Julie Benezet
Founder and Managing Principal, Business Growth Consulting, LLC
Julie Benezet—a former Amazon.com executive, lawyer, and entrepreneur—has spent 30 years building businesses, buildings, and careers.
She founded Business Growth Consulting in 1997 to help small- and mid-sized companies and corporate divisions develop a leadership mindset that will drive growth and inspire innovation.
Drawing on the BGC Leadership Development Program she created, she works as consultant, coach, and teacher to senior executives around the country. She also teaches in the Executive Education program at Harvard University Graduate School of Design.
Leading growth from within companies is a hallmark of her experience across multiple industries. Her achievements include:
- For Amazon.com: She served four years on the management team that took Amazon from early ramp-up phase to its first quarter of GAAP profitability. As Vice President, Corporate Resources and Director of Global Real Estate, she is credited with the strategic planning and delivery of over 7,000,000 square feet worldwide with the supporting corporate infrastructure in just two years.
- For business consulting, real estate development, and real estate consulting companies: She established the Northwest region of a Los Angeles real estate development company. She led the growth of a number of companies whose clients ranged from Fortune 100 firms to start-ups.
- For a project management company serving the telecommunications industry: As Vice President, she grew a $400,000 local business into a $10 million national company in one year, opening 8 offices and hiring over 100 people.
- For law firms and the U.S. government: She worked for twelve years as a business and finance lawyer at Wright, Runstad & Company (Seattle), Bogle & Gates (Seattle), Webster & Sheffield (New York) and the U.S. Department of State (Washington, D.C.).
She shares her professional insights with public audiences in speeches, articles, and the classroom:
- She has spoken to both national and international groups on the challenges of leading strategic growth in the Digital Age.
- She has been cited in publications including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Office & Industrial Properties and Corporate Real Estate Strategies.
More articles and webcasts - She teaches classes on leadership, strategic communication, and corporate real estate.
More about teaching
She has served on a variety of boards, including the Zell-Lurie Real Estate Center at Wharton, the Executive Education Advisors Board at the Harvard Design School, CREW Foundation, and Sparling, Inc.
Ms. Benezet holds an L.L.B. and M.S. (psychology) from McGill University and a B.A. from Vassar College and Cornell University. She is a member of the New York and Washington state bar associations. She is an experienced facilitator and mediator.
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