Program Manager · Los Angeles, CA

I find the
structural
breakdown.

Not just the symptom. I rebuild systems into something that actually scales across capital programs, automation workflows, and the spaces in between. 10+ years making messy organizations run better.

Open to tech industry opportunities
01

About me

Who I am

I'm a Program Manager with an Industrial Engineering background which means I approach problems structurally, not symptomatically. I find where a system is broken and rebuild it into something repeatable and scalable. For the last six years I've been at NBCUniversal's Universal Studios Hollywood, owning the Multi-Year Capital Plan a $50M+ portfolio of technology and infrastructure investments spanning 11 business areas and 60+ stakeholders and serving as the person teams come to when something needs to actually change.

How I work

When my job scope changed and I had extra bandwidth, I didn't wait for assignments. I went around asking peers what was slowing them down and started building solutions. That's just how I operate. I work best when the problem is messy, the stakeholders are many, and someone needs to bring structure and clarity to the chaos.

What drives me

I read Thinking in Systems by Donella Meadows, made so many connections to my work environment that I built a full presentation to teach my directors the framework. I get genuinely excited about how things connect feedback loops, leverage points, unintended consequences. I want to be in tech because that's where the hardest, most interesting systems problems live.

Maggy Benhadda
LinkedIn
02

Things I've built

🤖
Connected AI Agents for Capital Planning
Built two connected AI agents in Copilot Studio, deployed in Microsoft Teams one reviews capital submissions for approval readiness, the other estimates costs from 5+ years of historical actuals. Coached 4+ directors one-on-one to build their own agents, including one now helping engineers troubleshoot ride faults faster.
Copilot Studio · Teams
📋
Power Automate Acknowledgement Workflow
Led rollout for 400+ technicians, replacing a paper print-sign-scan process. Cut time per acknowledgment by 90%. Since March 2026 launch: 2,200+ acknowledgments processed and ~170 labor hours saved, with adoption tracked by trade to target follow-up.
Power Automate · 400+ users
🔧
Fabrication Riders Digitization
Took over a stalled initiative to digitize work orders for custom ride parts. Gathered requirements from Engineering, Quality, and Manufacturing leaders, then defined the workflow, test plan, and success metrics to replace decentralized paper and email processes. Pilot launching fall 2026.
Process redesign · In progress
🏗️
Tech Services SharePoint Hub
Built and maintain a centralized SharePoint hub for the ~1,000-person Tech Services department, consolidating lists, trackers, and dashboards that previously lived in scattered locations across the organization.
SharePoint · 1,000-person dept
📊
Criteria-Based Capital Planning Process
Replaced ad hoc, pitch-based capital funding with Universal Studios Hollywood's first criteria-based multi-year capital plan (2020) designing intake, prioritization, and executive approval from scratch. Scaled the model to Universal Orlando (2023) and Universal Studios Japan (2025).
Program design · 3 global locations
📰
Tech Services Newsletter & Town Hall
Lead content and production for the quarterly Tech Services newsletter and the SVP's biannual department town hall translating technical work into clear, engaging communication for a ~1,000-person organization.
Communications · Leadership
Maggy Benhadda
LinkedIn
03

My journey

🇲🇦
Morocco
Where it started. Born and raised in Morocco before moving to the United States a leap that shaped everything about how I approach challenges: with adaptability, resilience, and the belief that you can figure out systems you were never handed a map for.
🌴
Orlando, FL
My first home in the US. Earned a BS in Industrial Engineering at the University of Central Florida as a first-generation college graduate one of the things I'm most proud of. Started my career at Lockheed Martin doing production control and business process work that built the analytical foundation I still use every day.
🏔️
Denver, CO
Followed the work to Lockheed Martin's Denver facility as a Program Scheduler. Managed timelines across procurement, manufacturing, test, and quality teams on large aerospace programs. Also discovered I can handle cold winters.
🎬
Los Angeles, CA
Home. Joined NBCUniversal's Universal Studios Hollywood in 2019 and have been building ever since capital programs, automation tools, AI agents, and a body of work I'm genuinely proud of. Next chapter: tech.
Maggy Benhadda
LinkedIn
04

