CREDIT MANAGEMENT
"In my capacity as Shell Credit Manager Europe, where the scope of the role includes approx 400 staff ; Annual sales proceeds of $100 bln + ; and Trade debt of $5 bln+, I have been working with Debbie, as a consultant and Programme Manager, on this project for the last two years.
During this time the main scope of Debbie’s work has been to programme manage the global off-shoring of certain credit activities to a variety of central locations across the globe, which has been, and continues to be, a major business change programme for Shell. The size of the off-shoring is significant, with approx 60% of all FTEs being off-shored over a 3 year period, covering 4 main regions (North America, Latin America, East and Europe) along with some global credit activities from centralised teamsIn her programme management role, there are a number activities, the main ones being :-
- Very significant amount of stakeholder engagement across a wide variety of stakeholders, many of whom “come to the table” with differing views.
- The need to fully understand how the credit activities “fit” within the overall Order To Cash activities. So when interacting with people involved in the OtC activities, from both within and outside of credit, she is able to clearly articulate the full picture in a way that is seen to be authoritative.
- Create a plan and monitoring process, so any issues around delivery within agreed timelines are quickly understood and addressed.
- When elements of the project are not operating in line with the known objectives, confront such issues in a way that brings the various parties together in the most constructive environment possible.
Debbie has demonstrated consistently over this period that she is a very experienced, professional programme manager and consultant. Her engagement skills are superb and, because of her thorough understanding of the more detailed aspects of the project e.g. roles and responsibilities of certain activities, she is able to influence all stakeholders very readily, creating great clarity.
She has a pragmatic approach, which is invaluable when project managing such a complex initiative – a good example being on the project monitoring tools she has put in place, all of which are easy to follow, 100% accurate, and thus create confidence and a transparency which is easy to understand and discuss.Most important of all, at times of stress (those moments in any project when deadlines are proving somewhat difficult to deliver), Debbie is someone who is always available and, with a smile, prepared to create an environment in which stakeholders can address the issues and find the most appropriate response(s). If necessary, she will also push the issues, where she sees a lack of ownership or engagement.One of her most important skills, is people management, where she takes the time to understand what makes her internal stakeholders “tick”, and develops the relationship to ensure maximum trust and co-operation.The global offshoring programme is within deadline and cost, and without her leadership we probably would not have delivered in the way we have.Ever reliable, it has been a delight to work with Debbie on the project"
Vernon Hoadley
European Regional Credit Manager
"It's been a pleasure working with Debbie. She is a results, delivery driven person. She is a very skilled credit professional, and she lead several projects for Shell amongst; migration of activitities, SAP FSCM deployment, globalization of aviation credit. She is very powerful in change management and has strong engagement skills"
Gerbrand Steensma
CFO/Finance Director
"Having known and worked with Debbie over a number of years, I have no hesitation in endorsing her credit Management knowledge, her work ethic and her total professionalism not to mention her project management expertise. I have always found Debbie to be a dedicated and highly knowledgeable individual but also someone who whilst being fair, also works hard to get the best results and get the best performance from her extended team. Working primarily on a virtual platform is particularly challenging, however Debbie makes it look easy – which it isn’t!"
Wendy Baxter
Head of Collections