AT&T Israel R&D Center GM: "We showed Israeli tech will deliver no matter what"

“It was challenging and it is still challenging. I think that the focus at the beginning was on the individuals here and what they need to feel they are OK,” said Rinat Zilberstein, VP R&D at AT&T, GM of AT&T Israel R&D Center. “Most of them felt like they needed a hug, someone to tell them that everything was going to be OK. I'm honored and pleased to have such amazing leadership within AT&T that provided me that support, telling me everything is going to be OK and to just take care of the team. So I passed the same message.”

In the weeks following October 7, the company focused “90%” of its attention on individuals in Israel who were affected by the attacks committed by Hamas. For Zilberstien, it meant navigating a workforce and culture that had far-reaching consequences for customers around the world.

“After a few weeks when we saw this was here to stay, we shifted a page and said ‘OK, what do we need, how do we need to manage the new routine, and how do we need to manage it with our employees and the business?’” she continued. “I think that doing that gave confidence to our leadership: The fact that we are resilient and we can continue working tomorrow morning and deliver on our commitment and excelling and innovating. I think that confidence was very good for our leadership in the U.S., understanding that we are resilient and Israeli tech will deliver no matter what, right?”

You can watch the entire exchange in the video above.