EFI is mourning the loss of its founder and former CEO, Efi Arazi who passed away on his 76th birthday.
The entrepreneur founded both Scailex, formerly know as Scitex, and EFI. Mr Arazi was known throughout the industry for his technological prowess.
The industry leader became one of the fathers of Israel’s high-tech industry and today he is considered to be a pioneer of digital printing.
Mr Arazi began his career in the US when he went to study at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, after serving in the Israeli air force. He returned to Israel in 1967 and shortly after arriving back, he started Scitex. He stayed there for 20 years until he left to found EFI. After two years EFI introduced Fiery, the industry’s first colour server, and in just five years the company featured in Fortune magazine as the ‘Fastest growing US public company’.
‘We are all deeply saddened by the passing of our founder and one of the most influential leaders in the history of our industry, and we send our sympathies and condolences to Efi’s family,’ said Guy Gecht, the current CEO of EFI. ‘Though no longer with us, Efi’s spirit of entrepreneurship, brilliant creativity and love of innovation will always remain at EFI.’
Greatly respected in the printing industry and in his home land of Israel, Mr Arazi was voted the 148th greatest Israeli of all time, in a poll by the Israeli news website Ynet. Along with his great legacy in the printing industry, he leaves behind his fifth wife and two children from a previous marriage.
