A Force in His Field
As co-founder of procurement and analytics platform company Hypersonic Force, Boaz Rahav (M.B.A. ’98) has been a force throughout his career. Before enrolling at New York Institute of Technology, he was an economist for the Israeli Ministry of Finance. Rahav is also a member of the School of Management Executive Council. He sat down with The Box to talk about his company and what led him to New York Tech.
Why did you choose New York Tech?
I came to New York to work as an economist for the Israeli Ministry of Finance, focusing on the government activity on Wall Street. I quickly realized that there was a group of us, including my wife Sharon, that came to the United States with our undergraduate degrees. [We] were focused on advancing our education while in the United States. We decided to team up and look for an M.B.A. program that will work best for us and New York Tech came out as a clear winner.
What were some of your most enriching experiences from your time here?
My M.B.A. experience was totally different from regular students at New York Tech as most of my classes took place every evening in a very large conference room about 15 feet away from my office. We managed to assemble a group of 25 to 30 coworkers to enroll in the New York Tech M.B.A. program, so instead of having us all go to the New York Tech campus, the professors came to us. It was quite an experience.
You are a member of the Executive Council for the School of Management. Can you talk about that experience?
Being part of an accomplished and experienced group of professionals is always exciting. The members of the Executive Council are truly dedicated to sharing their experiences to support the school.
What led you to cofounding Hypersonic Force?
After spending around 20 years on Wall Street, I felt that I was ready for a change. And after reviewing dozens of business plans and looking at different industries, I decided to team up with a childhood friend who was running his family’s procurement business. I looked at what they were doing, mostly selling commercial parts to the U.S. Department of Defense, and figured that it can be done better. We invested heavily in technology as well as outsourcing and came up with a cool business model. Hypersonic helps government agencies to identify and procure hard-to-find parts required for the maintenance of vehicles, planes, machinery, etc. It uses proprietary technology and research tools to source those parts from various sources around the world.
What have been some of the highlights of being a part of the company?
Building a business from scratch is always a stressful journey, but I came to realize that I am an entrepreneur at heart and that all my work experience actually served me well in avoiding some, not all, mistakes. The business is four years old now, and our clients include the U.S. Navy, Army, Air Force, Coast Guard, and a few other agencies. We won over 1,000 government contracts since we started, so I guess this is a neat start.
What are your goals for the future of Hypersonic Force?
The main goal is to continue our growth organically and possibly by small acquisitions. We just started working with the United Nations and the World Bank, so there are some exciting opportunities ahead.
