Dr Yitzhak Peterburg

Dr. Yitzhak Peterburg, President & CEO, Cellcom Israel Ltd. Dr Yitzhak Peterburg, 54, Cellcom's president and CEO, is a native Israeli, married, the father of three daughters. Dr Peterburg holds a doctoral degree in Medicine from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, a doctoral degree in Medical Administration from Columbia University, New York, and a BSc in Information Systems from the London School of Economics. Beginning December 2002 and up until the present day, Dr Peterburg serves as President and CEO of Cellcom Israel Ltd., the largest cellular operator in Israel. During Peteburg tenure in office, Cellcom's number of costumers has increased to the record number of 2.5 million, while at the same time increasing the operational profit by 37% and the net profit by 47%. All of the above were achieved while performing a major revolution in costumer service concept. Beforehand, during the years 1997 - 2002, Dr Peterburg served as general manager of General Health Services (Briut Clalit), formerly Kupat Holim (Medical Insurance Foundation). Dr Peterburg has led the major revolution that radically changed the trade unions' medical insurer into one of the largest and most complex service organizations in Israel and the world at large. This organization now has a budget of NIS 14 billion and employs a work force of more than 30,000. During Dr Peterburg's tenure of office, the number of its customers grew to a record of 3.7 million through an extensive restructuring into a modern business organization with cutting-edge computer facilities. Dr Peterburg managed to streamline the purchasing of pharmaceuticals to the tune of about half a billion dollars. Through legislation that was a world's first, he ushered in a reform that allowed parallel imports and enhanced the competition between multinational companies. Dr Peterburg is the author of the thorough marketing and image transformation of General Health Services in recent years. He was also the driving force behind the computer revolution of the organization, including the establishment of some of Israel's largest and most advanced customer service centers. Among his other duties, Dr Peterburg has served as general manager of the Soroka Medical Center in Beer-Sheba, district manager, and senior officer in the Army Medical Corps. He is also lecturer in the Ben-Gurion University of Beer-Sheba and member of international management and science forums.