Ran Shahor

Ran Shahor (born 4 August 1957 ) is a brigadier general in Military reserve force of the Israel Defense Force (IDF). He served as commander for multiple special operations units including Sayeret Matkal from 1989-1991, , and the Special Operation Department (SOD), which oversees the Unit 81. He is currently the founder and CEO of HolistiCyber, a world-class cybersecurity service.
== Early Life ==
Ran Shahor was born and raised in Gan Shmuel, the son of Mordechai and Lucia. His father died when he was 14 years old. Shahor was a member of the Hashomer Hatzair|Hashomer Hatzair movement and did a Pre-Army Service Year of community service through the program. Prior to his enlistment in the Israel Defense Forces, he played basketball for Hapoel Tel Aviv B.C.|Hapoel Gan Shmuel in the Israeli Basketball Premier League in the 1974-75 season.
== Service in the IDF ==
Shahor Conscription in Israel Defense Forces in 1975 to the Sayeret Matkal unit. After Paratroopers Brigade|paratroopers' training, he underwent combat training in Sayeret Matkal, followed by platoon commander training. Later, he enrolled in the Officer (armed forces) and after its completion, he was appointed commander of the staff in the unit under Uzi Dayan. In December 1988, Shahor participated in Operation Ben Belial following the abduction of Jawad al-Katzafi, a member of the Amal military wing in southern Lebanon. Over the years he rose in rank within the unit, first serving as deputy of Omer Bar-Lev|Omer Bar Lev and then, in 1989, replacing Moshe Ya'alon in command of the Sayeret Matkal Unit. It was under Shahor's tenure and his personal command that Sayeret Matkal performed Operation Elam Hamudot, the abduction of Abdel Karim Obeid|Sheikh Obeid, a Hezbollah leader in southern Lebanon, in July 1989.
After leaving the unit, Shahor completed a master's degree in business administration at the Leon Recanati School of Business Administration at Tel Aviv University. After graduation, he returned to the army, where he was promoted to colonel and appointed commander of the Negev Brigade, a reserve infantry division. Shahor assisted Yaakov Amidror when he was military secretary to Defense Minister Yitzhak Mordechai. Ran then became head of the SOD within the Intelligence Corps and was promoted to brigadier general underneath Chief of Staff Shaul Mofaz. It was in that capacity he envisioned and established the first Attack Cyber unit in the world. When the government changed and Shahor was not appointed military secretary to the prime minister, he left the army.
== After his release from the IDF ==
After retiring from the IDF, Shahor was appointed managing partner in the Star Venture Capital Fund. He has since held management positions in multiple high-tech companies including director at Azimut Technologies and EZchip Semiconductor|EZchip Semiconductors. Today, he is the CEO of HolistiCyber, providing nation-state grade cybersecurity services to enterprises around the world.
Shahor holds a BA in law from Tel Aviv University and an MBA at the Recanati Business School at the Tel Aviv University. He is a member of Israel Bar Association|the Israel Bar Association. He is a visiting lecturer at Massachusetts Institute of Technology|the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) on risk management. He was the co-founder and chairman for 20 years at the Gallup Association, which uses Equine-assisted therapy|therapeutic riding to treat special needs and youth-at-risk populations, as well as the head of the Sayeret Matkal Association.
Shahor’s younger brother is Brigadier General (Res.) Gabi Shahor, who was the commander of the Israeli Air Force base in Palmachim Airbase.
Category:1957 births
Category:Brigadier generals