PEER BOARD LEADERS
Leo Popik
Founder and CEO of Leading Peers
Leo is a servant leader with a passion for helping entrepreneurs achieve personal and professional goals within a supportive peer-to-peer environment. In 2020, he founded Leading Peers and became its CEO, with a vision of transforming the organization into the largest global CEO community for connection, collaboration, and growth.
Leo’s entrepreneurial journey began in 2003 when he co-founded Friendly Visit and became its CEO. Under his leadership, the company became the leading city-tour provider in Argentina. In 2008, he launched ESA Latin America. During his tenure as CEO, the company grew from a startup to over $1 million in monthly sales, operating as the region’s largest provider of destination management services for international corporate events. As an investor, Leo co-founded an agricultural business in 2004 that grew 20% annually until he exited the business in 2009.
In his 20s, Leo earned a M.A. Political Economy degree from Harvard University and worked in the modernization of the Argentinean government. He is the author of several books and articles on business, politics, economics, and personal growth.
Leo’s greatest calling in life is to be a husband and a dad, and he lives with his family in Greater Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Doron Abrahami
Founder and CEO of Impact Business Builders
Doron Abrahami is the founder and CEO of Impact Business Builders, a performance improvement firm whose proven approach and vetted systems have been used to improve businesses of all sizes – from Fortune 500 to family firms.
The son of immigrants, Doron grew up in an entrepreneurial family. He worked in the food industry, both retail and wholesale manufacturing, from a very young age. Over the years, he covered everything from sweeping floors, to optimizing automated production, to negotiating with customers and suppliers. After moving overseas from New Jersey in the 1990’s, Doron spent 15 years in international high-tech companies – holding leadership roles in startups and large enterprise.
After surviving both the dotcom crash and the collapse of the global financial services market, Doron decided to pursue his solo entrepreneurial ambitions. That year, he founded Next Brands Group, Inc., a strategy, marketing, and promotional agency based in Tel Aviv and Fort Lauderdale. In 2013, Doron sold the marketing and promotional division of Next Brands, creating River Run Consulting Group to concentrate on business strategy, management systems, and processes. In 2022, River Run rebranded as Impact Business Builders.
Doron holds a BA in Philosophy from Union College, and an MBA from the New York Institute of Technology. Now based in Coconut Creek, Florida, Doron lives with his wife of 27 years and their three children.
Marco Carrizosa
Entrepreneur | CEO | Investor
Marco is a natural leader with a passion for entrepreneurship. In 2019, he founded Macarei with the vision of becoming a key player in the transformation of the Little River district in Miami, Florida.
Marco’s professional career began in Spain in 2001 when he launched his first tech/internet startup, and he has since been involved in various companies. Serving in different roles within small companies to large corporations has given Marco the knowledge and expertise to understand the different decision-making perspectives of every stakeholder.
Marco earned an economics degree from Universidad Autonoma de Madrid and spent one year at the University of Geneva (UNIGE) in Switzerland where he earned a degree in international business. During his 30s, Marco graduated with an MBA from Hult International Business School in Boston, MA.
Marco enjoys spending time with his son and being outdoors, and he currently lives in Miami, Florida, which allows him to travel frequently to visit family and friends.
Cesar Castro
Founder | Managing Partner | Board Director
Cesar is a purpose-driven founder and board director with 20 years of experience as a successful senior corporate executive. He developed his career as President and CEO of Nokia Colombia, head of Nokia Mobile Phones for the Americas, and Director at Microsoft Latin America, among other senior executive positions. His purpose is to help people and companies realize their potential.
As Managing Partner at Escalate Group, he provides advice and solutions for business transformation, digital innovation, growth strategies, and Web3; he has unlocked digital value for dozens of customer organizations with great success. He is an active participant in the blockchain ecosystem and Co-Founder and Board Director at Fluid Chains, a company focused on making distributed ledger applications a reality.
Cesar is currently on the board of the Technology Network at YPO (Young Presidents’ Organization), a member of the yWhales advisory board, peer board leader at Leading Peers, investor, and board member in several early-stage technology and blockchain businesses. He studied engineering at Pontifical Bolivarian University and completed his International Marketing Master's Degree at EAFIT University in Colombia. Since 2015, he has attended the YPO President's Program at Harvard Business School. Cesar is committed to lifelong learning and leadership development.
He is a frequent speaker on business transformation, blockchain business models, NFT tokenization, and Web3.
David Goodman
Founder | CEO | Managing Director
David has extensive experience serving as a third-generation business leader in his family-owned automotive, farming, and construction company. He has worked for the largest ad agencies in the world, supporting clients such as Pillsbury, Heinz, Keebler, Kimberly-Clark, Salada Tea, and Kraft, before running new product development for Beecham Cosmetics.
