Alona Barkat

Alona Barkat (Hebrew: אלונה ברקת‎‎; born 24 June 1969) is an Israeli businesswoman, and owner of the football team Hapoel Beer Sheva.

Alona was born and raised in Ashkelon. At the age of 14 moved to Jerusalem to study atelier. Four years later returned to national service in her hometown. Then studied at the Hebrew University undergraduate and graduate studies in the history of the Middle East. During her studies she met Eli Barkat, then a student in Mathematics and Computer Science, and the two were married.

In 1996 she moved to Silicon Valley in the United States with her husband, who became a businessman with his brother Nir Barkat was an early investor in Check Point and set up the venture capital fund BRM and IVN. In the eight years in which the family lived in the United States, Barkat started in the field of philanthropy. Among other things, the fund management company has become IVN, also funded social projects, and has been active in organizations such as AIPAC and the Jewish Federation of San Francisco.

In 2004, when Israel with her family. Relations with the businessman Lonnie Herzikovic, then owner of the football team, Maccabi Tel Aviv, led her to consider entering a partnership with Maccabi Tel Aviv. She was involved in establishing a research institute at the University of Tel Aviv together with the Rashi Foundation, where she met me Elalouf, CEO of the Fund at the time and known figure in Beersheba. Alaluf convinced her to buy the football team Hapoel Beer Sheva, who played in the second division at the time.

In the summer of 2007, just weeks before the opening of the season, the acquisition of the group every previous owner, Eli Zino, and emeralds became the first woman in Israel used an owner of a football team. Barkat management team put special emphasis on youth department, educational activities and community connection. In March 2010, the group announced the departure at the end of the season, after a number of fans of the group tried to attack the coach, Guy Azouri. Two months later announced that she changed her, and that she stays in the group, after seeing evenly changing dramatically.

May 2016 has fulfilled its ambition to lead his team to win the Football League Championship in football.

Barkat lives with her husband and three children in Tel Aviv.