Interview with Morly Dory – CEO and Founder of Global PIL

PIL provides a SaaS platform for regulatory compliance, transforming manual tracking into automated solutions. It integrates government regulations, best practices, and dynamic insights, helping institutions simplify compliance processes, mitigate risks, stay updated on compliance changes, and reduce costs. The platform provides companies with both internal and external updates on compliance regulations in their sectors. By providing updated checklists and workplans, companies unsure that they are up to date on regulation and reporting requirements.

One life, two careers:

I began the interview by asking Morly about herself, and what inspired her to create PIL, as a tool in the compliance industry.

Morly first responded by explaining that her life has consisted of two careers: her career in insurance, and her career as an entrepreneur. Prior to 2019, she spent 20 years as an insurance officer, and 9 years as a CEO.

She then outlined her education and family life by adding:

“I have a business and economics degree from Hebrew University and an MBA from Bar Ilan University. She then continued,

“I am married, I have three wonderful kids, children, they’re not kids anymore.”

She also noted that she was born in Israel and was in the Israeli army – an obligation for almost every Israeli citizen.

More on her career:

Morly explained that during her time working in insurance, she was handling major accounts working in business to business (B2B). She dealt with the insurance programs for big companies in diverse sectors.

After 20 years in insurance, she realized that her passion is “starting things from scratch,” which is also when the idea of her ‘second career’ was born – entrepreneurship.

This revelation was in 2009, when she was working as vice president of general insurance at Migdal. Around then she created her first operation an entrepreneur. Ten months later, she sold her operation to Migdal, and accepted an offer as CEO of Peltours Insurance Agencies.

Besides being an impressive role, Morly explained why she worked as a CEO for nearly ten years despite the fact she had discovered her passion for entrepreneurship:

“I realized how much money you need to start a start-up and so I figured that I would be CEO for a few years, make connections, make money, and then I will be able to start my start-up.”

PIL is born:

In January of 2019, Morly quit her job as CEO and spent several months in the ideation stage of PIL. She developed the idea, by knowing she wanting to provide SaaS related to both in insurance, and other sectors, leading her to the reg tech industry. She knew she wanted to help people in all sectors with her software, in Israel and beyond.

The X factor:

My next question to Morly was: “what makes PIL stand out in the reg tech industry?”

Morly first explained how there are “two X factors that make PIL unique.”

The first, is that PIL is the only SaaS platform of its kind in Israel, and likely, globally. She explained that PIL “connects both regulation data and client data in their database giving confidence to the client that they are constantly updated on regulations, without needing to input information into the platform themselves.”

The second X factor is that the platform is ready-for-use. The platform is isolated, in that there is no need to work with securities, or any other sector. They create a work-plan providing ‘value from day one.’ Morly outlined that PIL’s platform is typically implemented within 4-6 online meetings.

A love for learning:

My next question for Morly was: “how, as the CEO, she stays informed on technological and legal developments to help guide PIL’s strategy?”

She explained that what she loves most about being in the world of tech, is the need to stay informed and educated constantly. She expressed that she

“Loves learning, and that there is no textbook in the tech world.”

She continued: “that’s what’s exciting for me- to search for information.”

Morly explained that she stays informed in various ways including listening to lots of tech podcasts, following people on LinkedIn, talking to people, following websites and newsletters related to tech, going to conferences, and following the market.

Additionally, she says she “tries not to neglect any piece of information she gets.”

Morly values and investigates everything people say to her to determine if the information could be useful to her work. She knows how vital it is that she is always informed on what is going on in her sector but loves the excitement of learning.

Technology and law – good data versus great data:

Next, I asked Morly: “how can legal professionals and those in compliance better collaborate to improve compliance solutions?”

Morly used this question as an opportunity to explain that legal professionals must hop-on-board the technology train. She explained that it is vital that those in the technology sector are listening to the needs of their clients, while legal professionals remain informed on technological advancements. Morly explained that professionals who do not accept our changing world will “find it challenging to keep up.”

I then asked Morly a follow-up question: “How does AI play into your platform’s functionality?”

Morly simply responded: “AI needs good data, and we have great data.”

She expanded on this (legendary) quote by explaining that data must be reliable and correct, especially when it comes to compliance. Morly outlined how PIL takes data, corrects, and updates it, making it trustworthy and reliable for corporations. She also explained how AI is not yet fully functional in the compliance sector, but PIL is looking at ways to incorporate AI tools into their own work.

Finally, she added to her previous point that those who become familiar with new technology, will be best equipped in the professional world.

Being an entrepreneur as a woman:

After discussing the legacy of PIL and looking to the future of her company, I asked Morly if there was anything she wanted to add to her interview.

Morly stated: “I would like to talk about gender and ageism as an entrepreneur.”

Morly shared the challenges as an entrepreneur in general, and then expanded on how this becomes even more challenging if you are a woman, and as you age. She shared that throughout her career—whether in insurance, as a CEO, or as an entrepreneur—she faced discrimination because of her gender. Despite her long-standing experience with such biases, she expressed surprise at how deeply ingrained gender issues remain in the venture capital and tech industries.

When I asked her what this discrimination looked like she said she had dozens of examples. However, she observed that gender-based stereotypes become strikingly apparent when she attends meetings with male colleagues. She recalls numerous instances where, as the founder with all the information and answers to the executives’ questions, she took the lead in meetings with top male executives. Yet, if accompanied by a male colleague, the executives would direct their questions exclusively to him, despite Morly being the one providing the responses and possessing the expertise.

Morly says that combatting these challenges have been made easier by participating in networks with women who share similar experiences. Additionally, she encourages women and individuals of all ages to pursue their entrepreneurship dreams. She expressed that there will be challenges, but women encourage other women – there are people who will support you. She said that ‘if you have a passion, nothing should be a barrier to you’.

Takeaways:

As a woman emerging into her professional career, it was an honour to interview Morly. Her ‘two careers’ story serves as a testament to the power of perseverance and passion, reminding us that with vision and determination, it is possible to overcome barriers and create meaningful change in any industry. Global PIL is not just a compliance platform; it’s a symbol of what’s possible when expertise meets bold ambition.