Yossi Garmazi

Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management, Cornell SC Johnson College of Business, Cornell University

“Traveler, scuba diver and finance guy who loves to meet people and explore new cultures.”

Hometown: Rishon LeZion, Israel

Fun Fact About Yourself: I am an advanced, deep and wreck scuba diver with more than 60 dives all over the world. In the Philippines, I dove into eight World War II Japanese military ships. One of those ships was the Okikawa Maru, a 160-meter ship, where I saw the oil and rice barrels and explored the engine room and 80-year-old weaponry. It was literally diving into another era.

Undergraduate School and Major: College of Management Academic Studies, Business Management and Accounting.

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: 888 Holdings, Revenue Accountant

Aside from your classmates, what was the key part of Cornell’s MBA programming that led you to choose this business school and why was it so important to you? Cornell is a powerhouse name all over the world. However, what really drew me to this program was the immersion program in investment banking, which can give me unparalleled hands-on experience even before starting my internship. The opportunity to be mentored by esteemed professors while exploring all the recent deals in the markets is one-of-a-kind. Based on my conversations with current students, in some of the classes, they even get to pitch new ideas to leading companies’ executives. This is an unheard-of opportunity, and I am looking forward to it.

What excites you the most about living in Ithaca and the Finger Lakes region? I remember Ithaca from back in 2007, when I traveled to the United States with my family for the first time. Even though it was a long time ago, Ithaca and the Finger Lakes region are hard to forget. I especially remember Taughannock Falls. At the end, we decided to extend our stay in Ithaca for a few more days. I can’t wait to come back to Ithaca and study in such a picturesque part of the world.

What course, club or activity excites you the most at Cornell? Studying in the fintech intensive at the Cornell Tech facility on Roosevelt Island in New York City for a full semester presents a fantastic opportunity. It allows you to explore this rapidly rising industry and meet multiple fintech executives from leading companies in New York City, the world’s main economic hub.

Cornell Tech also offers other courses that expose students to various aspects of the tech world. I am particularly interested in the BigCo Studio class, which provides an opportunity to pitch ideas to executives from leading companies such as Google, Oracle and Uber.

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: After a few successful years at PwC, I joined Cellebrite, a leading digital intelligence company, as an accountant. There, I had the pleasure of taking part in the company’s preparation to become a publicly-traded company in the Nasdaq through a $2.4 billion initial public offering that took place in late 2021. This was the most pivotal moment in the company’s 20-year history, and I am grateful for taking part in it.

What do you hope to do after graduation at this point? I hope to start working in a leading investment bank while helping companies to grow and reach new frontiers.

What advice would you give to help potential applicants gain admission into Cornell’s MBA program? My biggest advice is to reach out to one of Cornell’s student admission ambassadors and ask questions about the program and campus life. From my own experience, all were super responsive and gracious. The fact that I was able to connect with such ambassadors during the months before I applied and get all my questions answered was a major part of my decision to attend Cornell.