"It's Not a One Way Street, it's a Dialogue” - Yariv Hasar of Sapiens
In this episode of the Land and Lead Podcast, Dr. Josh Elmore speaks with Yariv Hasar, President NA at Sapiens, about leading large-scale technology transformation through clarity, iteration, and dialogue. Yariv shares a distinctive leadership journey that began in the Israeli Air Force and continued through senior roles in telecom, fintech, and now insurtech.
Eight months into his role at Sapiens, Yariv reflects on what it means to enter a new organization with a mandate for transformation. He outlines a disciplined approach rooted in his engineering background: define what “good” looks like, conduct a clear-eyed gap analysis, and move forward iteratively rather than relying on rigid long-term plans. Throughout the conversation, Yariv emphasizes reflection and continuous learning as core leadership practices.
A central theme of the episode is culture. Yariv discusses the challenge of balancing his own preferences for agility and speed with the realities of organizational history, risk tolerance, and deeply held beliefs shaped by past successes and failures. He argues that effective transformation requires engaging people around a shared vision, not prescribing tactics, and remaining humble enough to adapt along the way.
The episode closes with practical advice for leaders entering high-stakes roles: listen more than you speak, invest in understanding organizational history, and lead change as an ongoing dialogue rather than a one-time event.
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