Suzanne Leopoldi-Nichols

Suzanne is an expert on Next-Gen Shared Services (NGSS) and Global Business Services (GBS).  She is a seasoned executive leader with an extensive background in transforming and optimizing GBS organizations across various industries.  With more than two decades of experience, Suzanne has established herself as a strategic visionary, driving change, innovation, and operational excellence.  Having led over 17,000 employees on six continents, Suzanne possesses a deep understanding of diverse cultural nuances and of navigating complex global operations.  Her GBS experience spans a vast array of functions, including brokerage, customer service, call centers, finance, human resources, information technology, legal, marketing, procurement, payroll, real estate, and world-class sales support.

Suzanne has held key leadership positions in renowned companies, including WPP Plc., United Parcel Service (UPS), Archer Daniels Midland Company, and American Greetings.  In these roles, she led initiatives to create world-class GBS organizations, streamline operations, and drive significant cost savings.

During her tenure as Chief GBS Officer at WPP Plc., she was tasked with building a robust GBS framework from the ground up. By implementing transformative strategies and governance frameworks, she empowered cross-functional teams to identify and achieve significant savings while driving sustainability initiatives and reducing indirect procurement spend.

Prior to her role at WPP Plc., Suzanne served as President of Global Business Services at UPS, the world's largest package delivery company.  She reengineered the GBS organization, leading to a substantial decrease in customer churn and unlocking considerable transformation run rate savings.

Before UPS, she held the position of Global Head of Shared Services at Archer Daniels Midland Company, where Suzanne led the development and implementation of strategic, operational, and tactical plans for Global Shared Services centers.  Through her leadership, the team achieved sizable Selling, General, and Administrative (SG&A) savings and fostered a culture of continuous improvement.

Suzanne is an Advisory Board member at IQPC’s Shared Services and Outsourcing Network (SSON) and is a Founding member of The GBS Board.  Suzanne and her teams won multiple awards for their work in GBS, including:

• SSON’s Top 20 Most Admired Shared Services
• IAOP inducted Suzanne into their Leadership Hall of Fame
• APA’s Prism Award for Overall Best Practices in Management, Process, and Technology