As a partner in the world’s largest commercial real estate company, David was responsible for 21 offices, 5,000 employees, and 40 million square feet of commercial real estate across multiple countries.
For the past 25 years, David served as a corporate enhancement executive, stepping in as CEO to help private equity, VCs and corporate owners of underperforming companies improve growth and profitability. He has also been involved with 33 fundraisings and two IPOs.
In addition to David’s third-party work, he built and owns Edenark Group, a 25-year-old company providing the world’s premier environmental sustainability certification program for SMEs. David owns two other organizations, A Better World Starts With Me and Best You Can Be, which address the people side of sustainability: workplace violence, depression, insomnia, stress, anxiety, focus, mental acuity, and pain. Finally, David co-owns Gym For The Brain, a high-altitude EWOT (exercise with oxygen therapy) facility.
David Sanderson
Founder | President | Business Consultant
David has more than 25 years of international management experience with Global 1000 companies in consumer products, technology, and consulting.
Since 2003, David has leveraged his unique experience in training, people development and change management as an advisor to global technology leaders. He has worked with hardware and capital equipment clients (Fortune 500) including Nokia, Siemens, GE Healthcare and Lam Research and software/IT companies including Akamai/Software AG. He has also worked with several technology VC-backed start-ups.
A former lecturer at Boston University, David has delivered advanced learning programs to thousands of leaders worldwide, covering topics related to marketing, customer service, value selling and leadership engagement.
Based in Fort Lauderdale, he is fluent in English and Spanish.
Dr. Yuriy Shulhan
CEO | Board Director | Business Consultant
Dr. Yuriy Shulhan is a seasoned consultant with almost 30 years of global banking, microfinance, and economic development experience. He was the board chair of two small and medium-sized business-lending specialized banks, board member of seven non-bank small business lenders, CEO of four non-bank micro and small business lenders, and consultant to various banks, non-banks, and small business development projects.
Dr. Shulhan’s small and medium enterprise sector development methodological recommendations have been implemented by the Government of Ukraine, and his agency banking regulation has been adopted by the banking sector regulator of Tajikistan.
Prior to his banking career, Dr. Shulhan started and ran a small hotel business in Ukraine, which is still operational.
Dr. Shulhan holds an MBA from the Indiana University Kelley School of Business and a Ph.D. in Economics from the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine.
James (Jim) Wagy
Managing Director | CEO | Business Consultant
Jim has 28+ years of experience in the financial services industry, where he served as CEO of four credit unions in South Florida and COO of the $700M-asset Tropical Financial Credit Union. Jim brings a wealth of financial knowledge to his career as a Commercial and Residential Real Estate Professional where he raises capital for large commercial projects.
Jim’s entire career is driven by transforming businesses and implementing growth plans in a way that is rarely matched. He takes pride in working personally with every client, understanding their needs, and helping them successfully achieve their goals. He knows well that the combination of real estate and finance is a relationship-based business built upon ongoing communication and complete trust.
Jim began his highly impressive educational background by laying the groundwork for the professional that he is today. He received a BS in Finance, an MBA, and a Certified Chief Executive (CCE) designation, and has studied Commercial and Consumer Lending, Total Quality Management, and advanced leadership at various universities.
He is active in his community as the Treasurer of his HOA, incoming President of the Weston Rotary Satellite Club, and Champion of the Reyna Autistic Boys Homes.
Joseph Ziegler
CEO of JZ Advisory Group
Joseph Ziegler is currently the CEO of JZ Advisory Group, a consulting firm that is focused on driving value to customers by providing fractional CFO and outsourced accounting services to private equity and entrepreneur owned businesses.
In addition, he is a member of the Board and Audit Committee of Progressive Care, a healthcare service company that provides a wide range of services to patients and physicians. Prior to that, Joseph was the Chief Financial Officer of DAS Health, a private equity backed IT services company largely focused on healthcare customers.
Joseph previously served as CFO for Encompass Onsite, where he led a team through a period of rapid growth driven by acquisitions and new customer onboarding, while improving the financial infrastructure of the business. Prior to Encompass, he held multiple roles as a CFO in the healthcare industry, including Private Equity backed specialty pharmacy BioMatrix, successfully driving top line growth from $60 mill to $500 mill during his tenure with the company, leading an exit to private equity investors. And prior to BioMatrix, Mr. Ziegler served as a CFO of Novis Pharmaceuticals, driving company’s growth from $60 million to $200 million during his tenure and led the company’s sales process to strategic acquirer Cardinal Health.
He graduated from Florida Atlantic University with an MBA following a BS in finance. A resident of Florida, Joseph spends his free time boating, enjoying the beach, playing Pickleball and spending quality time with his wife and two children.
