Between security and promise: Happy Hour at Checkmarks offices

We spent time with the employees of the company that deals with information security.

It is a relatively solid company, and yet: with a rock band, a basketball team and performances by Marina Maximilian Blumin, Hanan Ben Ari and Ivri Lider, what wonder they enjoy every moment?

Liat Ron

16/06/2022

Thursday, 16 June 2022, 11:21 Updated: 16:15

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What to do

: Checkmarks is an information security company that develops a platform for securing software and applications, identifying and correcting security vulnerabilities.

:

, married + 2, lives in Shoham.

Position: VP of Product Management, two and a half years in the company.

, married + 2, lives in Moshav Herut.

Position: VP of Global Support, 8.5 years in the company.

, 46, married + 3, lives in Be'er Sheva.

Position: Chief Architect, two and a half years in the company.

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Checkmarks.

Right: Shira Dudi, Mark Mishaev and Uri Bendt (Photo: Niv Aharonson)

Location

: On four floors, in the "Atrium" building in the stock exchange complex in Ramat Gan, checkmark offices are located, which are visited by 400 employees in Israel, out of about 1,000 worldwide.

If we had been there in a few months, we were told, the appearance would have been completely different, because a massive renovation is about to begin that will update the design to the spirit of the period and no less importantly, to the new logo designed in pink and blue instead of the previous green.

The headquarters floor is divided into offices and meeting rooms, with seating areas between them.

The rest of the floors have a functional spice manner, with light long tables and a gray rug.

There are also "phone booths" for one-on-one calls, meeting complexes and a spacious training room.

Food orders reach the tenth floor and Checkmark employees have built a special sharing software, which sends an email message to the person whose shipment has arrived.

Checkmarks' house band has a rehearsal room that many bands would be willing to adopt: perfect acoustics, regular and electric guitars, a drum set, state-of-the-art keyboards, a green screen for photography and a professional recording system.

The CEO plays a leading guitar and if anyone hears of a good drummer available - feel free to take

a break. Coffee break: The kitchenette is modest, black cabinets and a light work surface

. , Halva and date snacks, and one dedicated to small sins - potato chips, beeswax, cookies, pretzels, waffles and fruit and vegetable balances.

Those who want to heat something they brought from home can use one of the three microwaves, pour coffee from the machine with the beans or from the capsule machine and make soda in a device placed next to them.

The fridge has Piraeus cheese, lavna, white cheese, Bulgarian and cottage cheese, individual boxes with egg salad, tuna, matbucha and also cheese, chickpeas and butter, and the freezer has popsicles with "expensive" fruit flavors.

Do not give up fruit-flavored popsicles (Photo: Niv Aharonson)

CV

: Like a classic sandwich boy, Uri also felt the need to prove himself in front of his big brother who studied medicine.

He always liked to run his hands, built Lego and aircraft models, and at the age of 16 took a computer technician course, studied computer science and enjoyed programming.

After serving in "Dokifat" he went on a post-military trip, improved his matriculation in mathematics and began studying biotechnology.

One semester was enough for him to realize it was not for him and he returned and left organic chemistry and returned to the lap of computer science.

He was hired by Bezeq as an Internet supporter and from there moved to a student position at HP.

After a year he became an automation engineer, two years later he was appointed head of the QA team and at his peak managed three teams at three different sites.

"After four years," he says, "I wanted to make a change. I was drawn to the product and the business and less to the technical parts. It was not as common as it is today, when everyone wants to be a product manager.

"At HP any employee could submit an idea to a startup and if he was happy, the company served as an incubator. I offered to connect technical reporters to development teams and even have a registered patent for it. I ran with the project for a year, which exposed me to the process of building a product. What does it mean to lead it and then I moved on to manage one of HP's flagship products.

"After another three and a half years I moved to a company that dealt with effective training for companies through technology.

When the ownership changed, a friend saw that there was an open position at Checkmarks and that's how I got here.

It was before Corona, and as I started working, we all flew, 700 workers to Thailand, 60 patients returned to Corona.

I remember at the airport in Bangkok people went with masks and it seemed the strangest to us.

At the beginning of 2020 we were acquired, some of the managers left as a natural part of the acquisition process, and I got to manage the team of one of our products and since the beginning of the year I am VP of product management of all products, under me there are 26 people in Israel, Portugal and USA.

Shira grew up in Raanana, among the orchards, when it was still a pastoral colony.

On the one hand she had a huge love for animals and on the other hand - to disassemble clocks and reveal the mechanism.

This contrast continued in high school, when she studied biology, chemistry and math, and dreamed of becoming a veterinarian.

