IBM will unveil its latest research on the future of Intelligent Business Operations, featuring insights from global GBS leaders on how BPO and managed services are driving operational transformation through autonomous workflows—pushing beyond traditional digital transformation.

Gain insights from peers on how they’re leveraging AI assistants and agents across operational processes. Explore how reimagining workflows, where technology powers operations results in enhanced productivity, cost efficiency, and seamless interconnectivity.

Enterprise leaders from Finance, Supply Chain, Procurement, HR, Customer Service, and other operational areas will walk away with clear, actionable steps to accelerate their path to value.

Sponsored by: IBM

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Neeraj Manik

Intelligent Business Operations Leader for Americas
IBM Consulting

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Karen Butner

Global Research Leader
IBM Institute for Business Value

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Join this roundtable to dive into how operational visibility helps companies make smarter, data-driven decisions that truly add value—especially in today’s AI-first era. We’ll explore how the latest process intelligence tools can quickly and accurately map out processes, pinpoint areas for improvement, and boost compliance efforts. Don’t miss this chance to take your organization’s operational insights to the next level and drive real results.

Sponsored by: ABBYY

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Jon Knisley

Product Marketing, Process AI
ABBYY

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Tired of wrestling with complex travel and expense management? Discover how cutting-edge technologies are transforming the way you manage travel and expenses. Learn to streamline workflows, automate tedious tasks, and gain unparalleled visibility into your spending. By harnessing the power of data analytics, you'll uncover actionable insights that drive cost reductions and optimize your travel programs. Hear from a T&E superstar on how they: 

• Identify cost-saving opportunities through data-driven insights 
• Implement automation to streamline processes and reduce errors 
• Enhance employee satisfaction with a user-friendly experience 
• Strengthen compliance and mitigate risks 

Sponsored by: SAP Concur

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Danny Smout

Enterprise Value Engineer
SAP Concur

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Brad Barton

Global Continuous Improvement and Business Relationship Manager
The Mosaic Company

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Patrick Thompson, Former CIO of a Global Chemicals Manufacturer, speaking with Nele Rittweger, Senior Product Marketing Manager at Celonis, will explore how they revolutionized its operations through cutting-edge process mining and intelligent automation. You’ll hear how the team leveraged process intelligence to uncover and eliminate process inefficiencies, accelerating speed and agility, and driving cost savings in the process.

• Discover how process mining technology can uncover hidden inefficiencies across business operations and help scale the business.
• Learn how real-time process analytics and automation were leveraged to achieve operational transformation.
• Gain insights into strategic approaches for driving innovation and change management within shared services environments to drive towards world class benchmarks.

Sponsored by: Celonis

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Nele Rittweger

Senior Product Marketing Manager
Celonis

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Patrick Thompson

Former Enterprise GBS & Digital Transformation Officer
Albemarle

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Join this session discussion to hear how Avail Infrastructure Solutions has achieved success in AP (Accounts Payable) automation by fostering seamless collaboration between Finance and IT teams. Hear from CIO Matt Higgins from Avail Infrastructure Solutions, how this approach removed bottlenecks, inefficiencies, and technical challenges that often arise in financial automation projects. 

Key takeaways:  

• How Avail Infrastructure streamlined AP automation 
• The role of IT in enabling Finance automation success, ensuring scalability and security. 
• Best practices for aligning Finance & IT to drive digital transformation. 
• Lessons learned from Avail’s experience, including implementation challenges and how they were overcome. 

Sponsored by: SoftCo

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Daragh Byrne

CMO
Softco

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Matt Higgins

Chief Information Officer
Avail Infrastructure Technologies

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Are your Shared Services Future Ready? 

Shared Services are facing an unmanageable balancing act – from closing the books faster with greater insights, to maintaining compliance across disparate technologies. Digital transformations have been only marginally successful – until now. 

Future ready financial operations are accurate, efficient, and most importantly, intelligent. AI is ushering in a new era in finance and accounting, which will change how you do business. Join us to discuss recent advances in AI and the impact across Shared Services, R2R and Invoice to Cash processes. 

