As businesses push for seamless, end-to-end process ownership, the role of Global Process Owners (GPOs) remains under scrutiny. But what does end-to-end really look like from a strategic perspective? This panel will discuss how to truly deliver an end-to-end strategy, aligning goals and KPIs that strive for real process efficiency and not functional success.

• Drive true process ownership by aligning GPOs with enterprise-wide objectives, not just GBS KPIs

• Break down silos by establishing models that connect GPOs with business stakeholders

• Gain executive buy-in by demonstrating how end-to-end ownership improves efficiency and outcomes

Rafał Duda

Director, Global Process Owner O2C
Smith+Nephew

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Monika Miksakova

Finance Director - GPO
Adient

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Andras Kohl

Head of Finance Business Services - CE
Tesco Business Solutions

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Implementing a new ERP system across a multinational organization is one of the most complex transformation journeys a business can undertake. Standardising operations while driving adoption requires thoughtful rollout strategies, strong change management, and consistent executive support. In this session, discover the practical lessons learned from leading a multi-region Oracle ERP migration spanning the UK, Middle East, Canada, and Asia-Pacific.

• Achieve smoother rollouts by phasing deployments regionally

• Drive adoption by tailoring change management to cultural contexts

• Ensure standardisation by aligning global processes early

• Secure buy-in by engaging executives and local leaders

Tracey Bentley

Global Process Owner - Order To Cash
Atkins

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Achieving end-to-end process efficiency requires a deep understanding of the impact across the Order to Cash (O2C) cycle and identifying reasons for underperformance. This session will explore how Mars has transformed their GPO role from an operational focus to strategic leadership, aiming to identify and prevent revenue loss both internally and externally.

• Leverage insights from process mining tools to continuously integrate improvements into the organisations GPO framework

• Discover the importance of a holistic view of your organisations processes in identifying areas of lost revenue

• Uncover best practices for developing policy and process frameworks that ensure sustained cash flow improvements

Richard Varga

Global Lead to Cash Transformation
Mars Global Services

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Enterprise-wide transformations have become the norm, demanding new levels of agility from HR. Leaders must balance efficiency with employee expectations and requirements through times of change. Traditional HR Shared Services models, centred on cost and process, are no longer sufficient.

Explore CSL's ongoing journey to expand the HR function—building capabilities that fuel business transformation and workforce growth, while progressively moving beyond service delivery toward becoming a strategic partner.

• Laying the groundwork for better employee experiences by increasingly putting people, not processes, first

• Progressively elevating HR’s role by positioning HRSS as a growing partner in enterprise change

• Beginning to leverage synergies within the extended shared services environment to imbed an operational excellence mindset and prepare for scalability

Claudia Petrocchi

Vice President of Employee Experience and Services
CSL

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Global HR is at a crossroads. Organisations dream of seamless, end-to-end processes, but reality is messy, fragmented systems. Local laws, and cultural differences stand in the way. For long, the answer was efficiency. But optimizing for a perfect, predictable world has created fragile systems that break under pressure. The true breakthrough isn't just new technology, it's a new mindset.

In this session, we explore how to move beyond chasing efficiency and instead architect a system that is not only compliant and cost-effective, but truly future-ready. Join us to discover how to build HR processes that are designed to thrive in a world of constant change.

• Achieve scalability by building a strong 'Global Core' that serves as a stable foundation for growth.

• Achieve compliance by architecting a 'Global by Default, Local by Exception' model

• Achieve efficiency by using intelligent automation to build operational resilience

• Achieve transformation by embedding a culture of resilience that empowers your team and makes change stick

Sabine Weihbrecht

Head of HRS-EU
Bosch

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Aude Lirzin

HR Shared Services Group Manager
Robert Bosch

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Ana Luís Pereira

People Acquisition Campus Group Leader
Bosch Portugal

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The world of work is changing fast. Employees are struggling to stay ahead, career paths are uncertain, and engagement drops when development in unclear. In this discussion group, you’ll explore how to enhance the employee experience through smart, AI-powered solutions that personalise learning, spot skill gaps, and guide people into roles where they can shine.

