Yechiel (Michael) Leiter, PhD

President and Chief Executive Officer

Yechiel is a political theorist and veteran political strategist who has successfully advised candidates, political parties and governments in a number of countries on campaigns and public policy. Yechiel, a man of contagious energy, introduces a holistic perspective to each initiative, ensuring that clients benefit from big-picture integration and team synergies.

Accomplishments

As an executive consultant, Yechiel helped guide Horacio Cartes win the presidency of Paraguay and then co-developed the 100-Day Action Plan for his new government. He subsequently served as the key architect of the government’s widely praised economic development plan. He served as a political advisor to former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, and in multiple senior government positions: first as Deputy Director General of Israel’s Ministry of Education, where he helped plan a major overhaul of the educational system, and then as Chief of Staff to Benjamin Netanyahu in the Ministry of Finance, where he took a key role in the dramatic economic reform program that revolutionized Israel’s economy.

A distinguished academic, Yechiel served as a senior policy analyst at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, one of Israel’s leading foreign policy institutes. He has taught political theory at the Law School of Kiryat Ono Academic College and is also a resident scholar at Jerusalem’s Herzl Institute.

After running for election to Israel’s parliament in 2008, from the years 2011 to 2013, Yechiel served as Chairman of the Israel Ports Authority, responsible for the development of Israel’s three commercial seaports in: Haifa, Ashdod and Eilat. Companies across various sectors have consulted with Yechiel to redefine their vision and restructure their operations to position for changing times and circumstances.


Education

Yechiel holds an undergraduate degree in law, a BA in political science, an MA in international relations and a PhD in political philosophy from the University of Haifa.

What candidates, clients and colleagues have said about Yechiel

"Without Dr. Yechiel Leiter’s strategic genius in public policy, we probably would have lost the elections and the chance for true change in Paraguay. In the past several years, Yechiel and his team have brought us light years ahead in public policy and infrastructure planning. He prodded us to think big. We owe much of our success to him."
—Horacio Cartes, President of Paraguay

"When he worked at my side at the Ministry of Finance, I witnessed firsthand Yechiel's originality, and his unique ability to think deeply and strategically. Yechiel sees into the future and aims high. The assets he brings to public policy are crucial for the developing world."
—Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of Israel

"When Yechiel joined my campaign as chief strategist, I was appearing in national polls only in the ‘others’ category. Within a just a few months, I reached second place in all national surveys and was poised to win in the second round of elections. When he initially told me that the election was mine to win I didn't take him that seriously, but from the moment he recalibrated my campaign launch and turned it into a winning platform, I knew that his campaign tactics and long term strategy could actually pull off the impossible. With paltry campaign funding and little name recognition I was on the way to victory. Had a technical procedural issue not disqualified my party, the presidency, in all likelihood, would have been mine. That, in large measure because of Yechiel."
—Julio Guzman, Candidate for the Presidency of Peru

"Dr. Leiter is a brilliant strategist who knows how to build business platforms, energize teams and empower executives. He takes his many years of high-level governmental leadership and experience and applies them powerfully to the private sector. His energy, intellect and passion have benefited us greatly."
—Dukas Linden Public Relations, a top 100 U.S. Public Relations Firm