Black Cube

Private intelligence agency founded in 2010 by former Israeli intelligence officers Dan Zorella and Avi Yanus

Black Cube
Trade name	{{{trade_name}}}
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Type	Private
Founded	Template:Start date in Tel Aviv, Israel
Founder(s)	{{{founder}}}
Defunct
Headquarters	Tel Aviv, London, Madrid
Industry	Private intelligence, business intelligence, litigation support
Services	Tailored intelligence for litigation, arbitration, white-collar crime, fraud and corruption investigations
Parent
Subsidiaries
Revenue
Number of employees	340+
Homepage	{{{homepage}}}

Black Cube (BC Strategy Ltd) is a private intelligence agency specialising in business intelligence, litigation support and investigations into fraud, corruption and white-collar crime. It was founded in 2010 by former Israeli intelligence officers Dan Zorella and Avi Yanus and employs veterans of elite Israeli intelligence units.

The company maintains offices in Tel Aviv, London and Madrid and has operated in over sixty countries.

History

Black Cube was founded in 2010 (some sources cite 2011) by Dan Zorella and Avi Yanus, both veterans of Israeli elite intelligence units. Dan Zorella served in IDF Military Intelligence, while Avi Yanus was a strategic planning officer in the Israel Defense Forces. The pair met at the Technion in Haifa. The firm employs former members of Israeli intelligence units and has conducted operations in over 60 countries.

Operations

Black Cube provides HUMINT-based intelligence services, often using undercover operatives, front companies, and deceptive tactics. It has been involved in high-profile cases uncovering corruption but has also faced accusations of corporate espionage and targeting journalists and activists. Clients include wealthy individuals, corporations, and governments.

The firm has claimed it does not have Israeli clients. However, evidence contradicts this, including contracts with the Israeli Defense Ministry (2012–2014) and work for Israeli billionaire Idan Ofer targeting politicians.

Similarities to other Israeli firms

Black Cube operates in a similar space to other Israeli tech and intelligence startups such as NSO Group (Pegasus spyware), Cellebrite (digital forensics), Intellexa (a consortium of international surveillance companies founded by former Israeli intelligence officer Tal Dilian, known for developing and distributing the Predator spyware); and firms like PsyGroup. These entities leverage Israel's intelligence community expertise for commercial surveillance and intelligence products, often facing scrutiny over misuse and privacy concerns.

Links with the UK

Black Cube maintains a significant UK presence through B.C. Strategy UK Limited (company number 08153977), registered in England and Wales with addresses in London such as Dashwood House. Reports highlight the use of UK-registered entities and fake British identities by operatives for European operations.

Personnel

Public information on the full composition of Black Cube's board of directors and exact dates of service for all advisory board members and senior staff is limited, as the company is privately held and does not publish comprehensive personnel records. The following tables compile known founders, executives, advisory board members and associated individuals from official company materials and contemporaneous reports. Dates are noted where publicly available; many advisory roles lack precise start and end dates in open sources.

Founders and executive directors

Founders and executive leadership

Name	Position	Dates of service	Background and notes
Dan Zorella	Co-founder and CEO	2010–present	Veteran of an elite IDF unit and Military Intelligence. Primary executive responsible for operations.
Avi Yanus	Co-founder and director (also referred to as CFO in some reports)	2010–present	Former IDF strategic planning officer; holds a PhD in organisational behaviour. Met Dan Zorella at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology.

Advisory board and associated board members

The company maintains an international advisory board comprising former senior Israeli and international security, intelligence and business figures. Some individuals listed in earlier reports (circa 2017) may have served in board or advisory capacities; the composition appears to have evolved.

Advisory board and key associated individuals

Name	Role/Position with Black Cube	Dates of service	Background and notes
Meir Dagan	Honorary president / president (deceased)	Early involvement–2016	Former Director of the Mossad (2002–2011/2012). Heavily involved in the company's earliest stages; served until his death in March 2016.
Efraim Halevy	Advisory board member	circa 2018–present	Former head of the Mossad (ninth director); extensive field and command experience.
Yohanan Danino	Advisory board member	Unknown–present	Former Israeli Police Commissioner; established Lahav 433 unit for fraud, corruption and cyber investigations. Later Chairman of Migdal Insurance Group.
Giora Eiland	Adviser / advisory board member	Unknown–present	Major General (ret.); former head of Israel's National Security Council, IDF Operations Branch and Planning Branch.
Asher Tishler	Board / advisory member	Unknown (listed 2017–present)	Professor and former Dean/President of academic institutions including Tel Aviv University Faculty of Management and College of Management Academic Studies. Adviser to IDF and Ministry of Defence.
Golan Malka	Board member	Unknown (listed 2017)	Lieutenant Colonel (res.); former VP Marketing and Business Development at NICE Systems.
Mati Leshem	Board member	Unknown (listed 2017)	Brigadier General (res.); recipient of the Israel Defense Prize.
Paul Reyniers	Board member	Unknown (listed circa 2017–present)	Former partner at Price Waterhouse; expert in risk management and GARP principles.
Itiel Maayan	Advisory / board member	Unknown–present	Leading Israeli CTO and cyber expert; Chief Architect at AT&T; member of Microsoft's Customer Advisory Board.
Adrian Leppard	Advisory board member	Unknown–present	CBE; former Commissioner of the City of London Police and UK lead for fraud and cyber crime.
Rose Lopez Keravuori	Advisory board member	Unknown–present	Brigadier General (ret.), US Army; former Director of Intelligence at US Africa Command; over 30 years in intelligence and strategy.

Other associated individuals and senior staff

Detailed public information on additional senior staff, operational directors or long-term employees beyond the founders and advisory board is not extensively disclosed. The company employs over 340 staff, predominantly former members of Israeli intelligence units (Mossad, Shin Bet, IDF Military Intelligence (Aman)), lawyers, economists and financial professionals. Operatives often work under cover and specific names are rarely published. No comprehensive public list of all past or present senior staff with exact dates of service exists in open sources. Isolated mentions include operatives involved in specific cases (e.g., two unnamed employees convicted in Romania in 2016 for activities linked to a contract), but these are not presented as permanent senior staff.

See also

• Black Cube in the Democratic Republic of Congo
• Black Cube in Slovenia
• Cyber and tech firms founded by ex Unit 8200 or occupation forces veterans