Waves Audio - Founders

Founders

Gilad Keren - Chief Executive Officer

Gilad Keren is co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Waves Audio. Since the early 1990s, Gilad has been instrumental in pioneering an entirely new kind of tool, the digital audio plug-in, and the company he helped create has become instrumental in every stage of the creative audio process, from recording to mixing to mastering to broadcast, live sound, and beyond.

During his last year in the Israeli military, Keren began working for Tommy Friedman, a renowned figure in the Israeli recording industry. When a cousin introduced him to (eventual Waves co-founder) Meir Shaashua, the two found a strong common interest: sound, and, more precisely, digital sound. After returning to the Technion (Israel Institute of Technology), Keren began to develop what would become Waves’ first plug-in, the Q10, which debuted at the Audio Engineering Society (AES) convention. During Keren's tenure, Waves has grown from a two-man operation to a worldwide company with over 150 employees and offices in the U.S., Israel, and China. Additionally, the company has entered the consumer electronics arena, partnering with electronics companies like JVC, Sony, Toshiba, Altec Lansing, Fujitsu and others by creating sound enhancement algorithms for laptops, TVs, cellphones, and more.

Meir Shaashua - Chief Technological Officer

Meir Shaashua is co-founder and Chief Technological Officer of Waves Audio. Since the company’s inception, Mr. Shaashua has been responsible for the development of all Waves Audio products and technologies. Prior to his work at Waves Audio, he worked together with Mr. Keren at Audio Animation, where he was responsible for the development of DSP algorithms used at FM radio stations for sound enhancement. Mr. Shaashua was also part of the Talpiot program in the IDF, serving as a R&D officer for five years and completing his service at the rank of Captain. During his military service he was active in developing DSP algorithms and control software for an experimental radar system, and later served as the head of the RPV section. He holds a B.Sc. in Mathematics and Physics from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and also studied at Tel Aviv University's Department of Communication Control and Computers.

Over 100 audio processing plug-in products have been developed under Shaashua’s direction. Waves Audio products have consistently garnered awards from the Pro Audio Industry and Audio Engineering Society (AES), including 4 TEC Awards (Technical Excellence & Creativity Awards for Outstanding Technical Achievement) in the category of Signal Processing Technology/Software.