‘Drivers’ is an interview series with prominent Israeli business figures.

The host, Erin Kopelow, is co-founder and director of business development for Tel Aviv University’s Sofaer International MBA and a recent graduate of the Kellog-Recanati Executive MBA. Originally from Canada, Erin moved to Israel nine years ago and currently lives in Tel Aviv.

With four Israeli Nobel prize winners in recent years, it’s no wonder Israeli academia has built a worldwide reputation. However, with the majority of Israeli PhD holders employed abroad, the challenge is stopping the current brain drain.

Drivers host Erin Kopelow speaks with Professor Simon Benninga, with whom she founded the Sofaer International MBA program at the Tel Aviv University Business School, about losing bright minds to American universities, the competitiveness of Israeli universities, and the controversial issue of teaching in English at a Hebrew-speaking country.

Simon Benninga is a finance professor who holds a concurrent post at the Wharton Business School. He is the former Dean of the Tel Aviv University’s Business School.