20MinuteLeaders

Shaival Desai is the Chief Growth Officer, of Petpooja, a next-generation restaurant management platform offering state-of-the-art POS (Point of Sale) software to manage restaurant billing, inventory, online orders, menu, and customers. Fondly known as the Google of Petpooja by his colleagues, Shaival oversees the company's marketing, advanced products, in-house sales, and training. Along with his team of professionals, he also plays an instrumental role in building Petpooja’s advanced products such as Voice Ordering KIOSK, Order Serving Robot, Waiter-calling devices, etc. Aside from these core responsibilities, Shaival drives SaaS implementation at the company to streamline the processes for the other teams.

Lilach is a group lead at vcita, a firm dedicated to enabling small businesses and helping entrepreneurs achieve independence and success. She believes in social equality, accessibility, and reducing social and gender disparities. Lilach rose to management in a fast-paced startup a few years ago. She loved the action, intense collaboration, and feeling of accomplishment. Lilach was often the lone woman in her position. She struggled to keep her voice and trust her intuition in difficult situations. Bottom-up leadership, openness, full partnership, and trust allow us to be authentic, says Lilach. Lilach worked as a pastry cook in patisseries and a gourmet catering firm, where she met her partner. They have a 7-year-old daughter and twin 4-year-olds.

Patrick Thean is an international speaker, CEO coach and serial entrepreneur. He is a USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author. His work has been seen on NBC, CBS, and Fox. Patrick was named Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year in 1996 for North Carolina as he grew his first company to #151 on the Inc 500 (now called the Inc. 5000). After a successful exit, he has been on a mission to help CEOs build great companies and achieve their dreams.

Shmuel is the Director of Fintech.IL Innovation Community and the President of The Israel Fintech Center, the largest and most influential Fintech group in Israel. His career has encompassed both the private and public sectors. Among his previous positions: Minister for Economic Affairs, The Embassy of Israel, London; Assistant Director General, the Bank Leumi Group; Chief Economic Adviser to the Minister of Industry, Trade & Tourism; Israel’s Consul & Trade Commissioner to the USA; Directly-elect Mayor of Kfar Shmaryahu. Shmuel has served as a director in leading Israeli corporations, including Bezeq Ltd. and Israel Chemicals Ltd. He holds a BA in Economics and an MBA from the Hebrew University.

Soon Yu is a best-selling author and expert on innovation and design. His latest book, Friction, asks businesses to consider adding MORE friction for their customers and employees to create greater engagement, meaning, belonging, rapport, assurance, competence, and exclusivity. He most recently served as the Global VP of Innovation and Officer at VF Corporation, the parent organization to over 30 global apparel companies, including The North Face, Vans, Timberland, Nautica, and Wrangler. Before this, he worked as a general manager at The Clorox Company and Chiquita Brands, as a consultant at Bain and Company, and as a founder for numerous venture-backed startups.

Joseph Gitler formed Leket Israel in 2003 as a one-man food rescue project which has since grown into the largest food bank and leading food rescue operation in Israel. Leket Israel provides food and nutritional support to 223,000+ needy Israelis weekly through its partnership with 260 nonprofit organizations serving the poor.

 Meirav Harel is a world-renowned expert on FinTech, Blockchain, Digital Disruption, the Future of Finance, and Investment & Trading Interfaces. She was named one of the "100 Most Inspiring Women in Blockchain 2020." She has more than 20 years of experience in finance, technology, and making award-winning FinTech innovations. TechRoundUK named her one of the 36 Top Women Revolutionizing Crypto 2022 Worldwide, and Innovate Finance UK chose her twice for their "Women in Fintech Powerlist." As a director at Excellence-Trade and Excellence Investment House, Meirav focuses on how new technologies will affect the future of banking, finance, money, regulations, macroeconomics, and businesses. Meirav is a well-known international advisor and keynote speaker on Blockchain, Fintech, 5G, NFT, Metaverse, the Future of Money, Finance, and Banking, CBDC, cryptocurrencies, and digital disruption. She teaches, consults, and manages. 

Merav Grossman is the CEO of the Advanced Manufacturing Institute (AMI) in Israel,  leading a unique program for digital transformation in manufacturing companies,  mainly SMBs,  financed by the Ministry of Economy and Industry.Merav is happily married, a  mother of 3, and holds a BSc degree in Information Systems Engineering and an MBA in Technology management. With 30 years in senior positions in the industry, leading such an organization is a privilege and mission for her.

Saeed Amal is an Assistant Research Professor at Northeastern University focusing on the applications of Artificial Intelligence to improve cardiovascular disease care. Amal was a Postdoctoral Fellow at Stanford University School of Medicine. Amal received his BSc degree in Computer Science from Technion, and his Ph.D. and MSc degrees in Computer Science from the University of Haifa. Amal was Vice President of an R&D data medical startup in the field of cardiology and established startups such as Carmel Tech for intelligent management systems.

Neha Rastogi is the founder and COO of Agatsa. An entrepreneur with over a decade of experience in creating affordable and technologically advanced healthcare products possesses great leadership skills. Along with being the Founder of the company, she has also built the prototype of its flagship product – the SanketLife ECG monitor. She has won various prestigious awards the 'Women Entrepreneur Award’ by TIE, ‘The Digital Women Award‘ by ShethepeopleTV, ‘The BIRAC-TiE Winner Award for women in entrepreneurial research in the field of biotechnology, and the Aegis Graham Award.