• Learn how future ready financial operations are accurate, efficient and intelligent 
• See how Generative AI and Machine Learning are being used across Record to Report and Invoice to Cash processes 
• Understand how these advances benefit shared services 

Sponsored by: BlackLine

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Jim Tilk

Director of Solutions Strategy & Marketing (Intercompany),
BlackLine

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The role of FP&A is rapidly evolving from a purely reporting function to a strategic business partner. This session will explore how cutting-edge analytics techniques and AI are transforming the FP&A landscape. Attendees will gain insights into the latest trends, tools, and best practices to enhance decision-making, improve forecasting accuracy, and drive business growth. 

Aashu Rahar

Director of Financial Planning and Analysis
Veritiv Corporation

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In today's data-rich environment, finance professionals are presented with unprecedented opportunities to harness information for strategic advantage. We’ll focus on the transformative power of data in optimizing cash flow, managing credit risk, and conducting comprehensive spend analysis.  Venture into how leading organizations are leveraging advanced analytics and data-driven insights to enhance financial decision-making, improve liquidity, and drive cost savings. 

Action Items: 

• Initiate projects to integrate data from different financial systems and sources to create a unified view of financial information. 
• Establish or enhance data governance frameworks to ensure data quality, consistency, and security. 
• Develop strategic dashboards that provide real-time insights into key financial metrics and KPIs

Charles Morgan

Head, Finance Transformation
Verisk

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Amanda Middendorf

Director of FP&A
US Venture

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Doug Shannon

Global Intelligent Automation and GenAI leader
Stratumgen

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Even the most mature shared services organizations must always come back to the basics.  In this panel discussion, industry leaders explore how to design a blueprint that balances growth and strategic integration. Learn how to expand your service offerings while aligning with organizational goals, build a talent pipeline that supports new capabilities, and standardize technologies that unlock efficiency and scalability. This session equips you with actionable insights to lead transformative initiatives in your shared services model. 

• Learn to define the scope of your shared services integration to align with organizational goals, setting boundaries and expectations for value and efficiency. 
• Conduct thorough assessments to identify organizational needs and craft a talent pool ready to address them 
• Develop a robust technology integration plan, covering the most common tools for automation success 

Sue Brauer

Head, Operations and Enablement, Enterprise Business Solutions
Kenvue

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Pawel Kalinowski

Head, GBS Strategy and Service Management
Organon

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Phyllis Gallay

Global Business Services Executive, Retired
BD

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In today’s fast-paced world of rapid technological advancements and economic pressures, organizations must rethink their finance operations to maintain a competitive edge. Join us for an engaging session to hear how leaders are pioneering AI-driven solutions to revolutionize their Finance operations. Speakers will explore strategic approaches and how they are leveraging AI to drive business outcomes.  Key takeaways from this session will include: 

• An understanding of strategic approaches to achieving operational efficiency and agility through AI and automation 
• An overview of autonomous accounting technologies, including their impact on order-to-cash and record-to-report processes 
• Key considerations in the design of autonomous finance operations 

Sponsored by: Deloitte

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Vijay Suriyanarayanan

Managing Director
Deloitte Consulting

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Caroline Leies

Managing Director
Deloitte Consulting

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Mike Phillips

Vice President, Enterprise Financial Reporting Controller
VF Corporation

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Dirk Timmermans

Vice President, Global Finance Transformation
Johnson Controls

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Luis Perez

Director, Dell Global Tax Ai Automation
Dell Technologies

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Most GBS transformation journeys start with the right intent and ingredients - RPA, process mining, GenAI, and automation. Millions are invested in these initiatives with the goal to improve productivity; and yet the expected gains remain elusive. Leading GBS organizations may have discovered the fundamental element that bridges the gap between transformation investments and actual results. In this session, find out how empirical, verifiable data has become the decisive factor separating successful GBS transformations from the rest. 

Action Items:  

• Assess the quality, completeness, and accessibility of your data to identify gaps and improvement areas.  
• Foster a data-centric mindset within your team and encourage data-informed decision-making.  
• Leverage verifiable data to drive unprecedented RoI from transformation investments.

Sponsored by: ProHance

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Fabiano Lopes

Vice President of Cost Management & Indirect Procurement
Cardinal Health

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Imagine a future where CFOs never worry about cash flow, executives eliminate discussions on DSO, and CEOs never attend another meeting about improving payment processes. Picture business buyers completing a seamless, two-minute onboarding and placing orders instantly. Envision companies selling globally without concerns about currencies, banking, or regulations. For Food Service Direct, this is a reality that allows them to focus on changing the game of food distribution. 

