Shahar Markovitch was appointed CDO – Chief Digital Officer of Bank Hapoalim as part of the new Innovation Division, headed by Mr. Avi Kochva (member of the board of management). The CDO office is a new position within the Bank that was formed as part of the vast reorganization, as published lately, in order to prepare the Bank toward the future challenges and the changing needs of the Bank's customers. Shahar Markovitch joins the bank after working 10 years as a partner in McKinsey & Co., professionalizing (internationally) in the fields of digitalization and innovation. Shahar is one of the formers of the McKinsey Digital Services Group, leading vast digital processes in numerous international financial organizations, high tech companies and public organizations. As part of his position in McKinsey & Co., Shahar was responsible for the establishment of innovation labs, internal "star ups" in large organizations and digital units that implemented innovative technologies and working methods by the leading technology companies in the world. Shahar has worked side by side together with the most innovative banks in the world, leading the initiatives, planning, implementation and launching of digital and financial tools, which has improved the customers experience dramatically and has saved time and funds to millions of customers. For instance, in England Shahar has launched an innovative tool, allowing the customer to receive loans via the smart-phone in a dramatically lower interest than any other product in the market. In Ireland Shahar has implemented a digital service in the country's biggest bank, that allowed the customer to apply for a mortgage, receive an approval and manage the whole process online. In South Africa Shahar has worked on an app that enables the customer to open a banking account from home without attending the branch at all, and in Australia he assisted to build capabilities that provided business customers to receive direct loans with an immediate approval. Prior to joining McKinsey & Co., Shahar worked in business development positions and management positions in Israeli start ups. Shahar has an MBA degree from MIT (USA) and Bachelor's degree (Cum Laude) from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.