Her Story
About Behnaz
Strategy & Operations Leader Driving Enterprise Transformation, Operational Excellence, and Measurable Business Results
I am a strategy, operations, and transformation leader with a track record of leading complex initiatives, building scalable operating systems, and translating organizational priorities into measurable business results. My experience spans construction, real estate, healthcare, insurance, technology, and staffing, allowing me to bring a broad business perspective to organizational transformation, operational excellence, and growth.
Throughout my career, I have led initiatives contributing to more than $10M in forecasted revenue growth, $3.2M in executive placement revenue, over $500K in cost-saving initiatives, and the management of approximately $12.5M in capital projects. I have also led technology and process improvements that automated 60% of inbound operations and supported operational systems responsible for more than $60M in payments.
At Anchor Construction, I lead cross-functional strategic initiatives focused on corporate building, quality, compliance, process transformation, and organizational scalability. I established foundational processes frameworks, advanced centralized knowledge management through Microsoft SharePoint, and connected operational processes with Power BI reporting and executive-level visibility. I have also played a leadership role in enterprise technology and workflow transformation involving HeavyJob, HCSS Web, Vista, and field timecard processes, aligning field operations, project management, accounting, equipment, and organizational controls.
My leadership approach centers on bringing structure to complexity and creating alignment across people, processes, technology, and business strategy. I work across organizational levels to identify systemic challenges, establish priorities, influence stakeholders, develop scalable solutions, and create the governance and performance measures needed to sustain improvement.
Earlier in my career, I managed approximately $12.5M in capital and operational projects across a portfolio of Washington, D.C. properties, coordinating executives, operations teams, contractors, vendors, budgets, and competing business priorities. At Covenant Technologies, I partnered with executive leadership on growth and organizational initiatives that contributed to more than $10M in forecasted revenue growth, including the Executive Factor program, which generated approximately $3.2M in executive placements.
Within healthcare technology, I led operational and digital transformation initiatives at Tomorrow Health and Oscar Health. At Tomorrow Health, process redesign and automation helped automate approximately 60% of inbound orders, while supporting more than 1,000 orders per week. At Oscar Health, I spearheaded a broker support platform and developed a commission solution supporting more than $60M in payments, strengthening efficiency, scalability, transparency, and compliance.
Across these roles, I have developed a leadership philosophy centered on strategic transparancy, integrity, collaboration, and execution. I believe strong leaders create systems that allow people to perform at their best—not simply solve individual problems. My strength is connecting executive priorities with operational reality and turning complex challenges into structured strategies, scalable processes, and measurable outcomes.
Leadership Expertise
Strategic Planning & Execution • Operational Excellence • Business Transformation • Cross-Functional Leadership • Process & Operating Model Design • Digital Transformation • Organizational Scalability • Performance Management & KPIs • Data & Executive Analytics • Governance & Compliance • Change Management • Program Leadership • Cost Optimization • Executive Stakeholder Management
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Behnaz
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to the people I work with and the mentorship they've given me, along with my own curiosity and adaptability. I believe in finding practical, workable solutions to difficult problems, and I've learned that asking the right questions is essential to arriving at those solutions and connecting with the right people along the way.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
One of the most valuable lessons I’ve learned is not to wait until you feel completely ready before taking on a new challenge.
Some of my greatest professional growth has come from accepting projects where I didn’t initially have every answer. I learned to break complex problems into smaller pieces, ask the right questions, find the right people, and build the solution as I learned.
That mindset has allowed me to move across different areas—from quality and compliance to process engineering, project controls, technology implementation, training, and operational improvement. Your career does not always have to follow a perfectly defined path. Sometimes the opportunities that challenges you the most are the ones that help you discover what you are capable of.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Don’t be intimidated by entering an industry where you may be one of the few women in the room. You don’t need to know everything before you belong there.
My career has taken me through incredibly complex industries, and one thing I’ve learned is that no one person knows every part of the business. Ask questions, spend time with the people doing the work, understand how things actually operate, and never be afraid to say, “I don’t know, but I’ll find out.”
At the same time, recognize the value of what you bring to the table. Communication, analytical thinking, organization, technology, process improvement, and relationship-building are powerful skills that can create meaningful impact in any organization.
Find mentors and learn from people with more experience, but eventually become that resource for someone else. Most importantly, don’t wait for someone else to decide you’re ready for the next opportunity. Raise your hand, take on the challenge, and allow yourself to grow into it.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
One of the biggest opportunities in construction is the connection between people, processes, technology, and data.
Construction companies have access to more technology and information than ever before, but technology alone does not solve operational problems. A company can implement multiple systems and still struggle if its processes are inconsistent, responsibilities are unclear, or the information being collected isn't being used to make decisions.
I see a major opportunity in connecting field operations with project management and leadership—standardizing workflows, improving data quality, creating meaningful dashboards, strengthening project controls, and using automation and AI where they genuinely improve the work.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Integrity, quality, continuous improvement, and respect for people are some of the values that guide me most.
Integrity means doing the right thing and finding the truth. Quality means taking ownership of the work and continually asking whether there is a better way to accomplish something.
I also strongly value teamwork and respect. Some of the best solutions I’ve developed have come from listening to people with very different experiences.
Finally, I value learning. I never want to reach a point where I believe I already know enough. Industries change, technology changes, and organizations change. Staying curious and continuing to learn allows me to grow while also helping the organizations and people around me improve.
Join Influential Women and start making an impact. Register now.