Early life and education

Gaon, son of businessman Benny Gaon, is the second of four siblings in the Gaon family, following his older sister Michal and before Yoav, and the twins born after him. He was born in Petah Tikva and grew up in Bat Yam until the age of 7, when his family moved to Neve Rasko neighborhood in Ramat Hasharon. In 1979, he began studying at Rotberg High School.^[3] After completing his studies, he enlisted in the IDF and served as a fighter in the Shaldag Unit

In 1984, he began his studies at Tel Aviv University in Political Science and Communication, graduating with honors. Afterward, in 1989, he pursued a master's degree in advertising at Northwestern University in Chicago, Illinois, completing his studies in 1990.

Early career at BBDO (1990 - 2005)

In 1990, he began working as a budget manager at the BBDO advertising agency in New York, managing budgets for international companies such as Pizza Hut, Federal Express, and Timberland (later acquired by Procter & Gamble). In July 1993, he returned to Israel and joined the young advertising agency "Bauman Bar," which later changed its name to "Bauman Bar Rivnai." Gaon initially served as the head of the "Planning" department - the new strategic planning unit he established in the office, and after about a year, became an equal partner in the firm, alongside Yoram Bauman, Miki Bar, and Shoni Rivnai. After several years, Gaon was appointed CEO, replacing Yoram Bauman who became the chairman of the group. Gaon served in this role until his father's death in May 2008.^[4]

Among other achievements, he led the team that won the tender to operate Israel's second cellular network, choosing the name and branding of the Cellcom company in 1994.^[5] Gaon accompanied Cellcom from its inception for an additional 11 years. He was responsible for many of the major marketing and strategic moves that advanced the Israeli advertising industry, including establishing the first planning department in the industry based on the English model, establishing the first media company BBAROR for Procter & Gamble in Israel, and introducing airtime purchasing methods and models with the start of the commercial channel - Channel 2. Gaon was responsible for hundreds of campaigns, crisis management such as Cellcom's launch of its first devices, hundreds of rebranding moves for products and services, and the introduction of international products to Israel for the first time, such as Pampers, Head & Shoulders, and Ariel for Procter & Gamble. His clients over the years included companies such as Caia, Mazda, Super-Pharm, Coca-Cola, Unilever, Pelephone, HOT, Strauss, Bezeq 013, and more.^[6][5][1]

In 1998, with the establishment of Gaon Holdings, he joined as a director and as part of his roles in the group, served for three years as the chairman of the company's strategic committee, as well as a director and shareholder in Gaon Retail and Trade. Gaon is considered one of the leading commercial and political strategists in Israel. Among other roles, he was a strategic advisor to Ehud Barak for six years and the strategy and communications manager of Ehud Barak's 1999 election campaign, in which he was elected Prime Minister. During this campaign, he was involved in the fictitious associations affair established by Barak's headquarters to circumvent the party funding law,^[7] and also in Barak's subsequent campaign in the 2001 elections in which Ariel Sharon was elected.^[8][9]

Later career and publications (2005 - present)

In 2005, he temporarily retired from his role as CEO of the advertising agency and established the "Idea Store" within the group, which served as an independent and separate unit for strategic consulting.^[9] That same year, he privately founded Xtrip with his friend Erez Baraz, a company for adventure tours and self-driving trips in four-wheel drive vehicles and motorcycles around the world. In 2007, Gaon returned to serve as CEO of the Bauman Bar Rivnai Group.^[9][1]

In 2010, Gaon published, together with journalist Attila Shumpfalvi, the manifesto "The New Zionism," which proposes a national vision for the State of Israel for the coming decade based on the establishment of a national fund to operate to reduce dependence on oil and solve the global water crisis. He was active and supported the tent protest in the summer of 2011.^[10][11]

In 2017, Gaon and his sister Michal rejoined the board of directors of the public company B. Gaon Holdings. In addition, Gaon serves as a board member of the subsidiary company - the public Gaon Group (Middle East Pipes).^[12]

In 2016, in light of his nephew Erez Gaon's personal story, together with Yoav Gaon and Dror Kalisky, he established yoocanfind.com, an international community website based on personal stories and information by and for people with disabilities. The site currently contains stories of people from over 105 countries around the world and allows people to share their personal stories, read personal stories of others, connect with friends with relevant experience, and links to services, products, and benefits to improve their lives.^{[13][14][15][16]}

In 2018, he published the book "Killer Instinct," a professional and academic guide for those involved in strategy and management of political campaigns, together with Il Ard and Dr. Erez Yaacoby. The book was sold in several editions upon its release and became a mandatory textbook in schools of communication, political science, and government in Israel.^[17]