Hila Oren () is an Israeli executive and researcher of urbanism and city branding. Since 2016 she has served as CEO of the Tel Aviv Foundation. Previously, she founded and directed the Ir Olam ("Global City") directorate at the Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality. In May 2025 she was elected chair of the Forum of Urban Foundations.
Biography Oren served as a soldier teacher at the Shkedim field school of the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel.
Oren holds a BA and an MBA from Tel Aviv University, a certificate from the leadership program at the Harvard Kennedy School, and a Ph.D. from the University of Haifa, where she wrote her thesis about the global branding of Tel Aviv. She is an alumna of the Wexner Foundation's Senior Leadership Program.
At age 25 she founded a leisure business called "Hofesh" ("Freedom"), and later founded "Chamesh", a municipal company for education and leisure in Shoham. She then served as vice president for tourism at the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel.
She established and was CEO of Tel Aviv Global,Short bio, Concordia Summit was the General Director of Tel Aviv Centennial Administration, and the Director of Tourism Operations for the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel. She currently sits on the board of Neot Kedumim, Port of Haifa, and Vertigo Dance Troupe. In 2018, Hila was inaugural thinker-in-residence for the Christchurch Foundation, based in Christchurch, New Zealand.'Let it go', global thinker tells Christchurch, Philip Matthews, stuff magazine, September 15, 2018
Tel Aviv Foundation In 2016 Oren was appointed CEO of the Tel Aviv Foundation, which raises donations and promotes urban projects. During her tenure the foundation's activity expanded beyond the construction of buildings and facilities to social programs and content, and its outreach to Israeli donors and the local business sector grew.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the foundation partnered with the company Colu to support local businesses by encouraging purchases within the city.
In 2026 she led the foundation's efforts to promote the new campus of the Reuth Medical and Rehabilitation Center at Sde Dov.
At the foundation, Oren promoted "Health Pockets" (Kisei Briut), an initiative that combines the design of public spaces with social programming to encourage community interaction and reduce loneliness and stress. According to an April 2026 Globes article, the initiative was developed by her in partnership with the company Publica and with the guidance of Prof. Anat Bronstein Klomek of Reichman University. It includes gardens, seating areas and activities such as meetings and "listening benches", as part of a concept of health-promoting architecture.
Oren has spoken at international conferences, including the 2023 SNF Nostos Conference and events of the World Jewish Congress.
Other public roles Oren is a founder of the Forum of Urban Foundations, which promotes cooperation among development foundations in local authorities. Since May 2025 she has chaired the forum, alongside its president, Amram Mitzna.
She has served on the board of directors of the Port of Haifa and on the boards of Neot Kedumim, the Vertigo Dance Company and Amidar.
She has written opinion pieces in The Jerusalem Post on philanthropy, gender-sensitive urban planning and the social role of public spaces, as well as columns in Anashim U'Machshevim, Portfolio and Ice on philanthropy and the relationship between public space and community resilience.
References
External links
"Hila Oren on Placemaking, City Branding and the Reputation of Tel Aviv", The Place Brand Observer, 16 April 2015 "Creating global cities: Q&A with Hila Oren", Metropol, 2018 "Voices of Impact - Urbanism, Tel Aviv, Diversity: Hila Oren", World Jewish Congress, 8 January 2025 (podcast, 34 min) Author page, The Jerusalem Post