Difference between revisions of "Gil Shwed"
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{{Infobox person | {{Infobox person | ||
| name = Gil Shwed | | name = Gil Shwed | ||
| + | | image = Gil Shwed headshot.jpg | ||
| nationality = Israeli | | nationality = Israeli | ||
| birth_place = Jerusalem | | birth_place = Jerusalem | ||
Latest revision as of 11:36, 22 October 2026
Israeli founder of Check Point Software Technologies and Unit 8200 veteran
| Gil Shwed
| |
|---|---|
| Image | 
|
| Born | Jerusalem |
| Nationality | Israeli |
| Occupation | Technology executive |
| Known for | Founder, long-time CEO and executive chairman of Check Point Software Technologies |
Gil Shwed is an Israeli technology executive and a veteran of Unit 8200, the signals intelligence unit of the Israel Defense Forces. He founded Check Point Software Technologies in 1993 with Shlomo Kramer and Marius Nacht, and ran it as chief executive for more than thirty years. In December 2024 he became executive chairman, and former Unit 8200 commander Nadav Zafrir took over as CEO.[1][2] In 2018 he received the first Israel Prize for technology and innovation.[3]
Unit 8200
Forbes wrote in 2002 that a four-year period went "virtually unmentioned" in Shwed's official biography. It said that in 1986, aged 18, he joined "the supersecret electronic intelligence arm, Unit 8200", where his job "most likely" was to link military computer networks so that some users could reach confidential material and others could not. It said he left in 1990 with the idea that defined his career.[4] Computer Weekly wrote in 2020 that "Shwed's pathway into security began in the Israeli Intelligence Corps' renowned signals intelligence and code decryption team, Unit 8200".[5]
When Naftali Bennett, then education minister, announced Shwed's Israel Prize, he tweeted: "As an alumnus of 8200 who founded Check Point, he paved the way and was an inspiration to me and to thousands of Israeli high tech entrepreneurs."[3]
Check Point
Check Point's leadership page credits Shwed as "the inventor of the modern firewall" and the author of patents including the company's Stateful Inspection technology.[1] Computer Weekly notes that the simple version of the story overstates this: what he invented was stateful inspection, a key element of modern firewalls.[5] Check Point Software Technologies listed on Nasdaq in 1996.[2]
In July 2024 the company named Nadav Zafrir, co-founder of Team8 and a former Unit 8200 commander, as CEO from December 2024, with Shwed moving to executive chairman.[2] Alon Cohen, co-founder of CyberArk, told Ctech in 2025 that Shwed "should have replaced himself as CEO long ago", while calling Check Point "a masterpiece".[6]
Other roles
According to Check Point, Shwed chairs the board of trustees of Tel Aviv University's Youth University, is a governor of Tel Aviv University, and founded its Check Point Institute for Information Security. He also chairs the Yeholot Association, founded by the Rashi Foundation to cut high-school drop-out rates.[1] The Times of Israel reported in 2018 that he was born in Jerusalem, lived in Tel Aviv, and was thought to be worth about $4 billion.[3]
See also
- Check Point Software Technologies
- Shlomo Kramer
- Marius Nacht
- Nadav Zafrir
- Unit 8200
- Cyber and tech firms founded by ex Unit 8200 or occupation forces veterans
External links
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Check Point Software Technologies, Leadership Check Point, accessed 19 October 2026.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Assaf Gilead, Check Point names Nadav Zafrir next CEO Globes, 24 July 2024.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Times of Israel staff, Check Point CEO awarded first Israel Prize for tech The Times of Israel, 4 March 2018.
- ↑ Forbes, A Fortune in Firewalls Forbes Global, 18 March 2002.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Computer Weekly, The Security Interviews: Gil Shwed's 10-year vision for security Computer Weekly, 25 February 2020.
- ↑ Diana Bahur-Nir, "This is more of a merger than an acquisition," CyberArk founder Alon Cohen explains Ctech, 11 August 2025.