Joshua Levinberg

Joshua Levinberg is a well-known Israeli businessman and entrepreneur whose experi-ence and investments span over many industries, while maintaining a strong focus on high-tech. He was born in Tel Aviv in 1953 and attended Ohel Shalom High School, which carries with it a reputation of educating some of the nation's most successful entrepre-neurs. After earning a B.Sc. in electrical engineering and electronics from Tel Aviv Univer-sity, he began an impressive career and now sits on the board of several high-tech com-panies.

Current Business

In 1987 Joshua Levinberg co-founded Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd and served the company as Vice President of Marketing and Business Development. In 1994 he established the U.S subsidiary of Gilat and took the role of Executive Vice President and General Manager. In 2005, he took the company forward as the Executive Vice President of Corporate Business Development and Strategy and more recently took the role of Senior Advisor for Business Development and Corporate Strategy.

Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd supplies digital satellite communication and networking related products and services based on Internet Protocol. The publicly traded company (NASDAQ: GILT) also produces its own design of very small aperture terminals (VSATs) and markets them internationally to more than 85 countries. The company's clever broad-band solutions deliver reliable data, Internet, voice and video systems to private customers and businesses as well as governments.

Gilat is well positioned to become an important player in the important international military market since its recent acquisition of Wavestream, an amplifier manufacturer for satellite-powered equipment used by governments and military across the globe. The company develops solid state amplifying systems that are efficient enough to be used for powerful transmissions but remain compact and lightweight in design. The products satisfy the growing demand of America's military and others for the radio spectrum that works with higher frequencies. The acquisition marks one of Gilat's largest deals and puts the company in the midst of a market with estimated annual revenues of $459 million. Understanding the value of mergers and acquisitions, Joshua Levinberg was asked to speak at the Mergermarket's M&A in Israel Conference. He described the importance of M&A to mid size companies like Gilat and to Israeli startups in the high tech field. Noting the small size of the Israeli market, he encouraged participants to go to the US market when looking for funding, in order to attract the attention of both local and foreign investors.

History

In 1995, Joshua Levinberg held the position of VP Marketing at G.E. Spacenet, Inc., today a subsidiary of Gilat Satellite Networks. G.E. Spacenet is a provider of a vast range of communications solutions that help nationwide multi-site organizations manage their net-works more efficiently and effectively.

In yet another successful business venture, Levinberg founded Global Village Telecom (GVT) where he served as Chief Executive Officer from 1998 to 1999. Based in Brazil, GVT offers a wide range of innovative products and advanced solutions for the local telecommunica-tions market. Recently the company was acquired by Vivendi for an approximate worth of $4 billion.


From 2002 to 2003 he served as first Chairman of the Board of Satlynx S.A., a company that he co-founded. Satalynx S.A. is a provider of broadband communications via satellite to corporate establishments, private consumers, and home businesses in Europe. The company was later acquired by GE and is now known as GE-Satcom.

In 2003 Joshua Levinberg and Amiram Levinberg joined forces to establish JAL Ventures, Ltd, an investment company through which they are able to invest in successful businesses such as Kasamba. He was an initial investor in Kasamba and a member of the board of Kasamba, which was bought out by LivePerson (NASDQ-LPSN) in 2007 for the sum of $40 million. Another of the JAL invested companies was Agropeace Bio Ltd., a privately held firm that specializes in African projects, such as the castor seed market. After the seeds are grown in African, they are used for castor oil in the bio diesel market. Some of the other JAL companies are DenTack, Kargal, Matan Digital Printers, and Vanadium.

Joshua Levinberg was a guest speaker at the MIT Enterprise Forum that was held in Tel Aviv in June 2010. Along with discussing Gilat's involvement in Brazil's quickly developing telecommunications industry, he told the audience about the various opportunities available for growth and investment. One of those opportunities is the 2014 World Cup, which will require abundant telecommunications infrastructure.

Links

Joshua Levinberg profile on Entrepreneur Connect
More about Joshua Levinberg
Joshua Levinberg Awards Winners Of Israeli Competition
Joshua Levinberg profile on LinkedIn
Joshua Levinberg bio page

Entrepreneur, Entrepreneurship, Businessman, Business, Gilat, Gilat Satellite Networks, GILT, Satellite, Wind surfing, Marketing, Business Development, Bizdev, Executive, Strategy, GE
Spacenet, GVT, CEO, Chairman, Investor, Telecommunications