team
We’re grateful for our wonderful group of talented, motivated and good-hearted people, who help us steer Grapa into the future with professionalism, passion and dedication. Our great team has a true international flavour, with staff coming from many countries, including; Brazil, Canada, Cuba, Finland, France, England, Germany, Italy, Romania, and the United States.
Shachar Karniel
President
Shachar is the breeder of ARRA™ and Early Sweet™ table grape varieties. As a 4th generation farmer whose family have been producing grapes since 1882, Shachar’s vast experience in table grape agriculture led him to launch and manage the breeding programme at Giumarra Vineyards Corporation under its subsidiary, ARD LLC (Agricultural Research & Development LLC). Shachar develops innovative table grape varieties, the best of which are commercialized globally by Grapa Varieties under the ARRA brand.
Rafi Karniel
CEO and Chairman
Rafi is the driving force behind Grapa’s vision, goals and corporate strategy. Since 2009, he has led Grapa’s remarkable growth and evolution. Rafi holds a B.A. in Law and a Masters in Law and Business Management. In April 2017, Rafi was elected to the Board of CIOPORA, an international breeders’ association. With Rafi’s vision to consolidate and unite industry stakeholders to enforce global IP protection, The Breeders’ Alliance Company was born in 2019. As one of the four founding members, Rafi holds a Board seat as well.
Nomi Karniel-Padan
Commercial Director
Utilizing her vast experience in international marketing, together with a childhood spent in the family vineyards, Nomi leads Grapa’s marketing and brand positioning strategy, ensuring Grapa’s place in the international table grape industry as a leading company in the development and commercialization of new table grape varieties. Nomi has a B.A. in Marketing.
Adi Karniel
Director
Together with Shachar, Adi develops the future ARRA varieties under the auspices of the ARD breeding programme.
Vered Karniel
Finance Director
Vered directs our financial department and manages the logistics of Grapa’s extensive international travel and affairs abroad. In addition, she is responsible for coordinating our seminars, meetings and events, both frontal and virtual.
Uzi Yaron
R & D Director
Uzi is an agronomist and highly experienced farmer, holding degrees in political science, history and plant science. He has worked very closely with the ARRA programme and Karniel family for the past twenty years. Utilizing his vast experience and knowledge, Uzi contributes to the creation of new growing techniques and their implementation. As Grapa’s R&D Director, Uzi supports all of Grapa’s technical matters worldwide.
Alexandra Sapir
Chief Operating and Legal Affairs Officer
From her previous role as Grapa’s Legal Affairs Director which she held for more than nine years, Alex took the role of Chief Operating and Legal Affairs Officer at Grapa as of January, 2023. She holds a B.A. in Law and a Master’s in Business Administration. As of October 2020, Alex was also appointed the Chair of the Working Group on Enforcement of CIOPORA, an international breeders’ association.
Andre Vermaak
Global Tech Support Advisor
Andre started his career in the fresh produce industry 4 decades ago as a table grape producer in South Africa. His career continued in Aussenkehr, Namibia, where he managed and established mega table grape farms. With his knowledge in the field and vision of the evolving industry, Andre played a pioneering role in the Namibian scene of new cultivar developments. In the last few years, Andre’s focus exceeded the borders of Namibia, sharing his expertise with table grape growers in all corners of the world. As Grapa’s Global Tech Support Advisor, he provides all necessary agro-technical-operational guidance to the ARRA producers near and far, to lead them to optimal quality and success.
Élise Schrall
Head of Licensing Department
Elise manages the licensing of table grape varieties represented by Grapa, including drafting contractual agreements and maintaining up to date records of Grapa’ s licensees worldwide. Elise holds a Master of Laws from Bond University, Australia and a Master of Laws from Sorbonne University, France.
Emma Toledano
Head of IP Department
Emma manages the IP Portfolio of the table grape varieties represented by Grapa, including the registration of patents, plant breeders’ rights and trademarks. She holds an LLB (hons) in Law and has 20 years’ experience in the IP field.
Sherry Freudenreich
Data Administrator
Sherry carries out an array of administrative duties of the legal affairs department.
Lukas Weindorf
Legal Data Coordinator
Lukas is responsible for collecting and processing plantation data reports related to our licensed growers. Additionally he is in charge of the Gesvatec labeling system which allows for worldwide traceability of the varieties that Grapa represents.
Ilona David
Financial Data Operator
Ilona is responsible for an array of administrative duties in the finance department including updating financial records, processing invoices and preparing cost analysis reports.
Liz Shani
Agrotechnical Analyst
Liz manages the compilation and analysis of ARRA QC reports and is responsible for monitoring the ARRA test blocks, mother blocks and nursery stock worldwide.
Keren Mizrahi
Agronomy Operations Manager
Keren manages the breeding program technical analysis and project coordination. In addition, she is responsible for obtaining and reviewing all technical data relating to IP and the protection of the ARRA varieties. Keren is an agronomist and holds a B.Sc. in Plant Science from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Leticia Silva
Technical Data Coordinator
Leticia is responsible for the analysis, processing and recording of all Grapa’s agrotechnical data collected from our licensees and partners worldwide. She is in charge of creating diverse technical material and reports
Gaby Mitrani
Agrotechnical Coordinator
Gaby coordinates all international shipping and quarantine procedures and is responsible for the data analysis of test block evaluations worldwide. Gaby holds a B.Sc. in Microbiology from the University of Havana, Cuba.
Tammy Aviad-Eshel
Business Development Manager
Tammy manages the networking of Grapa’s ever growing business opportunities; extending, strengthening and maximizing the company’s horizons worldwide.
Nicole Klein
Project Manager
Nicole coordinates the planning and execution of several of Grapa’s projects.
Erika Rosi-Shwarzberg
Marketing Manager
Erika is responsible for staying up-to-date with market trends that might benefit the company, she is leading outreach marketing initiatives, aimed at improving company position, and brand, product and services awareness. Additionally, Erika is managing all Grapa’s marketing campaigns, social media platforms and the communication with Grapa’s clients.
Gittel Marcus
Design Developer
Gittel manages Grapa’s data architecture and visualization, together with CRM customization, web design and IT administration. In addition, she is responsible for the graphic design of all our marketing materials.