Prof. Kandel is the CEO of the Start-Up Nation Central, a non-profit dedicated to strengthening Israel’s innovation ecosystem and connecting the world government, business and NGO leaders to the people and technologies in Israel that can help them solve their most pressing problems. He is also an Emil Spyer Professor of Economics and Finance at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

Prof. Eugene Kandel holds a BA and an MA from the Hebrew University, and an MBA and a Ph.D. from the Graduate School of Business at the University of Chicago.

Prof. Kandel’s primary area of academic expertise is Financial Markets and Financial Intermediaries. His research is published in the world leading Finance and Economics journals. Prof. Kandel was actively involved in the 1997 redesign of the Nasdaq trading rules. Prof. Kandel served as Editor and Associate Editor of several leading Finance journals.

Prof. Kandel is a member of the Center for the Study of Rationality at the Hebrew University, a Research Fellow of the Center for Economic Policy and Research in London, and a Fellow of the European Corporate Governance Institute. He is the founder of the Center for Financial Markets and Institutions, and of the MA program in Finance and Financial Economics, both at the Hebrew University.

Between 2009 and 2015 Prof. Kandel served as the Head of the National Economic Council in the Prime Minister's Office and the Economic Adviser to the Prime Minister, and played a central role in all the major decisions on economic policy. Prior to that he advised governments, corporations, financial institutions, and NGOs; served on the Israeli Antitrust Court; and chaired investment committees of pension and provident funds in Israel.