Israel Aerospace Industries will hold a public offering of a minority stake within the coming year, incoming board chairman Boaz Levy said Thursday at ManpowerGroup Israel’s annual customer conference at the Peres Center for Peace and Innovation in Jaffa.
“There is no choice,” Levy said. “I am certain, 100% convinced, that it will happen in the coming year. I am very optimistic.”
Speaking at the conference “The Exchange: Human First, Digital Always,” Levy addressed the planned offering, his transition from CEO to chairman, and the challenges of developing artificial intelligence tools for military systems.
Levy argued that IAI’s growth, uncertainty in Israel, and recurring budget constraints had made the offering necessary.
“It is good for the state, good for the company, good for the employees, and good for our customers abroad,” he said. “I do not think there is anyone today who thinks otherwise.”
IAI will always be a national company
He pointed to a November 2020 government decision to pursue a minority offering, stressing that the state would retain control.
“Israel Aerospace Industries will always be managed by the State of Israel. It will always be a national company; it will always be a government company,” Levy said, adding that approximately half its shares could be held by the public.
Levy said the company operates under several layers of oversight, including the Defense Ministry, the Israel Securities Authority, and the Government Companies Authority, along with salary control by the Finance Ministry.
He argued those constraints limit how far the company can improve its performance, even after achieving growth.
He said preparations were advancing on the regulatory front, including a court process involving the attorney-general that is required because some of the company’s products are classified.
Levy described his move from CEO to chairman as the first such transition at an Israeli government company, acknowledging that it raised questions about conflicts of interest.
He said clear arrangements were in place to address situations in which the audit committee examines decisions made during his tenure as CEO.
He also rejected the suggestion that the absence of a permanent chairman had prevented the board from functioning properly. The board met monthly and selected a chairman for each meeting and the corresponding month, he said.
Levy stressed the importance of professional leadership at a company whose performance, he argued, affects both Israel’s security and its economy.
“Our national resilience depends on the performance of Israel Aerospace Industries, not only for security but also for Israel’s economy,” he said.
His familiarity with the company and his involvement in selecting its new CEO through a search committee would help the leadership work together during a period of uncertainty, he added.
AI a tool, human judgement central to IAI
Turning to artificial intelligence, Levy said human judgment would remain central to the company’s work.
“Ultimately, AI is a tool,” he said. “AI may be more efficient in certain areas, but the human element must always be there.”
He argued that employees also have a responsibility to develop their skills and adapt to market demands, rather than relying entirely on their employer to provide training.
Levy said IAI’s products, including satellites, radar, the Arrow missile defense system, and land systems, generate vast quantities of information that AI tools can help process and analyze.
However, the company’s security requirements restrict its ability to introduce externally available tools into military products.
“I cannot go online, download a tool, and then put it into a military product that someone could take control of at some point,” he said.
IAI therefore develops its AI tools internally, Levy said, to maintain control over those capabilities throughout their operational use, whether by Israel’s defense establishment or customers abroad.
He added that a major challenge is the underlying physical infrastructure that supports AI tools and lets users define the parameters needed to produce useful analysis.