AFJCT Alumnus Profile

Izhak Levit
CEO, C.D.I. Systems

Born in Chile, Mr. Levit moved to Israel in 1970, with his parents and three brothers. In 1976 he joined the army, serving in several elite combat units and rising to the rank of Lt. Colonel.

He left the army in 1988. Already 30 and eager to get started in the business world, Levitt was attracted to JCT's Machon Lev's rigorous academic atmosphere and emphasis on practical experience.

"I worked throughout the years at Machon Lev, and my teachers gave me their full support when personal obligations kept me away from campus," he says. "As an institution, Machon Lev went above and beyond the call of duty to make sure I could finish my courses and get my degree. I can't imagine a big university taking such an interest."

After getting his B.A in Computer Science with honors in 1992 Itzhak founded Levitech, a software firm specializing in multimedia systems for teaching English as a second language. Today home-based educational programs are common but Levitech was the first companyto market succes these products to retail customers. The company enjoyed success in Western Europe, Scandinavia, and South America and was even poised to launch sales effort in the Palestinian Authority and Jordan before the collapse of the Oslo agreements.

Soon a drop in sales made it clear it was time for a change and so the company turned its multimedia expertise into a new technological product: a platform for the creation of computer games. Levitech's success caught the attention of C.D.I. Systems, a provider of solutions for electronic and web publishing. In 2000, Mr. Levit was recruited by C.D.I. Systems as the company's new CEO. Founded in 1992, C.D.I. Systems is best known forthe creation of dynamic databases that give lawyers and other specialized professionals instant online access to to huge amounts of data that can be searched, manipulated and printed in customized formats. Under Izhak's leadership the company introduced NetIS, a software development platform that supports the sale of digital content by helping e-publishers manage and distribute their content, while protecting it from theft and misuse. 

In July 2003 C.D.I. Systems signed an agreement with Aladdin Knowledge Systems, an Israeli based world leader in digital security. Under the agreement, C.D.I. Systems' Digital Rights Management (DRM) technology will be incorporated into Aladdin's anti-piracy products. A month later, the company released AllRights, a stand alone DRM package for digital rights owners.

Izhak Levit serves on the board of Directors of the software and communications department of the Israel Export Institute's High Technology Division. Also, was recently elected as Deputy Head of the Municipal Council of his hometown in Givat Ze'ev.