Experience

Program Manager – Technology & Business Operations
NBCUniversal / Universal Studios Hollywood · Los Angeles, CA
Aug 2023 – Present
▾
  • Own the annual capital planning cycle (March–October), an operating model spanning 11 business areas and 60+ stakeholders, running criteria-based prioritization that narrows 300–400 requests to ~150 approved projects ($50M+) for executive approval.
  • Author business cases for capital requests and coach department stakeholders in writing their own, standardizing justification, budget, risk, and ROI so executives can compare requests on consistent criteria.
  • Scaled the planning model to Universal Orlando (2023) and Universal Studios Japan (2025), serving as liaison to stand up the process and adapt it to regional operations.
  • Built two connected AI agents in Copilot Studio, deployed in Teams, that review submissions for approval readiness and estimate costs from 5+ years of historical actuals.
  • Championed AI adoption across Tech Services leadership, coaching 4+ directors one-on-one to build their own agents, including one now helping engineers troubleshoot ride faults faster.
  • Led rollout of a Power Automate acknowledgment workflow for 400+ technicians, replacing a paper print-sign-scan process and cutting time per acknowledgment 90% 2,200+ acknowledgments and ~170 labor hours saved since the March 2026 launch.
  • Took over a stalled initiative to digitize fabrication riders (work orders for custom ride parts): gathered requirements from Engineering, Quality, and Manufacturing leaders, then defined the workflow, test plan, and success metrics. Pilot launching fall 2026.
  • Built and maintain a centralized SharePoint hub for the ~1,000-person Tech Services department, consolidating scattered lists, trackers, and dashboards.
  • Lead content and production for the quarterly Tech Services newsletter and the SVP's biannual department town hall.
Program Controls Manager
NBCUniversal / Universal Studios Hollywood · Los Angeles, CA
Feb 2023 – Aug 2023
▾
  • Managed a $20M ride and show portfolio, delivering the annual cash flow target within 4% of projection.
  • Built trackers and executive reports showing project status, risk, and cost across the portfolio.
  • Managed onboarding and contract administration for ~50 vendors: set up vendors in the system, secured signed contracts, and ensured on-time payment, analyzing invoices against projections and flagging discrepancies to project managers.
  • Analyzed portfolio cost variances and change order trends, flagging forecast changes to Finance and feeding lessons learned into future scope development.
Assistant Program Manager – Capital Programs
NBCUniversal / Universal Studios Hollywood · Los Angeles, CA
2022 Team Member of the Year · Oct 2022 Team Member of the Month · GEM Award
Nov 2019 – Feb 2023
▾
  • Replaced ad hoc, pitch-based capital funding with Universal Studios Hollywood's first criteria-based multi-year capital plan (2020), designing intake, prioritization, and executive approval from scratch.
  • Replaced paper timesheets with a centralized Excel/VBA system, giving managers one digital location for submissions and eliminating time spent chasing paperwork.
  • Mapped workflows to find bottlenecks, set repeatable best practices, and onboarded partner organizations to new business processes.
Program Scheduler
Lockheed Martin · Denver, CO
May 2018 – Nov 2019
▾
  • Coordinated timelines and resources across procurement, manufacturing, test, and quality assurance; reported schedule and cost performance to program stakeholders.
  • Developed manufacturing metrics that enabled data-driven recommendations to leadership.
Production Control Analyst & Business Process Analyst
Lockheed Martin · Orlando, FL
Jun 2014 – May 2018
▾
  • Oversaw production of 200–300 complex assemblies for on-time customer delivery, reporting weekly status, risks, and improvement opportunities to leadership.
  • Redesigned inventory flow and shop procedures to improve stockroom utilization and reduce operating costs.
  • Analyzed business processes to find root causes and design solutions that reduced team workload; streamlined change request workflows to speed document processing.
  • Turned raw SharePoint data into performance metrics and redesigned SharePoint sites for a more usable employee experience.
Maggy Benhadda
LinkedIn
05

Skills & tools

Program management
Capital program management Risk & dependency tracking Executive reporting Financial forecasting Portfolio management Cross-functional coordination Stakeholder communication Change management
Automation & AI
Microsoft Power Automate Copilot Studio (AI agents) ChatGPT Claude Google Gemini Microsoft Copilot Google AI Studio Notebook LM
Data & reporting
Power BI Excel / VBA Smartsheet Python (basic) KPI dashboard design Data analysis
Systems & platforms
SharePoint Google Workspace Visio MS Project SAP Maximo Microsoft Lists
Process & methodology
Process redesign Workflow mapping Systems thinking Lean Six Sigma Green Belt Bottleneck identification
Education & certifications
BS Industrial Engineering UCF Lean Six Sigma Green Belt Google AI Professional Certificate Computational Thinking / Python MIT
Maggy Benhadda
LinkedIn
06

Outside of work

🧩
Puzzles & games
If I'm not working, I'm probably playing a game or solving a puzzle. I love a good challenge that makes my brain itch. There's nothing quite like that moment when frustration flips into a realization and suddenly everything clicks.
🏃‍♀️
Running
I started running this year. 5K in March, 10K in September. I'm not a natural runner I just learned that I can do hard things consistently if I commit to them. Turns out that's enough.
🎓
First-generation graduate
The first in my family to earn a college degree. It's the thing that drives everything else the belief that you can figure out systems you were never handed a map for.
📚
Always reading something
Recently finished Thinking in Systems by Donella Meadows and made so many connections to my work that I built a full presentation to share the framework with my leadership team. That's just how my brain works.
✈️
Morocco → Orlando → Denver → LA
Every move was intentional. Each city shaped a different chapter. Adaptability isn't a resume keyword for me it's lived experience across continents and industries.
⚙️
I can't leave problems alone
When my job scope changed and I suddenly had extra time, I didn't wait for direction. I went around asking peers what was slowing them down and started building. I can't see a broken system and walk past it.
Maggy Benhadda
LinkedIn