Be inspired and gain valuable insights from leaders across the Shared Services industry, as well as some of our very own Deloitte Experts.
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Day 1
Tuesday, 6 October 2026
Registration and breakfast
Morning Lab 1: Building Your GBS: Strategic Foundations for Tomorrow's Challenges
For organisations at the beginning of their GBS journey, establishing a strong foundation is paramount. The GBS landscape is evolving rapidly with changing market demands and new technologies. This presents both immense opportunities and complex initial decisions, requiring foresight and clarity. This lab is specifically designed for GBS newcomers, offering a comprehensive guide to navigating these critical early stages. We will focus on the basics, equipping you with the essential knowledge to make informed decisions about your GBS journey. We will address the unique challenges and opportunities that arise when integrating functions into a GBS model from the outset, ensuring your GBS strategy can be tailored to maximise value.
Join us for an interactive lab that will provide you with the essential toolkit of practical frameworks, proven methodologies and critical insights to confidently set up and grow your GBS, laying a strategic foundation that not only generates value today but also is resilient and adaptable for tomorrow.
Speaker
Morning Lab 2: Elevating GBS Leadership: Influence, Innovation, Impact (AM only)
The expectations placed on GBS leaders are intensifying, demanding more than operational mastery. Success now hinges on a forward-thinking vision, an agile mindset, and the strategic acumen to transform disruption into opportunity.
This lab is designed for seasoned and aspiring GBS leaders ready to elevate their influence and drive significant enterprise value. We will move beyond traditional frameworks, discovering advanced strategies for innovation, digital integration, and sustained impact. Attendees will explore the critical capabilities needed to reshape perceptions of GBS, ensuring it is recognised as a vital value driver and leveraged as a strategic partner for broader organisational change. Crucially, the session will also highlight the paramount role of leaders in guiding ambitious transformations and ensuring effective execution, empowering GBS to not only adapt but proactively define its future.
Join Iris Yates (Finance Transformation Partner) and Bart Moen (Human Capital Partner) to redefine your leadership narrative and confidently steer your GBS organisation towards its next phase of growth and impact.
Speakers
Morning Lab 3: The Human Core of GBS: Guiding Your Teams Through GBS Transformation
GBS transformations promise efficiency and savings, but how do we successfully manage the most critical component: the people experiencing and driving the change?
This session confronts the often-uncomfortable truths of GBS transformations, diving deep into the critical human capital considerations that can truly make or break your organisation. We'll explore strategies for ensuring effective communication and engagement with all stakeholders across diverse international contexts as well as approaches for retaining critical talent. We will discuss how you can navigate consultation across multiple countries without grinding your project to a halt. We will show how you can promote a positive transition experience for employees, and keep teams motivated even as roles evolve or new structures emerge. And crucially, how do you cultivate a high-performing GBS team that genuinely understands the cultural nuances, local regulations, and diverse needs of the global entities it serves?
Join Stijn Demeestere (Deloitte Legal Partner) and Annelies Verbruggen (Deloitte Human Capital Partner) as they draw upon extensive, hands-on experience in GBS implementations across Europe. They will share real-world strategies, robust frameworks, and invaluable lessons from the front lines of large-scale transitions. This isn't about theoretical models; it's about providing actionable insights to safeguard your most valuable asset – your people.
Speakers
-
Stijn Demeestere
Partner, Head of Employment Law Team, Deloitte Belgium
-
Annelies Verbruggen
Partner, Deloitte Belgium
-
Mathilde Goethals
Senior Consultant, Deloitte Belgium
Morning Lab 4: Navigating Uncertainty: Designing a resilient GBS
Geopolitical disruption and shifting global trade tariffs have fundamentally reshaped the risk landscape for GBS. In this new reality, cost efficiency is no longer sufficient - radical resilience is the mandate. Designing a GBS model that can absorb modern shocks requires more than contingency plans; it necessitates a 'Business Continuity‑by‑Design', with risk assessment engineered into every layer of the operating model and location strategy.
