"They told me I am a neglectful mother": Thorpan CEO on the heavy price of success

Keren Cohen Hazon is an Israeli industrialist, founder, chairwoman, and CEO of the company "Thorpan Industries" and its controlling shareholder. Cohen Hazon led Thorpan Industries from a small local company in Holon to an international public company that owns dozens of production sites and operates all over the world, with the company's value currently estimated at billions of shekels.

The company's rapid growth is based on an aggressive and systematic strategy of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) of dozens of factories and companies around the world in the fields of flavor extracts, fragrances, and unique raw materials. Thanks to her achievements, she is regularly included in the lists of the most influential women in Israel by leading economic media outlets such as Globes. Alongside her business activities, Cohen Hazon is also known for her philanthropic work, having donated about 1% of the company's shares, worth about 47–50 million shekels, to the Beilinson, Sheba, and Soroka hospitals.

Cohen Hazon's path to the business summit began in the home where she grew up and the education she received. Cohen Hazon testifies about herself:

"I absorbed activity from home, my father believed in me very much and would tell me: 'You will decide'. I studied chemistry and business administration, and then I looked for a job and saw an ad in the newspaper: 'Salesperson with a degree in chemistry'. When I understood that my salary was lower than someone who arrived with me, they told me: 'You have a husband who supports you so well, what does it matter, you are enjoying it, right?'."

The early experience in the world of work brought her into contact with a male environment with almost no women in key positions. As she describes: "There were no women around me, the women who were there were either serving tea, or secretaries, or lab technicians. There was only one woman who was the daughter of the owner, and she told me: 'Keren, you will have a hard life here', and I survived there for seven years."

Keren says that the secret to a career and a relationship focuses on personal choices and partnership. "I didn't want to be a small woman living next to a successful man," she clarifies. Regarding the barriers facing women, she explains: "I don't think women have a glass ceiling, the choice to choose the right partner is what is important. I chose a partner, I married a talented guy, and his parents really wanted there to be a small woman at home who would wait for him at home, it was said more than once. Poor Shay, he is alone at home, but my husband is a wise man and he made his choice."

Alongside the success and the fulfillment of ambitions, the path also involved social criticism and personal costs that she does not try to hide. Cohen Hazon shares her feelings about the criticism she received over the years regarding the way she was a mother:

"There were many people who would say that I am neglecting my children, that I don't have time to take him to the barber. It hurts, explaining to me that I am a neglectful mother is not nice. There is a price for this, but it is a much smaller price than not fulfilling yourself."