TEL AVIV, Israel--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug 6, 2025--
MCE Systems today announced the appointment of Alon Gilady as Chief Operations Officer (COO). Gilady, a seasoned AI and retail-tech entrepreneur, joins the executive team to help accelerate MCE’s innovation roadmap and drive growth across global markets.
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“I really see a huge opportunity here in the telecoms space for mobile operators to apply AI purposefully in customer-facing applications and get the kind of business-led results they’ve been looking for,” said Gilady. “MCE’s mission to improve the customer mobile device experience with AI really resonated with me and I believe their AI-led approach will help advance the industry to where it wants to go.”
MCE’s dDLM platform helps mobile operators better manage the customer’s device-related experience over the period a customer owns their device (lifecycle) – from onboarding to in-life use to the moment they upgrade their device. The company leverages AI technology for several features within the platform’s framework and during the lifecycle, highlighted by two notable solutions:
1. Agentic AI for personalization: MCE’s Agentic AI solution for app chatbots empowers mobile operators to personalize digital customer interactions and create more valuable customer experiences that convert into better business outcomes. ( See TELUS example )
2. Computer vision forapp-focused service: MCE’s cosmetic grading solution allows customers to remotely assess their device’s objective value and execute trade-ins or purchase insurance outside of the initial 30 days without the need to visit a store. ( See Vodafone example )
Building on his past success, Alon will help drive the growth of MCE’s existing AI-based product portfolio and the company’s value proposition from the lens of innovation and expansion to new markets.
Prior to joining MCE, Gilady was the co-founder and CEO of Renovai, an AI startup that developed an Agentic AI stylist for lifestyle ecommerce brands and retailers. Under his leadership, the company created a breakthrough platform for product recommendation, room- and outfit-styling – integrating a combination of computer vision, interior design logic and a recommendation engine. Renovai’s solution supported major brands like Kmart, Temple & Webster and John Lewis to deliver personalized visual shopping experiences that boosted engagement and sales metrics. Gilady also helped secure multiple funding rounds, expand into international markets and form high-impact strategic partnerships.
“Alon brings a unique combination of startup spirit, AI product go-to-market expertise and a strong grasp of operational excellence,” said Yuval Blumental, CEO of MCE Systems. “His experience scaling product-driven companies will be instrumental as we continue to grow our AI and device-related product portfolio and deliver next-generation solutions to the mobile device space worldwide.”
About MCE
Since 2005, MCE has been pioneering software and technology solutions for mobile operators and their partners in the telco and device ecosystem helping accelerate digital transformation of device-related journeys. Our mission is simple: Mobilize better Customer Experiences. We turn device-related headaches into competitive advantages with our end-to-end digital-first Device Lifecycle Management platform (dDLM). This AI-led, omnichannel platform delivers game-changing experiences across all device-related customer journeys – driving business velocity, margins, and NPS. MCE is a proven technology partner and highly acclaimed for its world-class products, innovation, and implementation through eleven straight gold awards – most notably at The Stevie Awards®.
Gilady, a former co-founder and CEO of an AI startup, will help drive growth across global markets and accelerate MCE’s innovation roadmap with a focus on its AI-based product portfolio
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A South Korean court sentenced former President Yoon Suk Yeol to five years in prison Friday in the first verdict from eight criminal trials over the martial law debacle that forced him out of office and other allegations.
Yoon was impeached, arrested and dismissed as president after his short-lived imposition of martial law in December 2024 triggered huge public protests calling for his ouster.
The most significant criminal charge against him alleges that his martial law enforcement amounted to a rebellion, and the independent counsel has requested the death sentence in the case that is to be decided in a ruling next month.
Yoon has maintained he didn’t intend to place the country under military rule for an extended period, saying his decree was only meant to inform the people about the danger of the liberal-controlled parliament obstructing his agenda. But investigators have viewed Yoon’s decree as an attempt to bolster and prolong his rule, charging him with rebellion, abuse of power and other criminal offenses.
In Friday’s case, the Seoul Central District Court sentenced Yoon for defying attempts to detain him, fabricating the martial law proclamation, and sidestepping a legally mandated full Cabinet meeting and thus depriving some Cabinet members who were not convened of their due rights to deliberate on his decree.
Judge Baek Dae-hyun said in the televised ruling that imposing “a grave punishment” was necessary because Yoon hasn’t shown remorse and has only repeated “hard-to-comprehend excuses.” The judge also restoring legal systems damaged by Yoon’s action was necessary.
Yoon’s defense team said they will appeal the ruling, which they believe was “politicized” and reflected “the unliberal arguments by the independent counsel.” Yoon’s defense team argued the ruling “oversimplified the boundary between the exercise of the president’s constitutional powers and criminal liability.”
Prison sentences in the multiple, smaller trials Yoon faces would matter if he is spared the death penalty or life imprisonment at the rebellion trial.
Park SungBae, a lawyer who specializes in criminal law, said there is little chance the court would decide Yoon should face the death penalty in the rebellion case. He said the court will likely issue a life sentence or a sentence of 30 years or more in prison.
South Korea has maintained a de facto moratorium on executions since 1997 and courts rarely hand down death sentences. Park said the court would take into account that Yoon’s decree didn’t cause casualties and didn’t last long, although Yoon hasn’t shown genuine remorse for his action.
South Korea has a history of pardoning former presidents who were jailed over diverse crimes in the name of promoting national unity. Those pardoned include strongman Chun Doo-hwan, who received the death penalty at a district court over his 1979 coup, the bloody 1980 crackdowns of pro-democracy protests that killed about 200 people, and other crimes.
Some observers say Yoon will likely retain a defiant attitude in the ongoing trials to maintain his support base in the belief that he cannot avoid a lengthy sentence but could be pardoned in the future.
On the night of Dec. 3, 2024, Yoon abruptly declared martial law in a televised speech, saying he would eliminate “anti-state forces” and protect “the constitutional democratic order.” Yoon sent troops and police officers to encircle the National Assembly, but many apparently didn’t aggressively cordon off the area, allowing enough lawmakers to get into an assembly hall to vote down Yoon’s decree.
No major violence occurred, but Yoon's stunt caused the biggest political crisis in South Korea and rattled its diplomacy and financial markets. For many, his decree, the first of its kind in more than four decades in South Korea, brought back harrowing memories of past dictatorships in the 1970s and 1980s, when military-backed leaders used martial law and emergency measures to deploy soldiers and tanks on the streets to suppress demonstrations.
After Yoon's ouster, his liberal rival Lee Jae Myung became president via a snap election last June. After taking office, Lee appointed three independent counsels to look into allegations involving Yoon, his wife and associates.
Yoon's other trials deal with charges like ordering drone flights over North Korea to deliberately inflame animosities to look for a pretext to declare martial law. Other charges accuse Yoon of manipulating the investigation into a marine’s drowning in 2023 and receiving free opinion surveys from an election broker in return for a political favor.
A supporter of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol shouts slogans outside Seoul Central District Court, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
Supporters of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol hold signs and flags outside Seoul Central District Court, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
A supporter of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol waits for a bus carrying former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol outside Seoul Central District Court, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
Supporters of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol hold signs as police officers stand guard outside Seoul Central District Court, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
Supporters of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol hold signs and flags outside Seoul Central District Court, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
Supporters of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol hold signs outside Seoul Central District Court, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
A picture of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol is placed on a board as supporters gather outside Seoul Central District Court, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