Join us for this lab focused on the architecture of resilience to address the most pressing continuity challenges facing GBS and enterprise leaders today. We will explore how to move beyond static risk assessments, to identify vulnerabilities in existing footprints and incorporate geopolitical “risk-weighting” into new location studies. Together, we will navigate critical design choices - including transitioning from single-site models to regional Hub-and-Spoke structures—and discuss how to leverage automation as a buffer against capacity loss. Additionally, you’ll gain hands-on insights into managing the full lifecycle of a crisis: from immediate response and triage to rebuilding a “New Normal” that emerges stronger from disruption. You’ll walk away with the frameworks and strategic foresight to transform your GBS into a resilient engine capable of delivering value, no matter the global climate.
Speakers
Morning Lab 5: The Power of GBS, ERP, and AI: Maximising Enterprise Synergies
In today's rapidly evolving business landscape, organisations are increasingly turning to GBS and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) to optimise operations and gain a strategic edge. This lab will explore how the strategic alignment and powerful intersection of GBS and ERP systems, further amplified by intelligent technologies like AI, can unlock significant enterprise value and foster a more agile, efficient, and resilient organisation.
The session will delve into the compelling case for change, highlighting how GBS organisations can serve as powerful enablers of successful, business-led ERP transformation journeys. We will examine the critical importance of aligning GBS operating model projects with ERP implementation to drive efficiency, scalability, and tangible value realisation, demonstrating how AI can optimise and further amplify this value across the enterprise.
Attendees will gain invaluable insights into how a balanced approach to transformation and organisational centralisation can optimise both risk and reward. We will showcase how the combined power of GBS, ERP, and AI delivers measurable impact, supported by real-life examples that illustrate practical application and significant results.
Expect to take away actionable strategies to help you navigate complex ERP transformation journeys, strengthen GBS's pivotal role in your organisation, and leverage integrated GBS, ERP, and AI efforts to achieve long-term success and competitive differentiation.
Speakers
Morning Lab 6: Multidimensional workforces: Outsourcing for strategic advantage
With the demand to deliver more with less in today’s rapidly changing business environment, organisations may be rethinking their sourcing strategies. Moving past traditional outsourcing, they are embracing multidimensional workforce models that help to orchestrate intelligent operations - combining human judgment, digital capabilities, and innovative ways of working to drive transformation beyond cost efficiency.
Step into the future of GBS sourcing strategy in this practical lab session. Deloitte leaders deep-dive into how to build a multidimensional workforce to position your organisation for strategic advantage. The interactive session explores the different opportunities and challenges of blending the strengths of in-house Global Capability Centres (GCC) and Operate services with disruptive AI and Agentic technologies across your core business functions.
This popular session isn’t just a discussion. Collaborate with and hear from peers, map out strategies tailored to your organisation’s distinct needs, and explore real-life scenarios that demonstrate how to:
- Create globally consistent service standards and operations: Can your in-house GCC consistently deliver scalable high quality service globally?
- Navigate rapid technological evolution: Does rapid technological disruption make maintaining cutting-edge in-house capabilities a strategic challenge or risk for your GCC?
- Address talent gaps strategically: Do you face a scarcity of talent or require vast, continuous upskilling within your in-house teams, making external support a more strategically viable path?
Speaker
-
Chinmay Nair
Head of GBS Advisory and Finance Operate, Deloitte Switzerland
-
Sergi Lemus
Partner, Deloitte Spain
Afternoon Lab 1: Building Your GBS: Strategic Foundations for Tomorrow's Challenges
For organisations at the beginning of their GBS journey, establishing a strong foundation is paramount. The GBS landscape is evolving rapidly with changing market demands and new technologies. This presents both immense opportunities and complex initial decisions, requiring foresight and clarity. This lab is specifically designed for GBS newcomers, offering a comprehensive guide to navigating these critical early stages. We will focus on the basics, equipping you with the essential knowledge to make informed decisions about your GBS journey. We will address the unique challenges and opportunities that arise when integrating functions into a GBS model from the outset, ensuring your GBS strategy can be tailored to maximise value.
Join us for an interactive lab that will provide you with the essential toolkit of practical frameworks, proven methodologies and critical insights to confidently set up and grow your GBS, laying a strategic foundation that not only generates value today but also is resilient and adaptable for tomorrow.
Speaker
Afternoon Lab 3: The Human Core of GBS: Guiding Your Teams Through GBS Transformation
GBS transformations promise efficiency and savings, but how do we successfully manage the most critical component: the people experiencing and driving the change?
