This international firm has historically been a very federated portfolio business with subsidiary companies maintaining a high degree of autonomy and independence. This independence was so great that there was little global cooperation between Group firms, even when they operated in the same industry sectors.
My client wished to overcome these communication barriers by implementing a global collaboration platform and implementing culture change across subsidiaries in EMEA, Asia Pacific and South America. I was chosen for the role of Programme Director for the 30,000-user roll-out of collaboration technologies (O365) and new ways of working in the Irish Owned plc.
The client wished to lead this transformation programme with a ‘People First’ mandate ensuring that the technology implementation drove measurable business benefit and culture change. The programme was established and managed from Amsterdam, with project teams in 20 countries, a central PMO, Business Readiness team, Technology design teams and 20 in-country local deployment teams all working in close partnership.
The successful delivery played a large role in supporting a broader joined-up cultural agenda, building online relationships and unearthing many opportunities to solve problems and create efficiencies between Group companies. This organisational development programme helped solidify the respective roles of different global leadership groups, harmonised calendars for the implementation of strategic initiatives and facilitated faster decision-making within the senior leadership team.