Alumni Stories
Abraham Kletzel, Owner of CrossFit Hod Hasharon
Class of 2012>>
Before Sofaer I had worked in the Entertainment business my entire career, splitting my time between Sports, Events and Show Production. I worked for Walt Disney Entertainment, amongst other global companies, and gathered tremendous corporate experience. With that said, I began to dream of entrepreneurship and a new life in Israel, looking to “settle down”.
After I made Aliyah and worked on some temporary projects, I decided it was the right time for me to pursue an MBA. My Nefesh B’Nefesh advisor brought Sofaer to my attention and I just loved the nature of the program. During my time at Sofaer, I enjoyed a diverse classroom, intense studies, exploring relevant topics and a supportive staff.
I did an internship with Car2Go on business development and corporate responsibility. As a part of the networking class, we visited multiple companies and worked on many interesting case studies. I was part of a class trip to India, where we studied in a local university, visited global/local companies and explored doing business in India. This is one of my favorite and most enriching experiences of the whole program.
I was also co-director of the Marketing Club and an active member of the Mentoring Program. There is no doubt that the program gave me tremendous opportunities, including a relevant education, field experience, an expanded network (including an Israeli one, which was very important to me as a new Oleh), an alma mater and tools to open my own business.
After exploring several options, I decided to stay close to what I know best and to what I enjoy doing (thanks to the wonderful advice from the Sofaer staff), leveraging my experience and unique abilities. As I decided to explore the franchising path, I found CrossFit. The match was instantaneous and so I opened my own affiliate in Hod Hasharon.
Basically, CrossFit is a fitness program that has revolutionized the whole industry around the world, bringing functional training to the masses while enjoying excellent results. Since fitness is an expression of health, we motivate people to participate through group classes led by qualified trainers in a cool and unique facility. We work on all aspects of fitness, including speed, endurance, strength, coordination, stamina and flexibility, amongst others.
The program combines elements from the worlds of weightlifting, athletics and gymnastics, which is my personal specialty. I’ve been a gymnast myself from a very early age. I even represented my native Mexico in international competitions and later my alma mater for my first degree: Temple University in Philadelphia, USA.
I very much enjoy operating the business and nurturing healthy communities for all ages. We have innovative programs, including CrossFit Gold (for the 3rd age), CrossFit Teens/Kids and CrossFit Mobile (we bring Fitness to your home/business). I’m a proud jobs generator and a promoter of a healthy lifestyle. We have tremendous human resources and a healthy business model, thanks to what I learned during my time at Sofaer. I am now married to Liat and have a beautiful baby boy, Eitan.
