Gil Shwed
| Gil Shwed גיל שויד |
|
|---|---|
| Born | 1968 Jerusalem, Israel |
| Nationality | Israeli |
| Occupation | Co-Founder and CEO of Check Point Software Technologies |
| Net worth |
 2.2 billion (2016) |
Gil Shwed (Hebrew: גיל שויד; born in 1968 in Jerusalem) is an Israeli software engineer, inventor and entrepreneur. He is the co-founder and CEO of Check Point Software Technologies Ltd, one of Israel's largest technology companies and the world's largest pure-play cybersecurity company.
Shwed was born in Jerusalem in 1968. He started programming at the age of 13, and two years later began studying computer sciences at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, while he was still in high-school.
During his military service he was part of the Intelligence Corps' Unit 8200. 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 Check Point together with Shlomo Kramer, 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 Check Point. He previously served as president of Check Point and chairman of the board.
He is currently a member of the Board of Trustees of Tel Aviv University 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.
In 2002, Shwed appeared on the front cover of Forbes’ Billionaires issue.
He received numerous prestigious accolades for his individual achievements and industry contributions, including an honorary Doctor of Science from the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, which he received in June 2005.
He was also 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, Shwed received the Academy of Achievement's Golden Plate Award for his innovative contribution to business and technology.
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