Mayor Nutter of Philadelphia made his second visit to Israel on July 17 – 20. The purpose of the trip was to promote Philadelphia as a destination for Israeli companies, to explore doors the City can open for the companies, and to strengthen the relationships created on the Mayor’s first trip to Israel.

During the Mayor’s recent trip, Greenberg Traurig hosted a venture capital roundtable, which gave Israeli VC’s an opportunity to make a personal connection with the Mayor and his senior staff. Opportunities in Philadelphia were discussed, such as strategic partnerships, access to customers, and the exciting ecosystem for emerging companies. As the Mayor told the Jerusalem Post, “these types of trips are critically important to the overall growth of our city, expanding markets for Israel and creating opportunities for Philadelphia.”

During the Mayor’s earlier trip in 2013, Greenberg Traurig also helped organize a venture capital roundtable, which was hosted by Chemi Peres of Pitango. That trip was followed in 2014 by an Israeli Technology Conference in Philadelphia, chaired by Beth Cohen of Greenberg Traurig, with David Gitlin and Adam Snukal of Greenberg Traurig speaking as panelists at the conference. Chemi Peres led the delegation of 13 Israeli companies to the Conference.

Mayor Nutter has been a strong supporter of entrepreneurship with a special focus on Israeli entrepreneurs. A number of Israeli companies have decided to launch their U.S. presence in Philadelphia as a result of these efforts. Pango will be working with the Philadelphia Parking Authority, its largest U.S. city so far, and will open an office at Pipeline, a shared working space. Pico, a photo-sharing technology company, has been part of the DreamIt incubator in Philadelphia and will remain in the City. PhysiMax, a health-care technology company, will also launch in Philadelphia, and Simlat, which specializes in drone technology — is seriously considering a Philadelphia presence.

Joey Shabot and Adam Snukal in Tel Aviv, and Beth Cohen and David Gitlin in Philadelphia, all of Greenberg Traurig, were active in planning the venture capital meeting with Mayor Nutter and his team.