· Work together to identify skill gaps by leveraging AI-driven analytics

· Personalise learning paths by deploying adaptive AI learning platforms

· Enhance internal planning/ forecasting by matching employees to roles with AI recommendations

· Improve engagement and retention by using AI for real-time insights and recognition

· Forecast future skill needs by analysing trends with predictive AI models

Many finance leaders believe they have automated the close — yet anticipated findings from the new 2026 Global State of the Industry research suggest a very different reality may emerge. This SSON Research study, created for global enterprises operating multi-ERP estates and regulated environments, examines the gap between perceived and actual automation.

For the first time, we will unveil the research framework, hypotheses and early directional insights, and share what this means for how global enterprises will benchmark, measure and transform R2R over the next decade.

Sponsored by: Redwood

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Shak Akhtar

Executive Director, EMEA Finance Transformation
Redwood

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Learn how leading SAP finance teams are eliminating manual effort from the close — not by adding more tools, but by orchestrating the work end to end.

You’ll explore what actually changes when the close runs as one connected process inside SAP — where journals, reconciliations, intercompany, and close tasks execute automatically, in sequence, with control built in.

In this session, you will learn how to:

● Eliminate spreadsheet-driven handoffs and manual journal work that slow the close

● Reduce exceptions by orchestrating dependencies across the entire Record to Report process

● Move from periodic close cycles to a more continuous, touchless close model

● Gain real-time visibility and control without adding risk or complexity

● Quantify the manual effort still hidden in your close and pinpoint where orchestration delivers the biggest impact

Through real-world examples and practical orchestration patterns used by SAP enterprises, this workshop goes beyond theory to show what it takes to make the close a non-event.

You’ll leave with a clearer view of where manual work still lives in your close, concrete ideas to eliminate it, and a practical framework to take back to your organisation.

Sponsored by: Redwood

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Shak Akhtar

Executive Director, EMEA Finance Transformation
Redwood

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Chris Kier

Solutions Engineer
Redwood Software

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This session outlines how a global enterprise begins redesigning R2R — not at the end-state, but at the critical early phase where decisions about scope, governance, ERP harmonisation and operating model shape everything that follows.

We explore:

• How enterprises assess their current-state landscape

• The drivers that lead to orchestration-first strategies

• Sequencing decisions across regions, ERPs and controls

• Early wins and early risks

• What global design authority looks like in real life

Sponsored by: Redwood

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Shak Akhtar

Executive Director, EMEA Finance Transformation
Redwood

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The GPO role doesn’t just look at process improvement; a crucial skill is the ability to manage these changes from end-to-end. If you can’t get your teams onside to want to change, then you’ll be facing an uphill battle from the start. Baxter International, recently transitioned from a shared services to a GBS model, with a focus on standardising data for improved financial visibility, enhancing agility, and aligning the global business with organisational goals. A key enabler of this transformation were the GPOs, who provided oversight, managed change effectively, and defended critical decisions. Though transformation is never easy, Baxter’s dynamic and knowledgeable approach has ensured a smooth transition to GBS. This session explores how to effectively manage change globally and ensure that your key stakeholders are bought into these decisions, for a smooth and successful transformation.

• Enhance financial visibility by standardising data and eliminating inconsistencies across global operations

• Ensure a smooth transformation by leveraging GPOs for oversight and decision-making

• Minimise disruption by implementing structured change management strategies and clear communication

• Strengthen credibility in decision-making by equipping leaders with the knowledge and tools to drive transformation effectively

Damilola Atoyegbe

Finance Manager, EMEA Regional Process Owner C2C
Baxter International Inc.

