Banafsheh Ghassemi, Founder and CEO
With over 30 years of experience, Banafsheh has excelled in building, leading, and expanding creative teams that drive innovation in products, customer experiences, and services across both US-based and global enterprises. She specializes in guiding teams to enhance their offerings, customer and employee experiences, and internal capabilities with a deep empathy for beneficiaries, ensuring sustainable value. Known for her strategic vision and success in managing complex projects, Banafsheh translates intricate human and organizational challenges into actionable, human-centered solutions.
A pioneer in applications of Human-Centered Design, systems thinking, and more recently, futures thinking, Banafsheh has championed these principles across diverse settings, including large and small enterprises, startups, social impact organizations, and governments in North America, Latin America, Asia, Africa, and Europe. She has provided strategic counsel to executive leaders in sectors such as mobile and Internet technology, green technology, global economic development, financial inclusion, health and nutrition, media, business process outsourcing, and manufacturing. Her expertise has been crucial in fostering innovative and collaborative cultures within these organizations.
Prior to founding Tangerine Lab in 2014, Banafsheh held executive roles at Nextel, Sprint, Nasdaq, and the American Red Cross, leading design initiatives focused on product and service innovation, customer experience strategies, and digital transformation.
Currently, Banafsheh serves as an adjunct professor at Georgetown University School of Continuing Studies in Integrated Design Management and is on the board of the Center for Health and Democracy (CHD), a nonprofit dedicated to transforming the American healthcare system to prioritize the needs and rights of every individual, ensuring access to quality care without cost concerns.
With over 30 years of experience, Banafsheh has excelled in building, leading, and expanding creative teams that drive innovation in products, customer experiences, and services across both US-based and global enterprises. She specializes in guiding teams to enhance their offerings, customer and employee experiences, and internal capabilities with a deep empathy for beneficiaries, ensuring sustainable value. Known for her strategic vision and success in managing complex projects, Banafsheh translates intricate human and organizational challenges into actionable, human-centered solutions.
A pioneer in applications of Human-Centered Design, systems thinking, and more recently, futures thinking, Banafsheh has championed these principles across diverse settings, including large and small enterprises, startups, social impact organizations, and governments in North America, Latin America, Asia, Africa, and Europe. She has provided strategic counsel to executive leaders in sectors such as mobile and Internet technology, green technology, global economic development, financial inclusion, health and nutrition, media, business process outsourcing, and manufacturing. Her expertise has been crucial in fostering innovative and collaborative cultures within these organizations.
Prior to founding Tangerine Lab in 2014, Banafsheh held executive roles at Nextel, Sprint, Nasdaq, and the American Red Cross, leading design initiatives focused on product and service innovation, customer experience strategies, and digital transformation.
Currently, Banafsheh serves as an adjunct professor at Georgetown University School of Continuing Studies in Integrated Design Management and is on the board of the Center for Health and Democracy (CHD), a nonprofit dedicated to transforming the American healthcare system to prioritize the needs and rights of every individual, ensuring access to quality care without cost concerns.