She took a pre-military technological course, to which she came with computer knowledge that amounted to typing the final thesis in biology on a company computer and reached 8200. After graduation she enrolled in biology and computer science, aspiring to graduate with a high grade that would allow her to move to the vet. .

"After a semester I realized I could not finish the average I wanted and I realized I would not be a veterinarian. But like anything I start, I have to finish, and I continued to study until the end of the degree.

"At the end of the second year, a friend contacted me and said that there was an open student job at Top Image System and I worked there tuning engines and later they gave me a warranty on the product. I was seven years in development and from there I flowed to the support world. First. I got tired and the atmosphere changed. At the same time I did a course in dog training and pet behavior counseling and bought my first horse, Presto.

"I took a nine-month rest during which I trained and advised animals voluntarily.

When I started looking for a job, I came to Checkmarks, was accepted as a support woman and somehow became the entire support department.

Today I manage 60 people under me.

I grew up with the company and I am growing my staff, including two regional managers.

The feeling of satisfaction is enormous. "

Mark was born in Russia, immigrated to Israel in 1995 at the age of 19 and a year later returned to Russia to marry and return here again with his wife.

A few weeks later he enlisted in the army and did a shortened service of a year and a half.

Towards the end of the service their first daughter was born.

When Sami Shimon's College of Software Engineering opened, he wanted to learn something that would advance him in life and he was accepted for software training. So as a full-time employee, from there he moved to Elbit Systems and then came to Checkmarks

.

I was the head of a development team, the head of a development group and recently I was appointed the company's chief software architect.

Have you already seen the band's rehearsal room? (Photo: Niv Aharonson)

For the soul

: In addition to his two much-loved children, who are well-known in the company, Uri devotes time to Checkmarks' basketball team, which was founded before Corona, made an impressive comeback and recently joined the league for jobs.

With the promotion to the playoffs, hope also arose for a respectable place at the top.

The piano is the refuge of soup from everyday noises.

When he plays he disconnects from everything, which also happens during the ski vacations he tries not to give up.

Shira has two horses and she makes sure to ride twice - three times a week.

She also has two dogs and three cats and when she is not busy taking care of them, she does carpentry work and builds models of helicopters and planes from World War II.

Corona had to replace pizza and beer with a virtual tour of Prague (Photo: Niv Aaronson)

Added value

: Every year there is an acton at Checkmarks in the last quarter of the year.

In Corona it is held remotely globally and the traditional pizzas and beers, replaced by a virtual tour of Prague.

This is how the workers learned about the black plague, when the corona virus was raging outside.

There was also a toast to Rosh Hashanah, a dance party, a baking workshop on Shavuot, a performance by Marina Maximilian Blumin, Hanan Bo Ari and Ivri Lider appeared frontally between the waves, and was also at a Purim party in 2020, just before it all started.

"The building has a gym," says Uri, "and I see the workers coming from there before or after work. Every Thursday there is a 'Happy Hour' and each group gets a budget to do a pan together."

Poetry: "We were on a pampering trip to the Dead Sea with camel and mud riding and in the office there was an Italian meal, like in a restaurant, on Shavuot."

Ivri Lider appeared frontally between Gal Corona and each other (Photo: Niv Aharonson)

High-tech crisis

: Poetry says there is a sense of security that everything is as usual, Mark explains that Chamerx has always been a solid company, and there has never been a feeling that money or events are being thrown away there.

"We are not feeling any change at the moment in terms of meeting business goals."

Uri: "We have 106 open positions and it is still difficult to recruit employees. Since the acquisition, we have been growing rapidly."

: Hybrid, twice a week from the office but there is flexibility in both working hours and getting to the office.

Sometimes meet in a restaurant or pub to maintain a social connection.

: Uri comes with jeans and a T-shirt, with a preference for the company's branded shirt.

The veterans show up with vintage shirts from the beginning.

Poetry invests and deserves respect.

"Continue to grow with Checkmarks" (Photo: Niv Aaronson)

Salary:

Mark says that the salary is according to the standards of the market, do not go wild and run responsibly and if someone deserves a reward, do not wait and give immediately.

"I went through several companies, from small ones of ten people to Elbit, and the salary is definitely fair. There are options as well."

Uri adds that every employee has a performance bonus plan.

Poetry: "We get feedback throughout the year and there are calls to raise wages."

: Shira is proud of my long term and since she got her new role at the beginning of the year, she has a lot more to do and do here.

"I want to continue to grow with Checkmarks," Uri says, "I've come a long way here, but there's a lot more to aspire to and a few more keyboards to burn."

Mark: "My job is challenging and I want to show the impact of the work on the company. It's the biggest pleasure."

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