This session confronts the often-uncomfortable truths of GBS transformations, diving deep into the critical human capital considerations that can truly make or break your organisation. We'll explore strategies for ensuring effective communication and engagement with all stakeholders across diverse international contexts as well as approaches for retaining critical talent. We will discuss how you can navigate consultation across multiple countries without grinding your project to a halt. We will show how you can promote a positive transition experience for employees, and keep teams motivated even as roles evolve or new structures emerge. And crucially, how do you cultivate a high-performing GBS team that genuinely understands the cultural nuances, local regulations, and diverse needs of the global entities it serves?
Join Stijn Demeestere (Deloitte Legal Partner) and Annelies Verbruggen (Deloitte Human Capital Partner) as they draw upon extensive, hands-on experience in GBS implementations across Europe. They will share real-world strategies, robust frameworks, and invaluable lessons from the front lines of large-scale transitions. This isn't about theoretical models; it's about providing actionable insights to safeguard your most valuable asset – your people.
Speakers
-
Stijn Demeestere
Partner, Head of Employment Law Team, Deloitte Belgium
-
Annelies Verbruggen
Partner, Deloitte Belgium
-
Mathilde Goethals
Senior Consultant, Deloitte Belgium
Afternoon Lab 4: Navigating Uncertainty: Designing a resilient GBS
Geopolitical disruption and shifting global trade tariffs have fundamentally reshaped the risk landscape for GBS. In this new reality, cost efficiency is no longer sufficient - radical resilience is the mandate. Designing a GBS model that can absorb modern shocks requires more than contingency plans; it necessitates a 'Business Continuity‑by‑Design', with risk assessment engineered into every layer of the operating model and location strategy.
Join us for this lab focused on the architecture of resilience to address the most pressing continuity challenges facing GBS and enterprise leaders today. We will explore how to move beyond static risk assessments, to identify vulnerabilities in existing footprints and incorporate geopolitical “risk-weighting” into new location studies. Together, we will navigate critical design choices - including transitioning from single-site models to regional Hub-and-Spoke structures—and discuss how to leverage automation as a buffer against capacity loss. Additionally, you’ll gain hands-on insights into managing the full lifecycle of a crisis: from immediate response and triage to rebuilding a “New Normal” that emerges stronger from disruption. You’ll walk away with the frameworks and strategic foresight to transform your GBS into a resilient engine capable of delivering value, no matter the global climate.
Speakers
Afternoon Lab 5: The Power of GBS, ERP, and AI: Maximising Enterprise Synergies
In today's rapidly evolving business landscape, organisations are increasingly turning to GBS and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) to optimise operations and gain a strategic edge. This lab will explore how the strategic alignment and powerful intersection of GBS and ERP systems, further amplified by intelligent technologies like AI, can unlock significant enterprise value and foster a more agile, efficient, and resilient organisation.
The session will delve into the compelling case for change, highlighting how GBS organisations can serve as powerful enablers of successful, business-led ERP transformation journeys. We will examine the critical importance of aligning GBS operating model projects with ERP implementation to drive efficiency, scalability, and tangible value realisation, demonstrating how AI can optimise and further amplify this value across the enterprise.
Attendees will gain invaluable insights into how a balanced approach to transformation and organisational centralisation can optimise both risk and reward. We will showcase how the combined power of GBS, ERP, and AI delivers measurable impact, supported by real-life examples that illustrate practical application and significant results.
Expect to take away actionable strategies to help you navigate complex ERP transformation journeys, strengthen GBS's pivotal role in your organisation, and leverage integrated GBS, ERP, and AI efforts to achieve long-term success and competitive differentiation.
Speakers
-
Nakul Retdhania
Associate Director, Deloitte UK
-
Pooja Bhosale
Associate Director, Deloitte UK
Afternoon Lab 6: Multidimensional workforces: Outsourcing for strategic advantage
With the demand to deliver more with less in today’s rapidly changing business environment, organisations may be rethinking their sourcing strategies. Moving past traditional outsourcing, they are embracing multidimensional workforce models that help to orchestrate intelligent operations - combining human judgment, digital capabilities, and innovative ways of working to drive transformation beyond cost efficiency.
Step into the future of GBS sourcing strategy in this practical lab session. Deloitte leaders deep-dive into how to build a multidimensional workforce to position your organisation for strategic advantage. The interactive session explores the different opportunities and challenges of blending the strengths of in-house Global Capability Centres (GCC) and Operate services with disruptive AI and Agentic technologies across your core business functions.
