Boaz Levy, Chairman, Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI).
Who is Boaz Boaz Levy, IAI’s new Chairman of Board: Levy’s elevation to chairman of Israel Aerospace Industries marks more than a leadership transition at one of Israel’s most strategic companies. It represents the culmination of a career that has evolved in parallel with Israel’s rise as a global missile-defense and aerospace power.
After five and a half years as president and CEO of IAI, Levy formally assumed the role of chairman this week in what is considered an unprecedented move for a major Israeli state-owned defense company. Rather than stepping away from the institution he helped shape, Levy is moving into a position designed to define its long-term strategic direction.
In a statement announcing the transition, Levy framed the move not as a ceremonial promotion but as a shift in mission.
“After five and a half deeply meaningful years as the President & CEO of IAI – Israel Aerospace Industries, I am honored to share that as of today, I am officially embarking on a new and equally significant chapter as the Chairman of the Board,” he wrote.
Levy reflected on a tenure that coincided with some of the most turbulent years in Israel’s recent history, from the COVID-19 pandemic to the “Iron Swords” war and the Iranian missile attack of April 2024.
“My tenure as CEO spanned a period of unprecedented challenges for the State of Israel,” he said, adding that IAI had proven itself to be “the technological and defensive backbone of our nation.”
From Managing the Present to Shaping the Future
But it was Levy’s distinction between the responsibilities of a CEO and a chairman that offered the clearest insight into how he sees the next stage of his career.
“While the role of the CEO is to focus on the ‘How’ — how we execute, how we build, and how we achieve the next objective, the role of the Chairman is to look toward the ‘Where’ — where we are headed in the coming decades and how we will shape the future of global security.”
The language captured Levy’s own transformation over the past three decades: from engineer and missile specialist to one of the most influential figures in Israel’s defence establishment.
Born in 1961, Levy studied aeronautical and space engineering at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology before earning a master’s degree in systems engineering. He later completed executive studies at Tel Aviv University. Before entering industry, he served in the Israeli Air Force as a guided weapons expert, an experience that would define the technical orientation of his career.
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IAI’s Arrow Missile System.
The Arrow Years
Levy joined IAI in 1989 as a guidance and control engineer on the Arrow anti-ballistic missile program, then one of Israel’s most ambitious defense projects. At the time, the initiative was viewed as both a technological gamble and a strategic necessity, designed to provide Israel with an indigenous shield against long-range missile threats.
Over the next decade, Levy became deeply associated with the project, rising from engineer to chief engineer of the Arrow missile and later head of the Arrow program administration. Under his leadership, the system evolved into one of Israel’s most critical defense assets.
Colleagues often describe Levy less as a traditional executive and more as a systems architect — a leader shaped by engineering logic, operational detail, and long-cycle strategic thinking. That reputation only strengthened during his stewardship of the Barak-8 air defense system between 2006 and 2010.
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Building Israel’s Missile Defense Backbone
The Barak program transformed into one of IAI’s most commercially successful and strategically important platforms, becoming central to both naval and aerial defense systems for Israel and multiple international customers. It also established Levy as an executive capable of navigating both engineering complexity and geopolitical realities.
Defense systems, after all, are not merely products. They are instruments of diplomacy, strategic partnerships, and long-term security architecture. During Levy’s tenure overseeing missile and air-defense operations, IAI secured major international contracts worth billions of dollars.
By 2013, Levy had been promoted to executive vice president and general manager of IAI’s Systems, Missiles & Space Group — the company’s most strategically important division. The unit oversaw missile systems, satellites, space technologies, and advanced air-defense platforms, eventually becoming IAI’s most profitable business segment.
This period also broadened Levy’s influence beyond missile interception systems. He oversaw projects linked to Israel’s Ofek reconnaissance satellites, the Amos communications satellite program, and cooperation with SpaceIL on the Beresheet lunar spacecraft initiative.
The cumulative effect was significant: Levy emerged as one of the few Israeli defence executives equally identified with missile defense, aerospace manufacturing, satellite technology, and strategic exports.
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Thailand signed the deal with IAI to acquire Barak missiles last year.
A CEO Forged in Crisis
His appointment as CEO in 2020 came at a moment of global instability. The pandemic had disrupted aviation markets and industrial supply chains worldwide, while regional tensions accelerated demand for advanced military technologies.
Levy inherited a company facing both operational strain and unprecedented strategic opportunity.
Though selected by IAI’s board in late 2020, his permanent appointment became entangled in political disputes and regulatory delays, forcing him to initially serve in an acting capacity before his position was formally approved in 2022.
Once installed, Levy presided over what became the most profitable stretch in IAI’s history. The company expanded its global footprint while significantly increasing its order backlog amid intensifying regional security crises.
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IAI at the Center of Israel’s Security Architecture
Those years also elevated IAI’s visibility inside Israel itself. During the “Iron Swords” war and subsequent confrontations involving Iran and its regional proxies, systems developed under Levy’s leadership became central to Israel’s operational defense posture.
Arrow missile defense systems intercepted ballistic threats, while unmanned aerial systems, radar technologies, and advanced interception platforms were integrated into real-world combat environments. In many ways, IAI ceased being viewed merely as a defense contractor and instead became part of Israel’s national resilience infrastructure.
Throughout that period, Levy repeatedly emphasized the role of engineering talent and institutional mission in national defense.
“As I look at the incredible people of IAI,” he said in a social media post, “I step into this new role with a profound sense of confidence. Our people possess the sharpest minds, the most professional hands, and an unwavering sense of mission.”
The statement reflected a recurring theme in Levy’s leadership philosophy: technological superiority depends not only on hardware, but on the culture and expertise behind it.
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The Engineer-Executive of a New Era
His rise also mirrors a broader shift within the global defense industry. For decades, aerospace conglomerates were often led by former military commanders or financial executives. Levy represents a newer model — the engineer-executive whose authority stems from technical credibility and program-building experience.
That distinction matters in an era increasingly defined by missile defense, autonomous systems, AI-enabled warfare, cyber capabilities, and space infrastructure.
Today, IAI stands at the center of Israel’s defense-industrial ecosystem, employing thousands and exporting advanced technologies around the world. And at its helm as chairman is Boaz Levy — the missile engineer who helped build Israel’s technological shield and now seeks to define where that shield, and the company behind it, goes next.
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