About Liat Benzur

Oy Gevalt! is a blog dedicated to my grandmother, Guta Gantz. An Aushwitz and Buchenwald survivor, she is not only the strongest women I’ve ever known, she also invented “Leaning In”. As in, leaning into her grandkids to get married already! She said Oy Gevalt! a lot.

For those of you non-Yiddish speakers, ‘Oy Gevalt’ is an expression of utmost anxiety, frustration or shock, similar to how we might use “Good Grief!” or “OMG!”   Often used while kvetching, ‘Oy Gevalt!’ is a very poignant expression for any working mother of two and/or software exec trying to move the needle in a hardware company. I am both.

In addition, I am an avid foodie who, before having kids, would travel the world in search of the best food, wine and chefs. I also like to write raps and listen to conscious hip hop. As in early 90’s shit.  I’m passionate about the intersection of internet services and mobile, digital health, the connected home, connected car, and everything else in our lives which are about to get more connected.

The views expressed in this blog are my own and not my company’s.

Professional Bio:

After 18 years in wireless & mobile, Liat believes that the future success of the Internet of Things actually revolves around software. She focuses on wireless, mobile apps, connected devices, mhealth and user experiences. Named by Fierce Wireless as one of only seven “Rising Stars of Wireless in 2014,” her approach to products is that the consumer should be the hero, not the technology.

Liat Ben-Zur is currently senior vice president Connected Digital Platforms & Propositions at Royal Philips where she is responsible for driving the connectivity & digital strategy for Philips health tech portfolio. Her aim is to deliver meaningful digital innovation via connected propositions and experiences.

Prior to her current role, Liat led Qualcomm’s AllJoyn business as senior director, Product Management. She was also a founder and Chairwoman of the AllSeen Alliance, the broadest cross-industry consortium driving a common, open-source language for “Internet of Things.” Prior to driving AllSeen and AllJoyn, Liat Ben-Zur built and led Qualcomm’s Developer Ecosystem team and helped bridge the gap between the strongest semiconductor player in the world of wireless with the growing influence of mobile application developers. Liat joined Qualcomm in 1998 working as a designer of application-specific integrated circuits. Since then, she has built and led the division’s Technical Account Management team, working closely with QCT’s OEM customers. Later, she ran QCT’s competitive strategy team, evaluating market trends, assessing mergers and acquisitions, and contributing to the division’s long-range planning and technology roadmapping. Prior to joining Qualcomm, Liat worked as a hardware engineer at Intel and for a wireless startup in Israel.

Liat is also Founder and Managing Director of Geek Sheek Beats (www.geeksheekbeats), a marketing agency that develops custom hip hop marketing campaigns for brands, non-profits, conferences or events. Liat formed Geek Sheek Beats to help bridge companies with contemporary culture via authentic, credible and original music campaigns.

Liat holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from UC Davis and a master’s in business administration from UCLA’s Anderson School of Management.

You can find her:

On LinkedIn – http://www.linkedin.com/in/lbenzur

On Twitter – http://www.twitter.com/lbenzur