Barbara Oconnor

About Barbara Oconnor

I’m an enterprise transformation leader with 20+ years of experience helping regulated organizations design and operate at scale—across operating models, portfolio execution, and digital service platforms.I do my best work in environments where the mandate is clear, the problems are complex, and the goal is to bring structure, flow, and trust to systems that span multiple businesses, teams, and technologies.Much of my experience has been in insurance, benefits, utilities, and fintech—contexts where cost, risk, and customer experience must be balanced carefully. I’ve led transformations that unified fragmented operating models, improved execution transparency, and delivered measurable outcomes, including improved self-service adoption, reduced cost to serve, and stronger authentication and fraud controls at scale.In recent years, my work has increasingly involved AI-enabled service platforms—including IVR, conversational interfaces, and voice authentication—not as experiments, but as production capabilities integrated into regulated, real-world operations.I’m most effective in roles that combine enterprise-scale responsibility, platform ownership, and operating model clarity, where leaders are expected to connect strategy to execution and build systems that last.

Experience

1. Director, Digital Transformation & Service Center Modernization

   HealthEquity

   Apr 2024 — Present

   Leading digital and AI-enabled service platform transformation across IVR and chat in a regulated fintech and benefits environment.Focused on improving self-service adoption, authentication outcomes, and cost-to-serve while integrating AI-driven capabilities such as conversational platforms and voice fraud prevention into production environments.Work includes platform modernization, operating model alignment, and scaling delivery capacity across internal and offshore teams.

Education

• Ulster University

  MSc in Executive Leadership, Corporate Governance & Ethics • Knowledge Management • Business Excellence TQM • Scenario Planning

  2008 — 2010

• MIT Sloan School of Management

  Artificial Intelligence: Implications for Business Strategy

Skills

• Project Management
• Business Strategy
• Sdlc
• Marketing
• Management Consulting
• Agile Methodologies
• Management
• Scrum
• Agile Project Management
• Business Development
• Start-Ups
• Customer Service
• Leadership Development
• Strategy
• Training
• Entrepreneurship
• New Business Development
• Business Planning
• Coaching
• Software Development Life Cycle (Sdlc)
• Consulting