Barak Bar-Cohen

Overview

Barak Bar-Cohen is an entrepreneur and investor with over 25 years of experience in building and scaling businesses across the telecommunications, digital media, and beverage industries in the U.S. and abroad. He is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Sojo Industries, an industrial automation company that utilizes robotics, mobility, and modularity to deliver efficient packaging and assembly solutions to the food and beverage industry. Prior to founding Sojo Industries, Bar-Cohen served as the Chief Operating Officer of Bai Brands, a healthy antioxidant-infused beverage company based in Princeton, NJ, which was acquired by Dr. Pepper Snapple Group for $1.7 billion. At Bai, he was responsible for all operational functions, including production, quality control, regulatory, customer care, procurement, warehousing, demand planning, variety pack production, e-commerce fulfillment, and inventory management. Before his tenure at Bai, Bar-Cohen held several executive leadership roles at Piksel, a global provider of IPTV enterprise software solutions, and served as President and Chief Operating Officer for Narrowstep, a TV over the internet software platform company based in London. From 2000 through 2005, he held senior management roles at RCN Corporation, a leading provider of bundled communication services to residential customers across the United States. Bar-Cohen holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics with Honors from Brandeis University and earned an MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College. He is involved with several Jewish and Israeli organizations and currently resides in Princeton, New Jersey with his family, all of whom are dual citizens of the United States and Israel. In addition to his executive roles, Bar-Cohen has been an active investor in early-stage beverage and technology startups. He supports 'moon-shot' technology projects sponsored by faculty and students at Ben Gurion University in Israel and is a minority owner in the Hapoel Beer Sheva Israel Basketball Team. His investment focus includes private equity and venture capital, primarily targeting seed to growth-stage companies in the United States and Israel. Bar-Cohen's diverse background and strategic vision have contributed to the success and growth of the companies he has been involved with, reflecting his commitment to innovation and excellence in the industries he serves. Bar-Cohen's leadership at Sojo Industries exemplifies his dedication to advancing industrial automation solutions in the food and beverage sector. Under his guidance, the company has developed and implemented automated robotic solutions that support exponential growth in various channels, including club, grocery, and online markets. These innovations have enabled Sojo Industries to handle production levels of millions of cases per month, showcasing Bar-Cohen's ability to drive operational efficiency and scalability in complex industries. His extensive experience and entrepreneurial spirit continue to influence the sectors he engages with, reinforcing his reputation as a visionary leader and investor.