Erika Benadom

AI-powered geospatial technology startup building data-driven solutions for global customers.

• •Serve as the CEO's executive business partner and operational proxy, trusted to represent the founder with customers, partners, vendors, and internal stakeholders.
• •Enable GTM velocity by sourcing, organizing, and shepherding procurement documentation through review cycles, removing friction from sales and partnership close processes.
• •Ghostwrite and route executive communications on behalf of the CEO to customers, partners, and vendors — preserving tone, urgency, and relationship continuity.
• •Execute partnership and equity contracts end-to-end, coordinating legal, finance, and counterparties to keep complex deals moving to signature.
• •Built a live sales pipeline dashboard (with AI assistance) that visualized all Slack-tracked prospects and customers, updating multiple times daily to give the CEO a real-time view of revenue momentum.
• •Automated recurring executive workflows — daily CEO agenda rundowns, Linear issue updates, and rolling task lists — freeing the CEO for higher-leverage strategic work.
• •Act as board liaison, establishing meeting cadence, drafting minutes, and owning follow-up communications to maintain governance momentum and accountability.
• •Provided remote executive support at the Cannes Marketing Festival, arranging just-in-time meetings and real-time logistics in a high-profile, fast-moving environment.
• •Lead the security and compliance workstream to achieve SOC 2 and ISO 27001 certification, coordinating auditors, evidence collection, and cross-functional readiness.

Zensai is a global HRtech SaaS company serving 5M+ learners across enterprise customers worldwide.

• •Served as confidant and operational right hand to the CEO on company, investor, and staff matters with full board and executive access, trusted on every high-stakes decision spanning a 200+ person organization across 7 countries.
• •Designed and ran the company-wide operating cadence (annual OKRs, quarterly business reviews, weekly leadership team meetings, monthly executive reporting) aligning 10 c-suite leaders and 200+ employees on shared priorities, with 85%+ on-time completion of executive action items across quarterly cycles.
• •Owned board and shareholder relations end-to-end, delivering 4+ board cycles per year through Nasdaq Boardvantage with 100% on-time materials and zero governance escalations across 8+ consecutive cycles; coordinated in-person strategy days and supported investor communications.
• •Led the Operational Leadership Team across GTM, Product, and regional functions, setting agendas, driving follow-through, and aligning leaders on shared execution priorities to keep cross-regional initiatives on schedule.
• •Built Zensai's AI Hub and shipped the company's first Copilot Studio agent, deploying AI-powered tools for OKR alignment, strategy access, and daily workflow leverage to 200+ employees with company-wide adoption within 6 months of launch.
• •Directed company-wide events and executive workshops including the Human Success Summit (200+ attendees, 9.2/10 attendee rating) and regional leadership offsites across all 7 markets, owning agenda design, content, vendors, and follow-through on budget.
• •Led a complex 12-month HQ relocation from site evaluation through stabilization, coordinating 15+ vendors and 8 cross-functional workstreams across real estate, IT, facilities, legal, and people operations with full safety and compliance handoff and zero days of business disruption.
• •Established and operated regional office infrastructure across Poland, Romania, Germany, Australia, the UK, Denmark, and the US, supporting 200+ employees and setting consistent operating standards that reduced HQ bottlenecks on regional decisions.

Ridge is a Series A venture capital firm with $600M+ AUM; portfolio includes 100+ companies across enterprise software and AI.

• •Maintained partner operating rhythm through weekly portfolio reviews, pipeline meetings, board preparation, and action tracking — a direct precursor to Chief of Staff-level operating work.
• •Managed high-stakes investor events and executive roundtables for founders and LPs, owning every logistics and communications detail from invite to follow-up.
• •Owned CRM data integrity (Affinity), dealflow documentation, and process design across the investment team; recruited and managed a dedicated data specialist.
• •Produced VC portfolio prep briefs, ghostwrote LinkedIn articles for partners, and crafted external communications representing the firm to founders, LPs, and co-investors.
• •Managed sensitive and confidential matters including banking wire coordination and LP communications, with zero margin for error.

WeWork at peak scale — 500,000+ members, operating in 100+ cities globally.

• •Strategic thought partner to the Global CMO inside a high-velocity, high-visibility organization; operated as communications proxy, fielding outreach from a global marketing org.
• •Coordinated global Marketing and GTM leadership offsites, all-hands, and executive summits, owning agenda design, content coordination, AV, facilities, and follow-through.
• •Drafted internal communications to the global marketing org and curated content for monthly newsletter; managed the CMO's global calendar, international travel, and executive presence.

Venture-backed proptech startup.

• •Partnered with founders to build early go-to-market motion through paid campaigns, content programs, and brand positioning at a venture-backed proptech startup.

• •General manager of an 800-student, 50-staff K–6 campus with full P&L accountability; ran the operating rhythm, set strategy, managed budget, and owned outcomes.

• •Brought in to lead a high-challenge turnaround; performance-managed underperforming staff, restructured the leadership team, and galvanized the organization around a shared mission.

• •Directed district-wide digital transformation across multiple sites — managed infrastructure (CAT6, fiber, wireless, VOIP), led a team of 16, and oversaw multi-year technology contracts.
• •Partnered with architects and construction firms on technology readiness for newly built and renovated campuses; served as technology strategy advisor to district executives.