About Liat Benzur

Oy Gevalt! is a blog dedicated to my grandmother, Guta Gantz. An Aushwitz and Buchenwald survivor, she is not only the strongest women I’ve ever known, she also invented “Leaning In”. As in, leaning into her grandkids to get married already! She said Oy Gevalt! a lot.

For those of you non-Yiddish speakers, ‘Oy Gevalt’ is an expression of utmost anxiety, frustration or shock, similar to how we might use “Good Grief!” or “OMG!”   Often used while kvetching, ‘Oy Gevalt!’ is a very poignant expression for any working mother of two and/or software exec trying to move the needle in a hardware company. I am both.

In addition, I am an avid foodie who, before having kids, would travel the world in search of the best food, wine, and chefs. I also like to write raps and listen to conscious hip hop.  I’m passionate about the intersection of internet services and mobile, digital health, the connected home, connected car, and everything else in our lives which are about to get more connected.

The views expressed in this blog are my own and not my company’s.

Professional Bio:

Liat Ben-Zur is a highly accomplished and influential technology leader with over 20 years of experience in a variety of industries, including wireless and mobile, IoT, health tech, and consumer security and productivity services. Currently serving as the Corporate Vice President of Modern Life at Microsoft, Liat is responsible for the P&L of over $12B annual revenue portfolio, including Microsoft 365 Consumer Subscription, Edge, Bing, and various web services. Prior to this role, Liat served as SVP and Digital Solutions Leader at Royal Philips, where she led the digital transformation of the company’s mature consumer packaged goods business and launched over 31 IoT and smart connected products.

Liat has a track record of successfully turning around underperforming businesses and driving double-digit percentage growth results. She is known for her ability to inject human-centered design thinking into product building and setting the vision for overall consumer portfolios. She has also demonstrated her expertise in cultural transformation, leading the charge in driving new customer ethos and creating growth teams that focus on every detail of the user journey.

Liat is also a passionate advocate for diversity, inclusion, and equity in the tech industry. She has served as the exec sponsor of Microsoft’s LGBTQIA ERG (GLEAM) and is passionate about driving cultural transformation and creating inclusive company cultures. She has been recognized for her leadership and mentorship skills, being named as “One of the Fifty Most Inspirational Women in Technology in the Netherlands” in 2017 and 2018 by Inspiring Fifty and one of “4 Women Waves in the World of IoT” by Silicon Republic in 2016.

Liat holds a Master of Business Administration from UCLA’s Anderson School of Management and a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from UC Davis’ School of Engineering. She has served on several boards, including Umicore (a public, global battery materials and recycling company based in Belgium) and Tender Loving Care Assistance Dogs (non-profit out of San Diego), and has won numerous industry awards, including “2018 Women of M2M (IoT)” by Connected World and “One of the Fifty Most Inspirational Women in Technology in the Netherlands” by Inspiring Fifty in 2017 and 2018.

You can find her:

On LinkedIn – http://www.linkedin.com/in/lbenzur

On Twitter – http://www.twitter.com/lbenzur