The first-ever ASPIRE Conference took place in 2013. The team at Verita HR remembers the event, because we were there. This year’s event was a little different though. It was the first ASPIRE conference since the Boomtown event in 2019. The topics were as strong as always. But did the ASPIRE Leaders’ Summit go beyond the bubble?
Andrew Hallam, General Secretary of ASPIRE, opened the Summit with a pre-event called the ASPIRE Leaders’ Gala, which took place the evening before the main event. During the Gala Andrew showed a timeline of all the ASPIRE events since 2013.
Following Andrew’s welcome speech, guests were given an overview of the ASPIRE Process Tracker for 2024. One of the areas highlighted was the difficulty in maintaining a sales and marketing function in a global business centre (GBS). There was plenty of discussion with the audience about the rest of the tracker.
The ASPIRE Leaders’ Summit at Dwor w Tomaszowicach
It was a bright sunny morning in October – almost warm. By 9 a.m., delegates and speakers, sponsors and partners were arriving en masse to take part in the Summit. The Mayor of Krakow himself, Aleksander Miszalski, attended to meet and greet as the World Stage started to fill up with people.
We were fortunate to have a great communications team to support the event. There was (from right to left) Klaudia Archimowicz, Head of Growth at Verita HR, Zuzanna Gorna, Junior Product Manager at Verita HR, Marcelina Polak, Marketing Specialist at MOTIFE, Wojciech Kubica, Marketing Manager at Sterling Outsourcing and Magda Bojda, Internal Communications Specialist at AMS. The Comms team supported the individual MCs who ran the four stages at the Summit. On the left is Andrew Samu, Commercial Director at Verita HR, who supported the World Stage at the Summit.
The World Stage was the largest stage at the Summit, with three other stages: The People Pavilion, the Future Forum, and Cutting Edge. Most delegates started their day listening to Rakesh Sangani of Proservartner. Rakesh explained that GBS is far from done, describing how global trends support this industry sector and how artificial intelligence is affecting jobs within it.
Michal Targiel, PwC Partner and Leader of Intelligent Business Process Automation, continued on artificial intelligence topics on the Cutting Edge stage.
There were more than 80 speakers at the Summit and more than 400 delegates. By the afternoon, as each stage became busier, the speakers drew in exceptional interest.
Some of The Speakers at the ASPIRE Leaders’ Summit
Philippe De Brouwer, Head of Model Risk at HSBC
Tomasz Horacek, Head of Global Service Centres at IG Group
Peter Mitchell, Global People Services Transformation Lead at STMicroelectronics
Bartosz Brak, COO & Head of Transformation for Europe Operations at HSBC
Eoin McCoy, Chief Transformation Officer at OANDA
Magda Rabiej, Engineering Director and Site lead at Google
John Lyons, Head of Krakow Centre at AON
Slawek Kumka, Managing Director of IBM Software Labs in Poland
Hanna Piwowarczyk, EMEA FSS Centre Head at Abbvie
Roland Walters, FP&A Director at IAG GBS
Gagan Sabharwal, Head of Global Finance Centre – Krakow at HSBC
Timothy O’Brien, Managing Director at Brown Brothers Harriman
Dorota Franczukowska, ESG Senior Manager at PwC
Aleksandra Stelmach-Grzyszka, Partner at PwC
Ewelina Kus, Senior Manager at PwC
Dariusz Pastula, HR Director at AON
Eoghan O’Dwyer, Senior Managing Director at HedgeServ
Sylwester Wisniewski, GBS Site Leader at Qurate Retail Group
Magdalena Weiner, Director, HR Hub Europe at American Express Global
Agnieszka Malinowska, Site Leader at Ecolab Services Poland
Gerard Vries, Director, Global Shared Services at HEINEKEN
Przemysław Zakrzewski, Head of Corporate Technology Centre at ABB
Tomasz Krzyżak, VP of Software Engineering/Site Leader at Zendesk
Ewelina Usarek-Nowak, Head of Digital & Data at Jacobs
Perhaps the most engaging speaker at the event, Steve Suarez, founder of HorizonX Consulting and ex-Head of Innovation, Global Functions at HSBC wrapped up the talks. Joined by Slawek Kumka of IBM, the two shared insights into why quantum computing is an essential consideration for business leaders today. Slawek went a step further, explaining how his team has been supporting Krakow students in learning quantum computing. While Steve Suarez was among those who helped establish HSBC in Krakow years ago, Slawek is now playing a key role in sustaining the success of the Krakow ecosystem.
For followers interested in quantum computing, there’s a special interview from earlier in 2024 that may be of interest.
The Next Steps for Krakow
The ASPIRE annual conference has been absent from Verita HR’s annual calendar over the past few years. Many of our clients, partners and friends attend. It offers a great chance to keep abreast of trends. It is also a great chance to see what the next challenges for the industry might be.
Krakow remains one of the most important places for companies to locate their global business service centres. It has always faced competition. But, like all good ecosystems, instead of standing in the face of change, ASPIRE embraces it.
Does your recruitment partner work with the key stakeholders in your industry sector? Do you want to talk to the specialists at Verita HR to find out more?
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Content at Verita HR News is brought to you in collaboration with the editorial team at Magazyn Rekruter. Magazyn Rekruter, a brand within Verita HR Group in Poland, is the longest standing recruitment and human resources industry magazine in Central Eastern Europe. The first issue was published in March 2010. Find out more at: Portal Branży HR i Biznesu (magazynrekruter.pl)
See Also:
Why Verita HR joined the ASPIRE ecosystem in Krakow – Verita HR
Why you should attend the UNCHAIN Fintech Festival in Oradea this June – Verita HR
The 12th Annual CEE Business Services Summit & Awards – Verita HR
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