Yana Beranek is a distinguished global business executive, certified board advisor, and technology strategist with more than 20 years of experience transforming organizations through international expansion, innovative business strategies, and human-centered leadership. Throughout her career, Yana has demonstrated an ability to bridge the gap between emerging technologies, customer experience, and commercial success. Her expertise spans multinational enterprises, high-growth consulting organizations, financial services, software development, and artificial intelligence, making her a valuable strategic partner for companies navigating complex business environments. With a proven record of expanding commercial operations across 33 global markets, scaling profitable businesses, and guiding executive teams through transformation, Yana brings a combination of operational expertise, entrepreneurial vision, and global perspective to every leadership opportunity.
Currently serving as a Fractional CXO and Board Advisor through Beranek Experience Advisory, Yana partners with CEOs, executive leadership teams, and boards to align business strategy, digital modernization, and emerging technology investments with measurable commercial objectives. Her advisory work also includes partnerships with venture-backed startups and established digital brands through BXA LAB, where she focuses on enterprise artificial intelligence governance, product strategy, and sustainable business growth. She helps organizations assess the commercial viability of AI solutions, establish responsible governance frameworks, and evaluate technology vendors to ensure investments deliver meaningful business value. Her approach emphasizes the importance of balancing innovation with accountability, particularly as organizations explore generative AI, agentic platforms, and increasingly automated business operations.
One of Yana’s most distinctive areas of expertise is her ability to evaluate emerging technologies through both a commercial and human-centered lens. At BXA LAB, she advises organizations on AI experience evaluation, developing assessment frameworks, performance metrics, and safety protocols that help ensure intelligent systems preserve user control, transparency, and brand trust. She also works with product and research teams to evaluate AI-moderated testing tools, synthetic research models, and human-in-the-loop governance practices. By helping organizations improve research efficiency without sacrificing analytical rigor, Yana demonstrates a forward-thinking approach to technology adoption that prioritizes business outcomes, responsible innovation, and meaningful customer experiences.
Before transitioning into her current advisory work, Yana built an influential international leadership career at Ipsos, where she advanced through senior executive positions before becoming Global Head of User Experience. During her tenure, she played a central role in expanding the organization’s UX capabilities from six to 33 global markets, supporting business growth across a worldwide network spanning more than 50 countries. Her responsibilities included identifying new market opportunities, developing innovative research methodologies, expanding service offerings, and strengthening global thought leadership. Working closely with regional executives across North America, Europe, Latin America, and Asia-Pacific, Yana helped establish the leadership structures, operational capabilities, and collaborative relationships necessary to support sustainable international growth.
As VP of UX at Ipsos, Yana championed the belief that successful products and services must be accessible, inclusive, culturally relevant, and commercially effective. She led initiatives designed to help global brands better understand customer expectations and translate those insights into products and experiences that resonate across diverse markets. Her leadership extended to building and mentoring an international community of researchers, designers, and business professionals, encouraging curiosity, empathy, innovation, and collaborative problem-solving. By integrating customer insights with broader commercial objectives, Yana helped organizations strengthen market alignment while fostering a culture that valued both professional development and exceptional customer experiences.
Yana’s earlier leadership positions at Ipsos included Senior Vice President of User Experience and Vice President of Consulting, where she directed multidisciplinary teams responsible for research, product development, service innovation, and customer experience strategy. She oversaw client relationships across healthcare, financial technology, consumer electronics, and e-commerce, helping organizations identify new growth opportunities and strengthen their competitive positioning. Her work included evaluating the implications of emerging technologies such as augmented reality, virtual reality, the Internet of Things, and edge computing. She also collaborated across 17 business divisions to support multimillion-dollar cross-selling opportunities with Fortune 500 clients, demonstrating her ability to translate research capabilities and customer insights into commercial results.
Prior to her leadership at Ipsos, Yana served as VP of Consulting at GfK, where she guided teams of user experience researchers and consultants in helping organizations better understand customer behavior and improve product performance. Her work involved developing research strategies, identifying opportunities for product and service innovation, and delivering actionable recommendations to clients across healthcare, financial services, and consumer industries. By connecting customer research with organizational objectives, she helped leadership teams make more informed decisions about product development, market opportunities, and customer engagement. This experience further strengthened her ability to communicate complex research findings in ways that support executive decision-making and business growth.