This popular session isn’t just a discussion. Collaborate with and hear from peers, map out strategies tailored to your organisation’s distinct needs, and explore real-life scenarios that demonstrate how to:
- Create globally consistent service standards and operations: Can your in-house GCC consistently deliver scalable high quality service globally?
- Navigate rapid technological evolution: Does rapid technological disruption make maintaining cutting-edge in-house capabilities a strategic challenge or risk for your GCC?
- Address talent gaps strategically: Do you face a scarcity of talent or require vast, continuous upskilling within your in-house teams, making external support a more strategically viable path?
Speaker
-
Chinmay Nair
Head of GBS Advisory and Finance Operate, Deloitte Switzerland
-
Sergi Lemus
Partner, Deloitte Spain
Day 2
Wednesday, 7 October 2026
08:15 - 08:40 - Coffee and breakfast
10:30 - 11:10 - Break
11:10 - 11:40 Eamon Boland & Bilal Samad, Novartis
From Shared Services to a Value-Engine Network
Novartis’ shared services journey has been a decade-long shift from footprint optimisation to building an enterprise capability network - and we’re still evolving. We’ll explore what changed in governance, capabilities, and workforce strategy as expectations moved from “efficient delivery” to “outcomes, innovation and talent at scale.” We’ll also be candid about what didn’t work - missteps, change fatigue and the realities of transformation pace - and how we course-corrected.
Finally, we look ahead to the next chapter: how AI is reshaping operating models, roles and skills, and what it takes to bridge the transformation gap between ambition and execution."
Speakers
11:10 - 11:40 Michele Gellatly, Scania Group
HR at the Forefront: How Scania P&C (HR) is Spearheading it’s Global GBS Transformation
In today’s evolving GBS landscape, leadership agility and innovative approaches are critical to driving successful transformation. Join Michele Gellatly, who is leading Scania’s global HR GBS transformation from Australia - thousands of miles away from the company’s Swedish headquarters - demonstrating how effective leadership transcends geography. Scania, a traditionally decentralised automotive manufacturer, chose HR to pioneer its GBS transformation journey. Michele’s team rapidly established and scaled Scania’s first inhouse GBS delivery hubs, servicing over 60,000 employees worldwide. This session will explore how Scania achieved their targets through a transition strategy based on frequent incremental releases of HR services, an approach that enabled quick wins and sustainable growth. Michele will share insights on the unique challenges and opportunities of leading a large-scale SSC transformation remotely. Discover how distance from HQ has posed challenges, but also helped Michele create speed and momentum. If you are involved in GBS transformation or leadership, this session offers valuable lessons on driving change, scaling delivery models and redefining leadership in a global, distributed environment.
Speaker
11:10 - 11:40 Dr. Lars Najda, Schaeffler
Challenge accepted: How Schaeffler turns AI ambition into action
As Artificial Intelligence transitions from isolated experiments to enterprise-wide adoption, organisations face the critical challenge of scaling its impact across all functions. Join Dr. Lars Najda, Head of GBS at Schaeffler as he unveils their groundbreaking “Admin AI Factory”, a cross-functional engine designed to industrialise AI at scale, not as a standalone initiative, but as an integrated value driver spanning Finance, HR, Logistics, Sales and IT.
Discover how Schaeffler is forging a single operating model, bringing business and IT together through unified governance, robust portfolio management and a standardised technology platform. With over 80 use cases already in delivery or pipeline, the focus extends beyond innovation to proving tangible value and significant cost efficiency.
This session will also delve into the less visible, yet crucial, aspect of this transformation: preparing and reshaping the workforce. Explore how Schaeffler is redefining job profiles, managing change, addressing talent concerns, and seamlessly integrating AI into daily operations, with early impact assessments already guiding workforce evolution and SG&A efficiency. Discover how these efforts, combined with sophisticated governance mechanisms such as an AI control tower ensuring human oversight and responsible adoption, are building a future-proof organisation through integration and synergy, positioning Schaeffler's GBS transformation as a catalyst for enterprise growth and innovation.
