Deniz Aygen Onar-Uluer is driving growth at the crossroads of data and sustainability 

In a world where industries are being reshaped by data, sustainability and rapid technological change, Deniz Aygen Onar-Uluer sits at a unique crossroads. With a career that spans global technology giants and agile, fast growing ventures, she has developed a distinctive perspective on what it takes to drive meaningful growth in complex, highly regulated environments. 

Today, as Chief Business Development Officer at EcoWise, her work focuses on helping organisations in the built environment unlock the power of data to improve transparency, compliance and circularity.

In this conversation, Deniz reflects on the experiences that have shaped her leadership approach, from the structured scale of global enterprises to the fast paced adaptability of startups. She shares insights on what growth really looks like across different organisational contexts, why international expansion is as much about cultural understanding as it is about strategy and how sustainability is redefining success in business. 

Deniz also offers a candid perspective on leadership, the value of diverse teams and the opportunities emerging for women in innovation.

Your career spans global tech companies and fast growing ventures. What experiences most shaped the way you approach growth and leadership today?

I have been fortunate to work in both large global technology companies and smaller, fast-growing ventures, and each environment has shaped how I think about growth and leadership.

Large organisations such as Microsoft, AWS, and Experian taught me the importance of structure, scale, and discipline. You learn how ecosystems work, how partnerships can unlock entire markets, and how to build solutions that are reliable enough to support thousands of customers. That experience gave me a strong appreciation for strategy and long-term thinking.

Working with startups and emerging technology ventures, however, was equally transformative. In those environments you have to move quickly, listen closely to the market, and constantly adapt. You learn that growth rarely follows a perfect plan — it’s often the result of experimentation, collaboration, and being willing to rethink assumptions.

Those two experiences together really shaped my approach today. I try to combine the strategic discipline of large organisations with the agility and curiosity of startups.

Perhaps most importantly, they reinforced my belief that the best outcomes come from diverse teams and collaborative ecosystems. Innovation rarely happens in isolation, and creating an environment where people feel empowered to contribute ideas and challenge thinking is something I value deeply in leadership.

You’ve worked in both large organisations like Amazon Web Services and emerging companies such as EcoWise. How different does growth look in those two environments?

Growth may happen in very different organisational contexts, but the mindset behind it is often surprisingly similar.

At Amazon Web Services, growth was not just about scaling an established platform. It involved a lot of experimentation and deep engagement with customers. A significant part of the work was listening carefully to customer needs, identifying patterns in their behaviour and understanding the objections organisations had about moving to the cloud. From there, we would design programmes, partnerships and initiatives that addressed those barriers and made adoption easier. In that sense, growth was very much about learning from the market and adapting quickly.

In startups, the same listening mindset applies, but the context is different. You are often trying to identify the problems that many organisations share, rather than niche challenges that only very large companies can afford to solve. With limited resources, focus becomes critical. A key milestone is securing your first few customers who truly see the value of the solution and can demonstrate its impact.

The similarity in both environments is understanding the real problem technology can solve. The difference is deciding which problems deserve your limited time and resources.

What first sparked your interest in building and scaling businesses across international markets?

What first sparked my interest in building and scaling businesses across international markets was the realisation that strong business propositions tend to travel well. In today’s interconnected world, many of the challenges companies face are remarkably similar, regardless of geography. If a solution addresses a fundamental business need, whether it is efficiency, transparency or better decision-making, there is a good chance it will resonate in multiple markets.

Throughout my career I have seen how technologies and solutions developed in one country can quickly find relevance elsewhere. The core problem that the business addresses is often universal, even though the context around it may differ. Regulations, languages, cultural nuances and the way relationships are built can vary significantly and those factors always need to be respected when entering a new market.

What I find fascinating is navigating that balance between global relevance and local adaptation. Scaling internationally is rarely about copying and pasting a model from one country to another. It is about understanding the shared problems businesses face and then adapting the approach so that the solution fits naturally within each market’s regulatory, cultural and business environment.

Sustainability is becoming central to many industries. What excites you most about helping companies grow in this space?

What excites me most about working in sustainability is the opportunity to contribute, in a meaningful way, to the wellbeing of the planet. For many years, growth in business was often measured purely in financial terms. Today, more organisations are recognising that long-term success must also consider environmental and societal impact. Being able to support companies on that journey is both motivating and rewarding.

I’m particularly inspired by the number of people and organisations who genuinely want to make a difference. Across industries, there is a growing willingness to rethink how products are designed, how materials are sourced, and how resources are used throughout a lifecycle. Helping companies translate those ambitions into practical strategies, technologies and scalable solutions is something I find incredibly energising.

For me, sustainability is ultimately about responsibility and legacy. The decisions we make today will shape the world future generations inherit. If technology, data, and better collaboration can help businesses operate in ways that respect planetary boundaries, then we have a real opportunity to leave the planet in a better state than we found it and that is a goal worth working towards.

Leadership journeys are rarely linear. Was there a moment in your career that changed the way you see leadership or success?

My career path has not been linear and those transitions shaped how I see leadership today. Over the years I moved across sectors, from FMCG into technology, across geographies from the Middle East to the UK and across company stages from large global organisations to startups. Each of those changes pushed me out of my comfort zone and forced me to learn quickly.

One thing I realised early on is that I am most engaged when I am learning and being challenged. If a role stops stretching me or exposing me to new perspectives, I tend to lose interest. Those transitions were not always planned, but they helped me grow and see leadership through different lenses.

My understanding of leadership also evolved by observing people I admired. For me today, success is less about titles or achievements and more about the impact you have on others. Leadership is not about having all the answers or being the loudest voice in the room. It is about being a role model, listening more than you speak and creating an environment where people feel encouraged to pursue what energises them. When leaders enable others to grow and succeed, that is when leadership becomes truly meaningful.

As someone who has worked across cultures and industries, what perspectives do you think women specifically bring to leadership in innovation and growth?

Having worked across different cultures and industries, I believe women often bring a set of perspectives to leadership that are particularly valuable in environments driven by innovation and growth.

One of these is empathy. Women leaders often place strong emphasis on understanding people, building deeper connections and recognising the broader context behind challenges and decisions. This can help create more inclusive environments where teams feel heard and motivated to contribute their ideas.

Resilience is another important dimension. Many women develop a strong ability to navigate complexity and persist through uncertainty, which is essential in innovation-driven environments where outcomes are not always predictable.

I also think women often bring a high level of focus and determination, particularly when balancing multiple expectations and responsibilities. That ability to prioritise and stay committed to long-term goals can be a powerful driver of progress.

Finally, women can be very comfortable with the uncomfortable. Innovation often requires stepping into unknown territory, questioning established ways of working and embracing change. Those qualities help leaders guide teams through transformation while keeping people engaged and aligned.

For young women beginning their careers today, where do you see the most exciting opportunities emerging?

I believe the most exciting opportunities are emerging at the intersection of disciplines. Many of the biggest challenges we face, whether in sustainability, digital transformation or the built environment, can no longer be solved by a single field alone. They require people who are curious enough to connect technology, business, data and human impact.

That is why I think cross disciplinary thinking will become increasingly important. The ability to understand different perspectives, ask the right questions and bring ideas together from multiple domains is where real innovation happens.

I also think curiosity will be a critical skill. The world is changing so quickly that the most valuable professionals will not necessarily be the ones who follow a fixed career path, but those who remain open to learning, experimenting and exploring new ideas.

For young women entering the workforce today, this creates a powerful opportunity. By embracing curiosity, innovative thinking and collaboration across disciplines, they can help shape industries that are still evolving and play a meaningful role in solving some of the most important challenges of our time.