A Letter From #SSOW's Event Director, Cathy Gu

Dear Readers And #SSOW Community,

What a fantastic week we have shared together in Estoril this past May! A huge thank you for being a part of SSOW Europe, the No. 1 event for Europe’s shared services, GBS and sourcing leaders.

Prior to the event, there have been huge expectations for something different this year, following the very successful in-person return and the high energy. Now that the dust has settled, I’m pleased to say that we have more than delivered on that promise! From world-class GBS Leaders to legendary sports icons, the caliber of the speakers and attendees has been phenomenal! Once again, we have also witnessed the incredible energy, passion and solidarity of the community throughout the week in the auditorium hall, on the exhibition floor and during the networking activities! Not to mention the glamorous Awards Gala that brought us all together to another level.

We are so grateful for the amount of support we have received from our speakers, sponsors, advisory board members and awards judges and everybody else that was in attendance. Not only has the event proven to be the best opportunity for the community to come together again, but it has also been a true platform where new ideas were explored, new concepts debated, new insights drawn, and new relationships formed.

The key theme of “Reposition GBS” have resonated massively with the community and the audience in attendance. We have heard great examples from true pioneers from Unilever, Bayer, Allianz, Tesco etc on not only the why but also the HOW for them to drive that proposition within their organisations. In addition, it is the first time that “people and talent” have been the heart of the discussions and here are just a few examples:

• Matt Kearney from EY shared a brilliant keynote on the key hypothesis of “Human at Heart”, exploring the key drivers and roles of GBS Leaders
• Jay Desai from JTI, Jackie Crockford from AstraZeneca, Richard Williams from Mars and Anil Yadav from Philips debated on the Purpose vs Purpose hosted by Maria Saggese from EY
• Alexander Jochinger from Engie, Phil Priest from IFF, Rob Bullen and Ravi Rao from Sysco discussed the true progressive GBS Leadership focusing on Cutting vs Building moderated by Diederick Badon Ghijben from Celonis
• Ana Cambra from Nestlé, Carlos Guimaraes from adidas and Leigh Nicholson from Takeda Business Solution shared a practical and high-energy session on how to overcome talent challenges

We can see a great shift for GBS to be truly human-centric and from there provide greater value back to the organisation. We heard and saw so many visionary keynotes and practical case studies on how to get that right throughout the week.

There have been so many fantastic takeaways and incredible moments to reminisce on. However, more than anything, we are more than ever energised and determined to focus on the future and bring forward even more meaningful programmes and inspirational sessions.

For those of you that missed out on this event, I look forward to seeing you at the next event in May 2024.

Best wishes,

Cathy Gu | SSON Event Director, Europe 
Shared Services & Outsourcing Week Europe