Microsoft taps Nvidia Israel chief Nati Amsterdam to lead its Israeli operations
Amsterdam, who helped build Nvidia's local business after joining the chipmaker in 2017, will take over as Microsoft Israel's General Manager in October.
Microsoft has appointed Nati Amsterdam as General Manager of Microsoft Israel, bringing in a longtime Nvidia executive to lead the company’s sales and marketing operations in the country.
Amsterdam will take up the position in October, replacing Alon Haimovich, who announced in May that he would step down after four years as country general manager and pursue a new professional path focused on artificial intelligence.
The appointment brings a notable change in leadership at a company whose Israeli operations have become increasingly focused on AI and cloud technologies. Amsterdam joins Microsoft after nearly a decade at Nvidia, where he built the chipmaker’s local business and worked closely with Israel’s growing AI ecosystem.
Amsterdam joined Nvidia in 2017 and served most recently as Senior Country Director of Nvidia Israel. He was part of the team that established the company’s Israeli operations and spent his time there working with AI research laboratories, startups, universities, healthcare organizations, banks and government bodies.
Before Nvidia, Amsterdam served as CEO of VMware Israel, where he doubled the size of the business during his final two years. He has nearly three decades of experience in the technology industry and has held senior positions at several global technology companies.
At Microsoft Israel, Amsterdam will oversee the company's sales and marketing business operations. Avi Yoshi, who has led the subsidiary on an interim basis in recent months, will remain as Chief Technology Officer and continue overseeing its technology strategy and customer innovation efforts.
Amsterdam's appointment also comes after a period of leadership transition at Microsoft Israel. Haimovich joined Microsoft in 2019 as Public Sector Lead and later became General Manager. In his May departure announcement, he highlighted the subsidiary's expansion of cloud and AI adoption, the launch of local cloud infrastructure and the strengthening of its cybersecurity operations.
Microsoft is one of the largest employers in Israel's technology industry, with thousands of employees across six locations. Its local operations include a business organization focused on helping customers adopt AI and cloud technologies as well as a major R&D center involved in developing Microsoft's AI and cybersecurity products.
Amsterdam holds a bachelor's degree in business administration from the Ruppin Academic Center and an MBA from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. He began his career after serving in the Israeli Air Force in communications and encryption.