Join this session to learn more about: 

• Food Service Direct’s journey to No-Touch AR 
• How that decision has allowed them to focus on sales and achieving their mission 
• Opportunities for unlocking B2B growth by optimizing order-to-cash 

Sponsored by: TreviPay

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Daniel Zimmerman

Chief Product and Technology Officer
TreviPay

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Krystal Starling

Director of Operational Excellence
FoodServiceDirect.com

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In today's rapidly evolving business landscape, leaders like you are under increasing pressure to deliver greater efficiency, accuracy, and value. In this joint customer session, we will explore how you can leverage digital technologies to streamline processes, enhance decision-making, and improve overall organizational performance. Key topics include: 

• Identifying opportunities for digital transformation: Pinpointing areas that can benefit most from automation, AI, and other emerging technologies.  
• Evaluating and selecting technology providers: Criteria to consider when choosing the right SaaS tools to support your organization's specific needs. 
• Measuring the impact of digital transformation: Key performance indicators (KPIs) to track the success of your initiatives.  
• Join us to gain actionable insights and practical advice on how to harness the power of digital transformation to drive innovation and growth within your organization. 

Sponsored by: Iron Mountain

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Pinku Dutia

Senior Director, Product Management, Cross-Industry Solutions
Iron Mountain

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J. Patrick Law

President & COO
CheckAlt

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In today's dynamic business landscape, constant flux is the only certainty, where changing customer expectations, evolving supply chain dynamics, and rapid technological advancements are reshaping how enterprises operate. To thrive in this environment, modern CFOs must meet perpetual change with perpetual adaptivity by embracing an expanded mandate that integrates strategic foresight, accelerated technology adoption and data-driven decision making.

This perpetual adaptivity can be achieved with autonomous finance operations driven by agentic AI-infused processes, advanced data analytics, and human-centered design principles.

This shift towards autonomous finance operations enables enterprises to anticipate, respond to, and capitalize on change in real time. From predictive analytics that drive proactive decision-making to AI-driven automation that streamlines financial workflows, these advancements redefine the role of finance in shaping business resilience and competitive advantage.

Join us for a thought-provoking panel discussion with industry leaders and technology visionaries as we explore how autonomous finance operations are unlocking new levels of agility, innovation, and strategic impact for enterprises worldwide.

Sponsored by: Tata Consultancy Services TCS

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Ashok Pai

Senior Vice President & Global Head Enterprise Cognitive Business Operations
TCS

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Caty Sacco

Vice President Finance Shared Services
The Boeing Company

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Mirlanda Gecaj

CFO
Xerox

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Looking for the next frontier for your SSO? Integrating supply chain management is one common area of expansion. In this session, we will explore actionable strategies for seamlessly integrating supply chain functions into your existing shared services framework, creating a unified, high-performance environment. Learn how to bridge the gap between these critical functions to drive efficiency, innovation, and overall organizational excellence. 

• Discover innovative approaches to aligning supply chain processes with shared services functions for maximum impact. 
• Gain insights into effective methods for fostering robust cross-functional collaboration between supply chain and shared services teams. 
• Explore proven tactics for leveraging integration to boost organizational performance and achieve strategic goals.

Josye Santiago

Sr. Supply Chain Director - Global Operations
Jabil

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As organizations strive for greater efficiency and agility, middle office transformation has become a critical enabler of seamless operations. This session will explore key insights from recent survey findings, shedding light on emerging trends and best practices in optimizing middle office functions. By streamlining processes, enhancing visibility, and integrating end-to-end supply chain services, companies can bridge the gap between front-end strategy and back-end execution. Learn how a reimagined middle office can drive operational excellence, improve decision-making, and create long-term business value. 

Key Takeaways: 

• Gain insights from industry survey findings on middle office transformation trends. 
• Explore how middle office optimization enhances supply chain efficiency and business agility. 
• Implement strategies to bridge front-end strategy with back-end execution for sustained success. 

