The finalists for WashingtonExec’s Chief Officer Awards were announced March 28, and we’ll be highlighting some of them until the event takes place live, in-person May 10.
Next is Bonnye Hart, vice president of strategic programs at OPEXUS, and finalist in the Private Company Chief Operating Officer category. Here, she shares key achievements, focus areas going forward, career advice and more.
What key achievements did you have in 2023?
Wow, 2023 was full of accomplishments for me and my customer experience teams as we invested in building strong foundations to change where and how we operate. I led the effort to relocate OPEXUS headquarters from Maryland to downtown Washington, D.C., which set us up for a year of transformation initiatives across people, process and technology. My leadership team and I hired more than 70 new team members all from the DMV area as OPEXUS is a hybrid-first workforce.
I instrumented customer delivery operations by standing up business-essential systems, such as Salesforce and NetSuite, to enable data-driven decisions for my team. Additionally, we also launched customer sentiment and strengthened the Sales-to-Post Sales processes to have better customer and business outcomes. We were also thrilled to host hundreds of customers on-site for enrichment sessions with cross-functional teams, including training workshops, product roadmap input and thought-leadership discussions.
What are your primary focus areas going forward, and why are those so important to the mission?
Building a strong customer community is our priority. Being government only, we’re uniquely positioned to convene our customers to share feedback and ideas. My team is focused on strengthening product adoption, scaling services such as Customer Success and Customer Support, and ensuring customers have a great experience getting started with our software.
My team is growing in several ways ⏤ I’m hiring more top talent. If you or anyone you know is interested in these exciting opportunities ⏤ let me know! We are also building a modernized training program to transform how we onboard employees and customers. And we are producing and launching self-service resources so customers can access key information 24/7. Because of the investments in fundamental systems and data in 2023, we now have the tools to take it to the next level for 2024.
What is your best career advice for those who want to follow in your footsteps?
Start small to win big. Many times we get overwhelmed with how to tackle large issues. One of our values at OPEXUS is, “progress in pursuit of perfection.” By this we mean that delivering incremental progress is better than waiting for a big bang. Breaking down projects or priorities into manageable phases allows teams to celebrate milestones along the way and who doesn’t want to celebrate more often?!
Fun Fact: What is something about you that most people do not know about?
I’m a seeker of vintage clothing and antique furniture. I love the idea of the stories previously loved pieces could tell. My favorite weekend involves chasing treasures in the district and beyond at stores, estate sales and events. Ask me about who I follow on Instagram for great finds!