Google chooses manager for Israel branch: Meir Brand 

by Gideon Levy
The Marker
September 8, 2005
 
After months of reflection and dozens of resumes, Google has 
chosen a general manager for Google Israel: Meir Brand, 
until last week the small business marketing manager at 
Microsoft Israel. 

Brand, 35, has been at Microsoft Israel since 2002, before which 
he handled marketing at ICQ after its takeover by America Online. 
He holds an MBA from Harvard University and a BA in economics 
from Tel Aviv University. 

Before joining Microsoft Israel, Brand spent five years living in the 
U.S., where he worked at several major companies including 
Excite@Home, AOL Time Warner, and the international 
consultancy Booz Allen & Hamilton. 

Google Israel still has two job opportunities, described in its website: 
vertical head manager, multi-sector, and vertical relationship 
manager, multi-sector. The requirements are stringent. 

Brand's appointment is expected to be the trigger for major change 
in the Israeli Internet scene. For years Google has been available 
in Hebrew, and had become the most popular search engine. 
Until now however it had been managed from London. Now Google 
wants it run from here, and to start bringing in serious advertising 
income. 

The site is not a content or information portal: it is a search engine. 
Also, most of the options available on the English version of 
Google are not available in Hebrew, for instance Google News 
service, Gmail, and Google Local, a search for small and medium 
businesses in the surfer's region. 

The creation of Google Israel is designed to change all that, 
and pose a threat to Israeli search and portal sites, including Ynet, 
Walla!, NRG, Nana an Golden Pages. Google will also be 
converting several additional services, turning into a portal for 
content, mainly in order to expand its circle of advertisers.