Sponsored by: Neo Tangent

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Yash Chauhan

Global Head
NeoTangent

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Naomi Secor

Global Managing Director
SSON Research & Analytics

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As Sanofi, a F500 pharmaceutical company, embarked on its GBS transformation, the team knew that to unlock true enterprise value from the procurement function that they would need to move beyond a transactional S2P process. Sanofi procurement leaders will talk openly and candidly about the relationship between the CPO and business operations and how the S2P function has been a cornerstone of the transformative journey Sanofi has been on. They will address: 

• The importance of establishing foundations and getting back to the basics, including moving from a legacy, fragmented delivery model and process to a single, end-to-end operating model 
• The need to transform operations, deploying a target operating model and new business processes that work for the business, rather than simply focusing on one step in the E2E S2P process 
• The impact of community building and the need to ensure you put the right people with the right skills in the right roles and locations to unlock the full potential of the transformation. 

Ryan Burger

SVP, Global Head, Procurement Services, Global Business Operations
Sanofi

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Jeff Metzger

Global Head, Procurement Operations
Sanofi

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Change management is the cornerstone of successful shared services transformations, yet countless initiatives fail due to ineffective strategies. This session will peel back the layers of organizational dysfunction, revealing the hidden obstacles that derail change efforts such as: 

• Lack of clear vision and direction leading to employee confusion and uncertainty 
• Leadership resistance which sends a negative message to the team 
• Organizational cultural barriers 
• Fear of failure causing teams to not try 

This session will allow you to learn from the mistakes of others as we dissect real-world case studies. 

Adam Holmes

Senior Vice President, Business Services
Publicis Re:Sources

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Vanessa Bordeaux

Vice President, Integrated Global Services
Ingredion Inc.

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Bianca Martinez

Executive Director, GBS Strategy and Transformation
Warner Bros. Discovery

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Barbara Dondarski

fmr. VP, Service Excellence
Johnson & Johnson

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Why do so many organizations remain stuck, wanting to embed AI into their systems but not quite getting there? This panel will provide their first-hand insights into why a robust AI adoption is not as easy as it seems. Challenges addressed will include: 

• Ensuring a robust governance framework before any technology is adopted 
• Addressing ethical considerations and bias 
• Managing the data that enables the AI to work 
• Planning the overall AI narrative and strategy and not just jumping in to low-hanging fruit 

Ashish Gupta

Head, Global Customer Excellence
Iron Mountain

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Maxim Ioffe

Director, Global Intelligent Automation COE
WESCO

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Anil Thalayat

Senior Director, Digital
Carrier

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SSOs can’t stay stagnant for too long. Doing “just enough” won’t cut it with increasing imperatives to drive additional value but keep costs the same or less. Where do SSOs find this additional value? Scope and geographical expansion are the two most common areas. This session will address some of the questions that arise when taking the plunge into expansion including: 

• When to establish regional hubs rather than new centers to leverage local talent 
• How to do the dance with the BUs to ensure the SSO’s services align with their needs and avoid turf wars 
• What are the best areas to expand? Including Supply Chain, R&D and marketing 

Emma Ridley

Head, Global Business Solutions Central Operations
British American Tobacco

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Rob Bullen

Group Head of Global Business Services
British American Tobacco

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Another year, another promise that a technology will reinvent shared services as we know it. Is Generative AI any closer to fulfilling this promise? In this session, attendees go through a round robin of use cases their GBSO has implemented, highlighting the successes and challenges they’re seeing with the technology and why would you do arbitrage when you can automate? 

We’ll examine the impact on operating models – if there have been any, - capability and value creation, impact on FTEs, and challenges with controls organizations are currently addressing.  

AJ Wijesinghe

Senior Vice President, GBS
Ecolab

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Nick Cernese

Partner, Principal
EY

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Julie Lainesse

VP, Finance
McKesson

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We continue to see talent acquisition and upskilling for future and current digital skills continue to be the biggest challenge within the GBSOs. On the other side, while most organizations continue to focus on KPIs and traditional governance, with expanding scope, the need for customer engagement is changing. We will explore how the two sides of the brand context interact and have been successfully leveraged by organizations to make an impact on their image as an ‘Exciting place to be’ within the broader enterprise. We will look to learn from the leaders and understand how these strategies can be leveraged across other enterprises irrespective of their position on the maturity continuum. 

Steve Rudderham

Head of Global Business Services
Carrier

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Dorian Redding

GBS Solution Leader, EY Americas
EY

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Dahlia (Dolly) Rigsby

Director, Finance Shared Services
West Fraser

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