SSOW ANZ 2026: The Next Frontier for Shared Services
SSOW 2026 Day 1: Tuesday, 12 May 2026
9:00 am - 9:10 am
Chair’s Opening Remarks | The Big Picture: What’s Ahead for Australia’s SSOW Community
9:10 am - 9:50 am
Leadership Panel | Leading AI-Driven Transformation in Shared Services Operations
Transactional work is being rapidly automated but most shared services leaders struggle to redeploy talent and capture strategic value. This panel explores how to break free from low-value processes, upskill teams for AI-augmented roles, and position shared services as genuine business partners driving innovation and insight.
Key Takeaways:
• Strategies to identify and eliminate transactional bottlenecks through agentic AI and intelligent automation
• Proven frameworks for reskilling displaced transactional workers into analytical, strategic roles
• Leadership approaches to shift organizational perception from cost center to value creator
9:50 am - 10:20 am
The Silo Tax: Why Fragmented Operations Are Killing Your Shared Services ROI
Siloed systems and fragmented data are crippling shared services efficiency, creating duplicate processes and preventing real-time visibility. This session tackles the hard reality of breaking down organizational and technical barriers to build a truly unified, agile enterprise backbone that enables seamless collaboration and faster decision-making.
Key Takeaways:
• Root causes of persistent silos and why traditional integration attempts fail in shared services environments
• Proven governance models and change management tactics to overcome organizational resistance and turf wars
• Technology strategies for creating a connected data architecture without expensive rip-and-replace projects
10:20 am - 10:40 am
Speed Networking
Fast, focused, and energising — speed networking is your chance to meet fellow attendees, exchange ideas, and spark new collaborations with your shared services peers
10:40 am - 11:10 am
The Transformation Leader's Dilemma: Redesigning Operations for Speed Without Breaking What Works
Luke Short -
Senior Director of Commercial Transformation for Sales Effectiveness and DX,
PepsiCo
Strategy and transformation leaders face mounting pressure to modernize operating models while maintaining business continuity and proving ROI. This session reveals how PepsiCo's transformation team redesigned their operating architecture to drive faster decisions, enable scalability, and embed intelligence—without derailing day-to-day operations.
Key Takeaways:
• How to diagnose which parts of your operating model are blocking speed, scale, and intelligent decision-making
• PepsiCo's playbook for balancing disruptive transformation with operational stability and stakeholder buy-in
• Organizational design principles that enable both centralized efficiency and distributed agility
Luke Short
Senior Director of Commercial Transformation for Sales Effectiveness and DXPepsiCo
11:10 am - 11:40 am
Morning Break
Fuel up, connect, and explore - your chance to grab a coffee, meet solution partners, and spark new conversations across
Interactive Discussion Groups: Unscripted. Unfiltered. Unmissable
IDG A
11:40 am - 1:10 pm Scaling AI Fast: Turning Shared Services Into an Automation EngineIDG B
11:40 am - 1:10 pm Less Effort, More Impact: Designing the Next Shared Services WorkforceIDG C
11:40 am - 1:10 pm Value That Shows Up on the Balance Sheet: Shared Services as a Growth LeverIDG D
11:40 am - 1:10 pm Innovation That Sticks: Designing Processes That Don’t Break Under PressureIDG E
11:40 am - 1:10 pm AI-Powered Finance Control Tower: Real-Time Visibility, Zero SurprisesIDG F
11:40 am - 1:10 pm NextGen FP&A Reloaded: Predictive, Auto-Generated and Always Connected
1:10 pm - 2:10 pm
Networking Lunch & VIP Hosted Lunches
Join us in the expo hall for a relaxed networking lunch with the full Shared Service community - connect with peers, explore the exhibition, and recharge for the afternoon ahead. For invited guests, exclusive VIP lunches will run concurrently bringing senior leaders and select partners together for high-impact conversations in a more intimate setting.
