We See Things Differently
Our Leadership
Each of our principals has more than 30 years’ experience in operational design for complex enterprises. Our roots extend to the largest global industrial software development efforts, and we cut our teeth in an internationally respected technology-design firm, working with leading global brands such as IBM, Ford, Exelon, Goldman Sachs, Pfizer, Bloomberg, NHS, and many others.
Johanna Hambrose
Chief Executive Officer
“
We have taken such care in building a team of the most talented, and kind people, I have ever had the pleasure of working alongside. Zenda is exceptional in what we do because of who we are.”
Prior to founding Zenda in 2016, Johanna co-founded the internationally recognized technology-design firm Electronic Ink, leading an industry for 25 years by defining the human experience with technology-driven products. Johanna brings 30 years of business law experience, as both practitioner and business executive, to Zenda. It is her personal commitment to excellence that distinguishes Zenda in its promise to exceed client expectations.
Establishing Zenda as a certified woman-owned business, Johanna has created a safe environment which supports the free exchange of ideas, challenges norms, and encourages exploration. Bringing diverse perspectives and experiences to our work continues to attract top designers who see beyond the computer screen. Johanna is again transforming an industry through Work Design™.
-1.png?width=405&height=612&name=Mary%20(1)-1.png)
Mary Caracappa
Chief Operations Officer
“ My operational experience for 30+ years has continued to prove out that your people can often best articulate the challenges in performing their jobs. Zenda’s approach enables your people to have a voice in solving for your business issues”
Mary joins Zenda® following a 30-year, cross-disciplinary career as a Managing Director at Morgan Stanley and as a former client and believer in applying HCD to solve complex business problems.
An accomplished executive with a powerful blend of strategic agility, execution-focused leadership, and financial acumen, Mary steered global transformation initiatives to create efficiencies, mitigate risk, and scale businesses during significant growth periods and amid a changing regulatory environment. Her global leadership roles include Head of New Products; CAO/CIO for Merchant Banking; Sarbanes-Oxley Compliance Officer; Operational Risk Head for Finance; and Head of Internal Audit for corporate functions.
A recognized change agent with a strong bias towards action and ability to tackle business complexities, Mary successfully led distributed work teams across disciplines and business lines to remediate operational deficiencies, build new infrastructure and capabilities, enhance internal controls, and evolve the financial reporting landscape.
Harold Hambrose
Chief Strategy Officer
“ Every day I have the privilege of seeing our consultants effect how our clients’ businesses run. It’s hard to say which is more rewarding – witnessing the value that our people bring to this new area of work, or the meaningful, positive transformations they are bringing to workers across so many verticals.”
Harold was among the first professionals forging a path for design in the technology industry. He co-founded Electronic Ink, the first technology-design firm dedicated exclusively to the human-centered design of software, and attracted landmark projects, including operating systems, early banking machines, medical record systems, and financial services platforms.
Over thirty years of designing enterprise systems, Harold extended the voice and impact of design beyond software user interfaces. Recognizing a need for improved collaboration among the diverse disciplines inside business enterprises led to the development of operations modeling: human-centered analysis informing the creation of models articulating the relationships, risks, and opportunities among the enterprise’s human context, business processes, technology, and data.
Harold is the author of Wrench in the System, published by John Wiley & Sons. He has taught courses at various universities and has lectured at conferences around the world. Harold served as an expert in design and technology for international legal proceedings. He received the Alumni Achievement Award from Carnegie Mellon University for significant contributions to the design and technology industries and is a member of the Advisory Board of CMU’s College of Fine Arts.
Our Team
The Zenders
Our team members are well-credentialed and experienced practitioners in fields like architecture, communication design, industrial design, service design, UI/UX design, the behavioral sciences, finance, business management, and the law. As important as their degrees and job history is their curiosity, thoughtfulness, and sincere interest in how people organize and perform work.
More About Us
Message from Johanna Hambrose, CEO
I started Zenda in 2018 as a certified woman-owned business to create an environment in which diversity of thought and life experiences inform the rich, multi-dimensional environments in which we work. At Zenda, we believe that diversity in all of its forms — education, expertise, ethnicity, language, culture, perspective — ensures that an understanding and respect for the nuances that drive any work event are neither dismissed nor overlooked. Diversity, acceptance, and inclusion have served as the driver in all we do and remain key to our business success.
Women Owned
WBENC and WOSB certified since 2018
Member WBEC Metro NY
As a company that appreciates the power in diversity, Zenda is proud to employ extraordinarily talented people from many countries and many backgrounds.
60% of Zenda employees are women
65% of Zenda employees are diverse