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Creating a GPO role from scratch can feel like stepping into the unknown. In this case study session, hear the practical journey of setting up an efficient and effective GPO function. Learn how to define the role, prioritise early wins, build governance, and embed standards that stick, turning a blank slate into a function that drives clarity, efficiency, and measurable results across your global O2C operations.

• Define the GPO role clearly to set expectations from day one

• Identify and deliver high-impact first-year priorities

• Build governance that supports consistent O2C processes

• Standardise and streamline operations for efficiency

With the pace of change accelerating, the traditional experience-based talent model is no longer sufficient. Future-ready organisations need to base people decisions on skills more than jobs, and having a scalable, manageable, and more equitable way of operating. A skills-based organisation turns talent management on its head, redefining and reimagining every talent practice to be based more on skills than on jobs and setting a new direction for the future of work: agile, tech-enabled and democratised. This is no longer a vision, but a mission and reality set in motion within pioneering GBS organisations.

• Building a skills-based organisation to be able to anticipate and effectively respond to new capability building initiatives

· Shift the focus from jobs to skills – what are the key steps?

· Redeploying resources impacted by the automation of transactional activities and processes

Ioana Mihalache

Chief People Officer
Ephicacy

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Anna Wijatkowska

EMEA HR Business Services Director
PPG

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By 2030, it’s expected that half of today’s entry-level corporate roles could disappear as Agentic AI reshapes the workforce. For shared services and GBS organisations, it’s not just about keeping pace with fast-moving technology; it’s about enabling employees to be agile, adaptive, and ready for the future. Success will depend on embedding continuous learning and reskilling strategies that enable teams to adapt, evolve, and deliver higher-value services in an AI-driven world.

· Design continuous learning pathways that prepare teams to shift into higher-value roles as automation scales

· Harness AI-enabled learning platforms to deliver personalized, fast, and scalable training across global operations

· Engage employees early in the transformation journey to drive adoption, reduce resistance, and build confidence

· Use workforce skills data to guide redeployment, hiring, and career development decisions across shared service

Pete Saunders

Director of People Services
Rolls-Royce

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Leonardo Marinelli

Global Head of HR Services & Solutions / HR Transformation Leader
Clariant

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Laura Pui-Moldovan

Director, Human Resources Operations
Adidas

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R2R may be a priority, but investment requires a quantified business case. This extended session shows how global enterprises diagnose maturity, quantify value and secure senior sponsorship.

We cover:

• How to quantify effort, fragmentation, rework and risk

• How world-class KPIs (Hackett) calibrate the size of the prize

• How to model value across multi-entity, multi-ERP landscapes

• How CFOs evaluate business cases differently from R2R leaders

Sponsored by: Redwood

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Shak Akhtar

Executive Director, EMEA Finance Transformation
Redwood

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Merck shares how is tackling one of the toughest challenges in finance operations: eliminating manual effort and risk from the close while operating at global scale.

Merck’s finance team will walk through their Record-to-Report journey, outlining where traditional automation approaches fell short and how they rethought the close as an orchestrated, end-to-end process inside their SAP environment.

Attendees will hear how Merck are:

● Reducing manual intervention across critical close activities

● Gaining stronger control and transparency across entities and regions

● Planning to improve close predictability without increasing complexity

● Building confidence in their numbers earlier in the close cycle

Sponsored by: Redwood

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This is the seniority anchor for the entire afternoon — where enterprise finance leaders and global advisors discuss the next decade of R2R.

AI and automation promise transformation — but in global enterprises, their success depends entirely on the strength of underlying processes, data, governance and harmonisation.

This session explores:

• Enterprise AI readiness and the reality behind the hype

• The visibility and reliability challenges of multi-ERP estates

• How CFO organisations view automation’s role in long-term resilience

• The foundational decisions that speed up or stall transformation

• What “data unification” actually means at enterprise scale

Sponsored by: Redwood

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Thank you for joining Redwood’s R2R Leaders Event at SSOW Europe!