Yana’s entrepreneurial capabilities became especially evident during her tenure as Managing Director and Partner of Useagility which later merged with Clickfarm. Leading a team of 12 senior user experience professionals, she managed approximately 40 to 50 consulting engagements annually while overseeing financial performance, operational planning, business development, and organizational growth. Under her leadership, the business achieved approximately 30% average annual growth while maintaining 20% operating profitability. She established repeatable business processes, strengthened project governance, and implemented operational frameworks that improved productivity and supported scalability. Her ability to balance financial discipline with innovation and client service demonstrated the entrepreneurial judgment and operational leadership that continue to distinguish her executive advisory work.
Before assuming ownership and managing director responsibilities, Yana worked as a User Experience Consultant, helping businesses develop strategies for improving customer engagement, product usability, operational efficiency, and commercial performance. Her consulting engagements covered healthcare, online education, financial services, agriculture, consumer products, and e-commerce. She conducted customer research, facilitated executive strategy sessions, developed customer journey maps, and guided the creation of product concepts and prototypes. This hands-on experience provided a foundation in understanding how businesses operate, how customers make decisions, and how technology can be designed to solve meaningful problems. It also reinforced her belief that successful innovation begins with understanding the people and markets an organization serves.
Alongside her consulting leadership, Yana co-founded Pointworks Academy, an educational initiative created to address gaps in user experience and product management capabilities in the Kansas City metropolitan area and surrounding communities. As a co-founder, she helped identify professional development needs, design educational programs, and develop training content for individuals and corporate teams. She also contributed to financial planning, budgeting, forecasting, and strategic growth decisions. This entrepreneurial venture reflected her commitment to cultivating talent and expanding access to specialized professional education. Her involvement demonstrated a broader leadership philosophy centered on empowering others with the knowledge, skills, and confidence necessary to succeed in rapidly evolving industries.
Earlier in her career, Yana held significant leadership responsibilities at H&R Block, where she gained extensive experience managing large-scale operations, enterprise software initiatives, and organizational integration. As Franchise Regional Director, she led the integration of the company’s major Texas Franchise acquisition into its corporate franchise structure, encompassing more than 150 franchisees and 250 offices. She managed a regional leadership team supporting franchise owners across Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and New Mexico, focusing on revenue growth, profitability, operational consistency, and regulatory awareness. Her leadership contributed to the region achieving the company’s second-highest performance results in 2010, highlighting her ability to guide geographically dispersed operations while maintaining commercial accountability.
In her previous role as Director of Client Experience at H&R Block, Yana directed initiatives to improve the customer experience and proprietary software used throughout the company’s extensive retail network. Her responsibilities included overseeing software-related processes and customer interaction protocols across approximately 13,000 locations serving more than 16 million clients. She led teams responsible for improving usability, strengthening employee productivity, and enabling tax professionals to focus on higher-value customer interactions. This experience provided significant exposure to enterprise-scale technology systems, regulated business environments, and the operational challenges associated with delivering consistent services across thousands of locations. It also established an important foundation for her later work in digital transformation, customer experience strategy, and technology governance.
International leadership has remained a defining theme throughout Yana’s professional journey. Her experience includes collaborating with executives and business teams across numerous countries and regions, with international exposure that includes Colombia, Turkey, France and China. She understands that successful global expansion requires more than replicating an existing business model; it demands cultural awareness, thoughtful localization, effective communication, and the development of capable regional leaders. Her experience scaling international operations has strengthened her ability to evaluate market readiness, identify operational risks, and establish structures that support consistent business performance while respecting regional differences. These capabilities make her particularly valuable to organizations pursuing international market entry, cross-border partnerships, and sustainable global expansion.
Yana brings extensive expertise in change management, having successfully guided teams and organizations through complex digital transformations, evolving business strategies, and organizational leadership transitions. Throughout her career, she has played a key role in helping organizations adapt to new technologies, processes, and operating models while ensuring alignment with broader strategic objectives. During periods of executive leadership change, she has served as a trusted partner in communicating and implementing new visions, business strategies, and organizational structures established by incoming CEOs and boards of directors. Her ability to navigate organizational change, build stakeholder alignment, and support successful transitions reflects her understanding that effective change management is essential to long term business success, particularly as emerging technologies continue to reshape industries and operating environments.
