Oded Distel

Oded Distel, is recognized both in Israel and internationally as the leading expert on Israel’s water sector. He worked in the Ministry of Economy from 1995-2019. He was the Founder and Director of "Israel NewTech" - Israel’s world-renowned National Energy & Water Program at the Ministry of Economy. The pioneering program has spearheaded Israel’s water and energy eco-system. "Israel NewTech" brought all stakeholders – start-ups, entrepreneurs, companies, multinationals, academia, regulators, policy makers and investors - to cooperate and build smart solutions to global challenges. Israel NewTech is recognized as a successful case study of an innovative and effective way government can be involved in fostering an ecosystem.
Oded is also the CO-CHAIR WATEC 2024- https://watec-israel.com/. WATEC Israel, is a flagship event dedicated to the responsible planning, management, and protection of water resources, that will take place in Jerusalem from Sept 16-19,2024 bringing together experts, innovators, and thought leaders from around the world to
tackle pressing water-related issues. Oded has previously served as the Director of the Investment Promotion Center (IPC) "Invest in Israel". The IPC serves as the marketing agency for foreign
investments in Israel, as well as a stint as the Israeli Commercial Attaché in Greece. Oded was selected to the list of the 100 most influential people in the Israeli hi-tech
arena, by the prestigious "Geek Time" website.

He is currently the CEO of Tal-Ya Agricultural Solutions. Tal-Ya- http://www.tal-ya.com/ is teaming up with mother nature to create an ideal microclimate to the roots of young trees and vegetables plants. The technology is simple and brilliant at the same time. In addition, Oded is a co-founder and VP Business Development of H2OLL-https://h2oll.com/ an innovative start-up that is producing drinking water from air in extra dry regions. A prototype is already producing 200 Liters of top-quality drinking water per day, and a full scale system producing 1000 Liters a day will be ready in the
Negev desert in June 2024. Oded holds a B.A. in business administration and an M.B.A. both from the School of Business Administration in Tel Aviv.