Microsoft Appoints Michal Braverman-Blumenstyk to Head of Israel R&D

Two months after Israeli entrepreneur Assaf Rappaport stepped down as Microsoft's head of research and development in Israel, the company appointed Michal Braverman-Blumenstyk as his successor. Microsoft announced the appointment Wednesday. In addition to her new role, Braverman-Blumenstyk will continue to hold the position of chief technology officer of Microsoft Cloud and AI security.

Braverman-Blumenstyk joined Microsoft in 2013, founding the cybersecurity center within Microsoft’s Israel Development Center. Before joining Microsoft, she was the chief operating officer at Israeli cybersecurity company Cyota, and when the company was acquired by RSA Security LLC in 2005 she joined the company, eventually becoming its general manager of global solutions.

Microsoft's research and development center in Israel, founded in 1991, was the company's first research outpost outside the U.S. It employs around 1,500 people in three locations: central coastal town Herzliya, northern port city Haifa, and Nazareth. Braverman-Blumenstyk will be the center’s fourth manager to date and the first woman to hold the position.