Shai Agassi (born April 19, 1968)[4] is an Israeli entrepreneur known for his involvement in the electric vehicle industry. He is the founder and former CEO of Better Place, which had developed a model and infrastructure for employing electric cars as an alternative to fossil fuel technology. The company went bankrupt in 2013, after Agassi spent over $850 million while deploying fewer than 1000 cars.[5]
Prior to founding Better Place, Agassi was President of the Products and Technology Group (PTG) at SAP AG until 2007. In 2003, at the age of 36, Agassi was named one of the top 20 'Global Influentials for 2003' by CNN-Time magazine.[6] In 2008, he was named one of TIME's "Heroes of the Environment".[7] In 2009, Agassi was included in TIME magazine's 100 most influential people list.[8]