# Leoni Runge

> Leoni Runge is the founder of Zaya Care and, following her February 2026 CEO handoff to Neel Shah, a board member and owner. Her earlier career included fine-wine product work at Everledger, a head-of-product role at Advanon and the chief product officer position at BlockFactory. She studied at the University of St.Gallen and Esade.

- **Role:** Founder, board member and owner at Zaya Care
- **Organizations:** Zaya Care, Everledger, Advanon, BlockFactory
- **Education:** Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, University of St.Gallen, Master’s degree in International Management, Esade
- **Known for:** Founded Zaya Care in 2020., Led Zaya during its $7.6 million seed financing in March 2022., Served as Chief Product Officer at BlockFactory.

## Career timeline

- **2016** — Presented Everledger’s wine-provenance collaboration with Chai Wine Vault at 67 Pall Mall in London.
- **2017** — Publicly described Everledger’s fine-wine authentication and digital-record approach.
- **2019** — Chief Product Officer at BlockFactory; presented on enterprise blockchain and document certification.
- **2020** — Founded Zaya Care in New York.
- **2021** — Brooklyn Bridge Ventures records a February investment in Zaya.
- **2022** — Zaya announced a $7.6 million seed financing round led by Inspired Capital.
- **2025** — Discussed solo founding and business iteration on Follow the Gradient.
- **2026** — Announced the CEO handoff to Neel Shah and her continuing board-member and owner roles.

## Achievements

- Founded Zaya Care in 2020.
- Led Zaya during its $7.6 million seed financing in March 2022.
- Served as Chief Product Officer at BlockFactory.
- Received the Friedrich-Naumann Foundation for Freedom Scholarship in February 2013.

## Latest updates

- **2026-02** — Announced that Neel Shah would take operational leadership as CEO; Runge would continue as a board member and owner.
- **2025-12** — Shared the arrival of Zaya merchandise and her enjoyment of seeing network locations on bike rides in New York.
- **2025-01** — Appeared on Follow the Gradient in a 40-minute conversation about solo founding and strategic growth.

## Links

- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leonirunge

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/leoni-runge
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-12