dedi-

cation, bringing about a dramatic change in the

business community. This same model must

lead and set an example to the political leader-

ship here in Israel.

The leading companies in Israel's business

sector, and their management, have already

understood, for a number of years, the multi-

dimensional changes taking place in Israeli so-

ciety and throughout the world. These changes

require a different approach, management of

different processes, a changing world outlook,

and a completely different style of management.

This change is led by talented executives with vi-

sion and a genuine desire to lead the significant

process of moving the economy forward.

In this yearbook, crammed with information,

there are hundreds of good, quality people like

this. This combined talent is required to make

change and to influence.

Eitan Madmon

CEO Globes

2016

DUN’S

100

DUN’S

100

2016

DUN’S

100

2016

DUN’S

100