Born in Israel and raised in El Paso, Texas, Ori Brafman has been a lifelong
entrepreneur in business, government, and the nonprofit sector. His projects
include launching healthy fast food restaurants, leading political and advocacy
campaigns, and co-founding Courtroom Connect, a wireless network company. In
2001, Ori co-founded a network of more than 1000 CEOs working for peace and
economic development projects. The network was supported by the likes of
venture capitalist John Doerr and the Ford Foundation and has catalyzed
projects in the Middle East, Africa, North America, Europe, and Asia. Most
recently, Ori has facilitated a course at the Stanford Graduate School of
Business.
Ori's first book, The Starfish and the Spider: The Unstoppable Power of
Leaderless Organizations was released in October 2006, and is currently in its
12th printing. Fast Company, Newsweek, and Kirkus Reports found the book to be
"rewarding," "credible," and "convincing." Klaus Schwab, founder and executive
chairman of the World Economic Forum, said, "As a result of reading The
Starfish and the Spider, I proposed ten action points for my organization."
Pierre Omidyar, founder and chairman of eBay, described the book as "compelling
and important." And Jack Covert of 800CEO summed it up: "I love this book."
Ori's wrote his second book, Sway: The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behavior
with his brother, Rom. The two are working on their next title.
Ori has appeared on BBC, National Public Radio, Wall Street Journal/MarketWatch
video, Fox News, CSPAN, AP Video, and National-Cable-Radio among others. He has
presented before audiences at Microsoft, Amazon, Televisa, Stanford Business
School, Harvard Business School, and many others.
Ori holds a BA in peace and conflict studies from UC Berkeley and an MBA from
Stanford University's Graduate School of Business.
