Modern Agriculture Foundation honors four women leaders at sold-out Tel Aviv AgFoodTech summit

The Modern Agriculture Foundation (MAF) held its fourth annual AgFoodTech Gathering in Tel Aviv, a sold-out event co-hosted with law firm Shibolet & Co. that drew scientists, investors, and executives. The centerpiece was the 2026 Leading Women in AgFoodTech recognition ceremony, which honored four leaders across ecosystem building, computational biology, venture capital, and cell-cultured meat commercialization. MAF's professional network now includes roughly 230 members, with 164 C-level and senior executives, 77 PhD researchers, and 54 female founders.

"Thanks to the profound leadership and vision within this community, Israel has evolved from the 'StartUp Nation' into a global 'FoodTech Nation.'"

—Levana Shifman, CEO of MAF

• The four honorees were Dana Kedar of GrowingIL, Dr. Naama Kopelman of Foldwise Proteins, Dr. Gali Artzi of PeakBridge VC, and Galia Reicher of Aleph Farms.
• The judging committee was led by Dr. Dorit Rozner, CTO of Strauss Group, and included representatives from Tnuva, Reinhold Cohn Group, Shibolet & Co., and the Bank of Israel.
• Presentations covered ESG-driven capital deployment and the macroeconomic effects of GLP-1 weight-loss drugs on nutrition trends, while a keynote by evolutionary biologist Dr. Liat Yakir addressed behavioral differences between the sexes.
• Juliet Stein, vice president of WD Biotech, was honored for her long-standing support of Israeli food technology and her role in attracting investment to the sector.