Born in 1953, Joshua Z. Levinberg has become a prominent and well-respected Israeli businessman with a long history of accomplishments.
One such accomplishment is the co-founding of Gilat Satellite Networks, a company that provides broadband satellite network solutions as well as professional services to communication operators worldwide. The company, which was founded in 1987, is publicly traded (NASDAQ: GILT) and has sixteen sales and service offices worldwide. Gilat’s main market offering is the VSAT, a two-way satellite ground station with a small dish antenna. These VSATs are used by communication companies for the purpose of providing reliable data and Internet service. VSATs also provide voice and video formats to companies, governments and other clients from around the world; today the company serves operators in 85 countries. The VSATs are marketed under a family of products called “SkyEdge™” and “SkyEdge II”. Gilat also owns Spacenet Inc., a subsidiary which provides wireline and wireless broadband services to enterprises, governmental and industrial organizations situated in North America. In addition, Gilat owns 21 subsidiaries located all around the world.
Joshua Levinberg has helped build the company from the ground up, starting as Co-Founder and Vice President of Marketing & Business Development (1987-1989) then moving on to the role of Executive Vice President and General Manager in the United States (where he opened Gilat’s first headquarters from 1989-1994). From 1994 to 2003 Levinberg served as the Senior Vice President of Business Development and today he serves as a Senior Advisor to the Board.
In addition to his managerial roles at Gilat Satellite Networks Mr. Levinberg is also an active investor in numerous start-up companies and business ventures. Most of his investments are conducted through
JAL Ventures, a private investment firm based in Tel Aviv which he co-founded with his brother, Amiram Levinberg. Through JAL Ventures,
Joshua Levinberg primarily invests in high-tech companies that serve the Internet, Communication and Renewable Energy industries. Joshua and his brother are active partners in the investment firm and provide active guidance and support to the sponsored companies.
With over 20 years of experience in the field of satellite communication,
Joshua Z. Levinberg recently expressed his view on the developing trend of maritime satellite communication consolidation. He spoke to an independent Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) online journal Mergermarket.com, stating:
In order to become solid players, companies must have global presence and signal capacity, and this need to scale is driving consolidation…The fact is that without substantial scale it is very difficult to become profitable. You can’t be global without over $100 million dollars (US) in revenues to attract the big customers and to give them the confidence that you’ll be around in five or 10 years.
Joshua Z. Levinberg is an active participant in the industry’s growth and development into new markets. Just recently he was an invited to speak at the MIT Enterprise Forum where he spoke of the business opportunities between Israel and Brazil. The Forum, which took place June 3, 2010 explored the opportunities in the Brazilian Market and provided networking opportunities for business-people, investors and companies.
Joshua Levinberg is an experienced businessman, investor and industry leader. He continues to lead Gilat and contribute his business know-how to the industry.
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