Speaker
-
Dr. Lars Nadja
Head of GBS, Schaeffler
12:30 - 13:40 - Lunch
13:40 - 14:10 Robert Hankey & Andreas Hey, Deloitte
Reimagining the GBS Operating Model with AI - A Value Engineering Perspective
As AI and digital technologies reshape the business landscape, GBS leaders face not only new opportunities, but also the challenge of closing the gap between transformation ambition and tangible results. This interactive session explores how GBS can move beyond vision to execution – becoming a true catalyst for enterprise-wide value.
We will examine how traditional GBS principles – right-sizing, right-shoring, and operational efficiency – remain essential, but are being redefined by digital-first approaches. The discussion will focus on practical strategies for bridging the transformation gap, highlighting the importance of aligning capacity, capability, and capital, and considering a spectrum of transformation models.
Participants will gain actionable insights into how structured assessment and intentional action can help overcome barriers, accelerate outcomes, and ensure GBS remains central to the organisation’s future success. The session will feature real-world examples, peer benchmarks, and interactive polling to stimulate debate and share perspectives.
Speakers
14:30 - 15:00 Panel Discussion
For years, GBS organisations have focused on scale, control and operational excellence. Today, many organisations are exploring a broader role for GBS in enabling enterprise transformation, digital innovation and AI adoption. Yet the reality across organisations is far from consistent.
In many cases, the mandate to drive transformation remains unclear, capability maturity varies significantly, and traditional operating models may not be evolving fast enough. This panel will examine whether GBS is truly positioned to lead transformation and what mindset, talent and leadership shifts are required to make that possible.
15:00 - 15:30 Ahmed Ismail, Sanofi
From Support Function to Business Catalyst: Sanofi's GBS Transformation
Transforming a GBS organisation into a strategic business catalyst involves more than just process redesign; it requires a core shift in identity, culture and purpose. Join Ahmed Ismail, Head of Europe Hubs at Sanofi, as he shares how one of pharma's fastest-growing GBS operations evolved from a traditional support role (back-office) into a high-impact global partner, driving enterprise transformation and supporting the company's mission to deliver cures to patients worldwide.
Over the past three years, Sanofi has significantly invested in helping every GBS team member understand the purpose of their work and its direct impact on patient outcomes. The focus has shifted from transactional tasks, KPIs and ticket closure to becoming a strategic business enabler and growth driver. This large-scale cultural shift has positioned GBS as a leader rather than a follower. Ahmed will highlight tangible successes: onboarding 1,010 colleagues in a single year at Budapest Hub, including highly complex and specialised roles; expanding one of the organisation’s fastest-growing talent platforms through employee referrals (29%, far above market average); and attracting over 22,000 applications through employer branding efforts. These achievements result from employees becoming ambassadors when they grasp the business’s importance, the organisation's scope, and their role within it.
Learn how Sanofi aligned its global GBS strategy with local implementation: by transforming organisational culture on a large scale, competing for top-tier talent in challenging markets, and evolving shared services into a key driver of business growth. Gain practical frameworks and valuable lessons for organisations undergoing similar transformations.
Speaker
15:40 - 16:20 - Break
16:20 - 17:05 Air-Commodore Marijke van der Krogt, Royal Netherlands Air Force
Shared Services, Shared Problems, Shared Solutions: The Smart Approach of the HR SSC for the Dutch Armed Forces regarding Existing IT
In a world where digital transformation shapes the future of society and ever-increasing digital demands present new challenges, many organisations struggle with the task of modernising both front line and back-office services on existing IT platforms. Join Air-Commodore Marijke van der Krogt, Commander of the Division of Human Resources, at the Netherlands Ministry of Defence, as she shares her division's inspiring and transformative journey - navigating the gap between contemporary expectations and technological capabilities, whilst creating positive societal impact through innovative service delivery and a commitment to excellence. She will reveal how her team is pioneering clever workarounds and personalised experiences, strengthening and upscaling their shared service function, and evolving from traditional back-office roles to become trusted advisors with real vision. Discover practical strategies for driving significant and lasting change, fostering a culture of continuous improvement, and redefining your organisation’s value to communities, even without large investments in AI or state-of-the-art technology stacks. This session offers a vital perspective for organisations seeking to achieve impactful change despite resource and technological constraints.
Speaker
17:35 - 17:45 Close
As Day 2 of the Shared Services conference draws to a close, join us for a final session to recap the key themes and insights discussed.