SSOW Executive Boardroom (by invite only)
2:10 pm - 2:40 pm EXECUTIVE STORY | How To Reposition Shared Services as a Strategic Business Partner Amanda Oblea - Head Shared Services (Finance Transformation Lead), ALDI Stores Australia
SSOW Executive Boardroom (by invite only)
2:40 pm - 3:00 pm THINK TANK A | Innovation Without Exposure Andrya Mckinlay - Associate Director, Finance Operations Shared Services, HealthShare NSW
SSOW Executive Boardroom (by invite only)
3:00 pm - 3:20 pm THINK TANK B |Who Owns Transofrmation in an AI worldSSOW Executive Boardroom (by invite only)
3:40 pm - 4:00 pm THINK TANK C | Collaboration Without Silos Lisa Seary - Head of Shared Services, Boral
SSOW Executive Boardroom (by invite only)
3:40 pm - 4:10 pm Afternoon BreakSSOW Executive Boardroom (by invite only)
4:10 pm - 4:40 pm PANEL DISCUSSION | The Speed vs. Control Paradox: Can Shared Services Innovate Without Breaking Standardisation? Luke Short - Senior Director of Commercial Transformation for Sales Effectiveness and DX, PepsiCoFran Olidar - Head of Shared Services,, Virtus health
Shared services organizations are being pulled in opposite directions—business partners demand rapid customization and experimentation while leadership expects cost efficiency through standardization. This panel reveals how leading SSOs are creating dual-speed models that enable fast innovation tracks for strategic initiatives while maintaining disciplined, scalable operations for core transactional work.
Key Takeaways:
• How to segment your shared services portfolio into "fast lane" innovation and "steady lane" standardized operations
• Governance models that prevent multi-speed approaches from fragmenting your service delivery or creating silos
• Resource allocation strategies: staffing and funding innovation without compromising BAU efficiency
Luke Short
Senior Director of Commercial Transformation for Sales Effectiveness and DXPepsiCo
SSOW Executive Boardroom (by invite only)
4:10 pm - 4:40 pm PANEL DISCUSSION | Future-Proofing Your People: The Urgent Reality of Workforce Transformation in Shared Services Cara Hemsley - Director of Business & Shared Services, Studio MessaRachel Anderson - Head of Business Connect (Shared Services), Sydney Water
Lisa Seary - Head of Shared Services, Boral
SSOW Plenary: From Cost to Value
2:10 pm - 2:40 pm EXPERT TALK | How to Pivot Shared Services from Savings to Strategic Value Priya Venkitachalam - Program Director, Transport for NSWHendrik Lianto - Financial Improvement Manager, Transport for NSW
SSOW Plenary: From Cost to Value
2:40 pm - 3:10 pm EXECUTIVE TALK | From Back Office to Business Advantage: How Finance Leaders Turn Shared Services into a Growth EngineThis session reveals how visionary finance leaders are fundamentally repositioning shared services from cost-focused operations into strategic assets that drive competitive advantage. Through real-world examples and practical frameworks, discover how exceptional shared services capabilities enable faster decision-making, superior market agility, and innovation that competitors struggle to match.
Key Takeaways:
• The paradigm shift: viewing shared services through a competitive advantage lens rather than pure cost optimization
• Proven approaches finance leaders use to transform SSO capabilities into measurable business differentiators
• Framework for identifying which shared services strengths create the most strategic value in your specific industry context
SSOW Plenary: From Cost to Value
3:10 pm - 3:40 pm TECH TALK | Turning Automation and AI Investments into Measurable Business Impact for Shared Services Kimberley Haines - Human Resources Services and Systems Manager, AustNetMost shared services organizations deploy automation and AI purely for cost savings, missing the bigger opportunity to create genuine business value. This tech talk demonstrates how leading SSOs are leveraging intelligent automation, AI, and digital platforms not just to eliminate tasks, but to generate insights, enable innovation, improve decision quality, and deliver measurable outcomes that transform shared services into strategic contributors.
Key Takeaways:
• Why cost-focused automation strategies leave 70% of potential value on the table in shared services environments
• Framework for identifying value creation opportunities beyond FTE reduction, analytics, speed, quality, and innovation enablement
• Real implementation examples: AI and automation use cases that delivered quantifiable business impact, not just efficiency
SSOW Plenary: From Cost to Value
3:40 pm - 4:10 pm Afternoon BreakSSOW Plenary: From Cost to Value
4:10 pm - 4:40 pm LEADERSHIP PANEL | From Transactional to Digital: Solving the Capability Crisis in Shared Services Talent Jo Duncan - Head of Shared Services (Snr Exec/ GM), Airservices AustraliaLisianne Hall - Head of People Services, Anglicare
Kane Paekau - General Manager Shared Services, Fulton Hogan
SSOW Plenary: From Cost to Value
4:40 pm - 5:10 pm The Human Side of AI: Transforming Mindset, Skills, and Execution in Shared Services
5:10 pm - 6:10 pm
SSOW Impact Awards & Drinks Reception
Celebrate excellence, innovation, and impact at the SSOW Impact Awards. Join us as we recognise the leaders, teams, and initiatives redefining service delivery, enterprise value, and transformation across ANZ. From breakthrough automation projects to bold operating model reinventions, these awards spotlight the work that is truly moving the industry forward
