Itamar Arel

Itamar Arel is a computer scientist, entrepreneur, and technology executive with expertise in machine intelligence and conversational AI. He earned his B.Sc., M.Sc., and Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Ben Gurion University of the Negev, along with an M.B.A. from the same institution. His work has consistently focused on applying artificial intelligence to practical challenges, including financial analytics and voice-based customer interactions. He led Apprente's acquisition by McDonald’s and Tenyx's acquisition by Salesforce. Dr. Itamar Arel completed his Bachelor of Science degree in 1995 and his Master of Science in 1998 at Ben Gurion University of the Negev under the supervision of Professor Dan Sadot. He later earned a Master of Business Administration in 2002 and a Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering in 2003, again under Professor Sadot. During his doctoral studies, he received the 1999 Intel Scholarship for Excellence in Doctoral Studies in recognition of his early research in machine intelligence and high-performance computing. Arel served as a research assistant in the Optical Communication Laboratory at Ben Gurion University while pursuing his academic degrees. After graduation, he worked as an engineering officer on active duty in the Israel Defense Forces from 1995 to 2000, gaining technical and leadership experience. In 2003, he moved to the United States to join the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, as an assistant professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. He advanced through the academic ranks, earning tenure and becoming a full professor by 2009. Itamar founded and directed the Machine Intelligence Lab in Tennessee, where he concentrated on machine learning and reinforcement learning. His research focused on intelligent systems capable of adapting to complex environments and supporting data-driven decision-making.