Val MiftakhovFounder

United States - San Carlos, California

Founder & CEO of ZeroAvia, a UK & California company developing the World's first practical zero emission aviation powertrain. Started by the serial entrepreneurs in EV space, the company initially focuses on regional aircraft up to 80 seats with 500-mile range. ZeroAvia's unique approach results in much lower fuel and engine maintenance costs, with no harmful emissions.

Prior Experience:

1. Founder & CEO of eMotorWerks, developing SmartGrid-integrated EV Charging technologies with superior control latency and precision, centralized and autonomous grid response profiles. We firmly believe that electric transportation is the future of mobility and will accelerate its adoption through innovative infrastructure models. The company has been acquired by Enel Group in October 2017. We are excited about accelerating our vision and mission of renewable energy powering sustainable transport, now as a part of Enel Group - the largest utility in Europe.

2. Head of R&D, Google for Work Incubation. Responsible for identifying & prototyping top candidates for new Google products targeted at Businesses, Education, and Governments. Managing portfolio of early stage products through dedicated teams of Product Managers and Software Engineers. Working directly with the President and rest of top management of the GfW business unit.

3. Management consulting at McKinsey - 20+ projects for largest global high-tech companies in the areas of business unit strategy, sales effectiveness, online strategy, digital marketing. Developed novel approaches to connect digital data (search, social media, etc.) to business operations & bottom line impact. Co-engineered and executed the first-ever JV at McKinsey & Co - NM Incite (nmincite.com, with Nielsen).

4. Extensive start-up experience - co-founded 2 hardware + 2 software companies

5. Successful execution of advanced data processing (PhD level) and complex software development projects (including AI). Leading large, distributed product teams.