Gabriela Stanakova

Gabriela Stanakova

Senior Director, GBS Source To Pay Global Operations Kimberly-Clark
Gabriela Stanakova

Senior Director, GBS Global Source to Pay operations at Kimberly Clark, since November 2022. With nearly 21 years of experience in business services and the supply chain environment, she believes in and admires diversity and authenticity. Gabriela embraces agile approaches, takes smart risks, and develops new solutions. She is passionate about building powerful teams and supporting wellbeing and work-life balance. Gabriela is also a strong advocate for sports, the community, and the environment, promoting health and mental spirit, and caring for the world. Gabriela joined K-C in 2018 as Director of GBS EMEA, where she was responsible for building the Krakow center, finding the right talent, ensuring smooth go-lives for operations, and achieving operational excellence. Before K-C, she served as Director of Procurement Operations Europe and Procurement Transformation Lead Europe at Mondelez International, where she delivered excellent procurement operations and led procurement transformation initiatives. In her current role as the global leader of GBS STP operations, Gabriela collaborates closely with global and regional procurement teams, supply chain business leaders, GBS operations leads, to develop an optimal operating model adhering to global design principles.

SSOWOMEN Leadership Day & Excellence Labs: May 18th, 2026

4:00 PM PANEL DISCUSSION: THE GPO DILEMMA - OWNING THE PROCESS: STRATEGY, DELIVERY, OR BOTH

The Global Process Owner role often straddles two worlds: shaping the future of Procure-to-Pay or ensuring flawless day-to-day execution. This panel examines the tension between strategy and delivery, highlighting the risks of leaning too far in one direction. Gain insights from diverse perspectives on where GPOs create the most value, and how to shape the role to fuel transformation, build operational trust, and deliver lasting business impact.

• Define the mandate: Distinguish between strategic leadership and delivery ownership.
• Drive design excellence: Know when to step back from operations to elevate process design.
• Secure operational trust: Decide where accountability should sit to strengthen outcomes.

Check out the incredible speaker line-up to see who will be joining Gabriela.

Download The Latest Agenda