Beyond her corporate responsibilities, Yana is an experienced executive coach, mentor, and international speaker who has contributed to industry discussions on technology leadership, customer experience, and organizational innovation. She regularly participates in executive roundtables and industry panels, including conversations focused on women in technology leadership and the commercial impact of user experience. Her ability to engage diverse audiences reflects years of experience translating complex business and technology concepts into practical insights. Through mentoring emerging leaders and developing high-performing teams, she has consistently demonstrated a commitment to professional growth, inclusive leadership, and the development of future executive talent.
Yana’s professional qualifications further reinforce her credibility as an executive and board advisor. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Geology from Middlebury College and has pursued specialized professional development in user experience, research methodology, and product strategy. She holds the Certified Board Advisor credential through Connectd and the Certified Experience Executive designation through Nielsen Norman Group. Her additional training includes advanced survey design, quantitative research execution, and product strategy and interaction design through Cooper Design. This combination of academic preparation, executive experience, and specialized credentials supports her analytical approach to governance, technology evaluation, and organizational strategy.
As an advisor to boards and executive leadership teams, Yana brings a comprehensive understanding of commercial growth, capital allocation, mergers and acquisitions, post-merger integration, customer retention, and enterprise AI adoption. Her expertise is especially relevant to software development and technology companies seeking to expand their operations, strengthen market positioning, or improve commercial performance. She is particularly interested in working with organizations employing more than 50 people, where her experience in scaling teams, establishing operational governance, and guiding international growth can provide meaningful strategic value. Her involvement with a United Kingdom-based startup further complements her experience with entrepreneurial ventures and growth-stage businesses, allowing her to contribute perspectives informed by both multinational organizations and emerging enterprises.
Yana’s interest in expanding her board advisory contributions reflects a desire to apply decades of executive leadership, international coaching, and technology experience to organizations facing consequential strategic decisions. She recognizes that artificial intelligence, digital transformation, and evolving customer expectations are fundamentally changing how businesses compete and create value. Her experience allows her to help leadership teams evaluate these changes thoughtfully, balancing opportunities for innovation with the financial, operational, and governance responsibilities necessary for long-term success. She is especially motivated by opportunities to support organizations that value responsible technology adoption, strong leadership development, customer-centered innovation, and disciplined commercial expansion.
Throughout her career, Yana has demonstrated that meaningful leadership is measured not only by financial performance or organizational scale, but also by the ability to develop people, build resilient organizations, and create lasting value. Her professional philosophy reflects a commitment to curiosity, empathy, accountability, and continuous improvement. Whether helping a global enterprise enter new markets, advising a startup on artificial intelligence strategy, or coaching executives through periods of transformation, she brings clarity, collaboration, and a results-oriented perspective to complex challenges. As she continues her work in executive advisory and board leadership, Yana remains focused on helping organizations transform ambitious ideas into responsible innovation, sustainable growth, and enduring business success.
Character:
Yana exemplifies integrity, accountability, empathy, and resilience through a leadership approach that prioritizes responsible decision-making and the development of people. Her commitment to mentoring professionals, supporting inclusive teams, and building sustainable organizations reflects a dedication to creating lasting value beyond immediate business results.
Knowledge:
She brings more than 20 years of experience spanning international expansion, enterprise technology, customer experience, artificial intelligence governance, and commercial operations. Her extensive knowledge of global market dynamics, business scaling, product strategy, and organizational transformation enables her to provide informed guidance on complex executive and board level decisions.
Strategic:
Yana has demonstrated strategic leadership by expanding operations across 33 global markets, guiding profitable consulting businesses, and aligning technology investments with measurable commercial outcomes. Her ability to anticipate emerging trends, assess operational risks, and connect long-term business objectives with practical execution makes her a valuable contributor to organizational growth and governance.
Communication:
An accomplished international speaker, executive coach, and collaborative leader who effectively communicates sophisticated business strategies to diverse audiences. Her experience working with global executives, mentoring multidisciplinary teams, and participating in industry discussions enables her to build consensus, encourage innovation, and strengthen relationships across organizational and cultural boundaries.
