Meet the Team: Reuven Silverman, Ophir Photonics General Manager, Shares What He Enjoys Inside and Outside of Work, and What it Takes to Become a GM

For this week’s blog post, we caught up with the Ophir Photonics General Manager, Reuven Silverman, to find out about his life inside and outside of Ophir, and how he became a general manager.

Let’s go pleasure before business. What do you enjoy doing outside of work?

For many years, I have enjoyed spending time with my wife and four children, often going on hiking trips together, in Israel and abroad.
And then – something even more wonderful happened – the addition of grandchildren to the family. Now, I look forward to spending my weekends and holidays with these precious youngsters.

A while ago, I was introduced to the art of smoking fish (mostly salmon) in a wood smoker. When the family is due to arrive, I purchase multiple salmon fillets and smoke them – there usually ends up being enough for my family, friends, and neighbors. The only downside is that my family say that they can’t eat salmon anywhere else!

In addition to the above, there is something I am well known for in my community – but not at work. Every year on Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year) I blow the Shofar (Ram’s horn) in the synagogue. This task weighs heavily on me for several weeks, but always results in the community asking me to blow again the following year!

You have had a very broad career history. How did you go from being an engineer to becoming a CEO?

When I started as an engineer, I always aspired to being a manager.
With lots hard work and by providing quality results – I received a promotion to be a project manager. I remember going out to dinner with my wife to a fine restaurant to celebrate. Interestingly enough, this was the only promotion that we celebrated in such a fashion.

Several more promotions followed – and the more promotions I received, the more I realized that quality results will serve me better than company politics. I’ve been blessed to have excellent managers who have believed in me and encouraged my advancements.

What is the favorite part of your work?

I love my work and I am blessed to have an excellent, supportive team. What I like most about my work is that I can find new ways to help my team improve, so that we can achieve goals together that we didn’t think were possible, and improve overall company results.