Nearly three decades in enterprise technology taught Figen to look beyond whether a system works technically, and to ask whether it works for the people who run it and the people who use it.
That perspective is the foundation of KAFTech and Operational Intelligence by Design™.
Figen's career began in software development in 1997, followed by business analysis in banking. At AgeSA Life and Pension Insurance, she progressed through project delivery, system development, portfolio governance, business solutions, and enterprise platform leadership.
As Group Head of IT Channel and Platform Technologies from 2023 to 2025, she led more than 270 technology professionals across 15 delivery teams. Her responsibilities spanned mobile platforms, customer communications, bancassurance integrations, CRM, ERP, and the systems supporting finance, HR, and customer service.
Earlier, she established AgeSA’s Strategic Portfolio Management Office and led business analysis, product management, and agile delivery teams. Working across these functions shaped how she connects technology decisions with business priorities and operational reality.
Two enterprise platform initiatives, summarized here at a general level, became the practical foundation for what later took shape as VERA.
Architected and led an AI-enabled omnichannel communication platform at AgeSA, bringing customer communications into a coordinated digital infrastructure.
The work connected platform architecture with delivery performance, customer experience, and measurable operational outcomes.
More than 80 million customer communications digitized annually, with a 90% reduction in customer complaints.
Led the development of an insurance platform that incorporated screen-reader compatibility, high-contrast accessibility, AI-assisted voice interaction, and sign-language support.
Accessibility formed part of the platform’s design, bringing a wider range of user needs into the digital experience.
Approximately one million downloads and more than 600,000 active users, with technology and accessibility recognition.
These outcomes reflect work delivered with the teams she led at AgeSA. Both platforms received many local and global awards including International Business Awards (Stevie®) recognition in 2025.
Across the enterprise platforms described above, Figen kept returning to the same question: did the knowledge held by operational teams and users actually reach the decisions that shaped the system?
That recurring question became the foundation for KAFTech. Operational Intelligence by Design™ examines two complementary perspectives: the people inside an organization who understand how work happens, and the people whose needs and experiences a digital service must accommodate.
VERA (Voice & Evidence Readiness Assessment) translates this approach into a structured assessment of whether those perspectives reached design decisions, and what evidence supports them.
Her writing explores operational intelligence, enterprise AI governance, accessibility, and technology leadership. It includes work published in PAHTEI, Insurance Thought Leadership, and the Society of Women Engineers’ All Together.
She also co-authored the Turkey Business Analysis Report and has spoken at IDC Women Transforming Technology events.
Research & InsightsShe is a Senior Member of both IEEE and the Society of Women Engineers, and a WomenTech Network Global Ambassador.
Her external service includes judging for the Globee Awards for Technology, Stevie Awards for Technology Excellence, and Technovation Girls, as well as scholarship review for PMI and SWE.
She mentors through Sabancı Foundation and PMI Türkiye programs, building on earlier work with entrepreneurs at the ITU Çekirdek startup incubation program.
Supporting women in technology and helping emerging professionals connect business needs with technical decisions are continuing parts of her work.
Education & certifications
B.Sc., Electronics and Telecommunications, Marmara University, Istanbul, Turkiye · PMP · PSM · PSPO · PAL
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