WellPoint’s governator, Tony Filippone, joins HfS as Research Vice President

Tony "The Governator" Filippone joins HfS' research leadership (click for bio)

Fed up leading BPO initiatives for a $60 billion healthcare insurance firm for the last nine years of your life?

Bored with developing new governance structures that cater for multiple back-office processes and managing an assortment of onshore/offshore providers?

Exasperated from pouring though reams of SLAs and pricing schedules?

Stultified by the incessant deluge of PowerPoint from providers and advisors regurgitating and repackaging that same old dog n’ pony show in the vein hope you’ll spare them a few dimes for their efforts?

Finally realized it’s high-time to climb those steps into your very own ivory tower and start telling everyone else how it’s done (or not done)?

Ladies, gentlemen and members of the outsourcing business… please welcome Mr Anthony M. Filippone to the hallowed ground of HfS analyst, industry thought-leader, and, most notably, the role of Governator-Extraordinaire.

I have got to know Tony well over the least four years where he has contributed to our thinking, added some real value to our buyers’ groups, and developed an industry-wide reputation for challenging the status quo of vendor management and governance.  Not only is he an out-of-the-box thinker, but he is a prolific writer with a slightly snarky sense of humor, and a great sense of irony. And from mail-and-print through to strategic sourcing and revenue cycle, you won’t meet many people with such a deep, working knowledge and understand of those operational processes that make business tick.

While you can read his bio here, and view the lovely press release here, I’ll hand you straight over to our brand-spanking-new, feisty, no-holds-barred, Research Vice President for Governance, Sourcing and Healthcare strategies himself to tell you why he’s joining the ranks of the crazy-horses…

Why Tony joined HfS Research and what he intends to do here (in his own words)

I am absolutely thrilled to join the experienced, no-nonsense, fun-loving HfS Research team.  I’ve formed and led outsourcing and strategic sourcing teams for the last nine years, but the time has come for me to help more organizations make great outsourcing decisions and optimize their outsourcing programs to achieve success.  Here is what my aggressive research agenda will bring you:

The “Other 90%” – No organization has truly focused on what happens after the deal is done and the work has transitioned.  The vast majority of the discussion in the outsourcing industry focuses on outsourcing solutions, service provider selection, and post-deal transition.  I offer two examples:

1. The IAOP offers a certification program for outsourcing professionals and less than 40 pages of the 353 pages of their body of knowledge covers post-transition governance for buyers and service providers.
2. Brown and Wilson’s “landmark” 366-page “The Black Book of Outsourcing” has four pages focused on governance and vendor management.

Putting this gap in research and industry focus into perspective, no organization has offered expert, research-based assistance on how to handle the last 54 months of your 60-month contract.  My primary role at HfS Research will be to help buyers and service providers learn how to succeed together in managing simple and complex outsourcing programs.

Deep Buy-side Experience – Advisors have extensive experience shaping deals and service providers have extensive process experience.  However, HfS Research’s objective, no-BS coverage of the industry, HfS’s relationship with the Sourcing Interests Group (SIG), and the oversubscribed HfS 25 give HfS a unique position to advance the experienced buyer’s perspectives within the outsourcing industry.  Since I have lived in the buy-side trenches for the last nine years in governance and procurement roles, my real-world experience will be invaluable to HfS’s community.

Broad BPO Experience – While ITO remains an important part of any organization’s strategy, BPO goes far beyond FAO and HRO and into the hardcore operations of a company.  I’ve led large outsourcing initiatives focused on inbound customer service and sales centers, complex back-office transaction processing, inbound mailroom/imaging/data entry, outbound mailroom, and HRO. I will play a critical role at HfS’s development of research in more horizontal BPO categories for buyers and service providers who seek to learn key industry trends.

Healthcare Industry Experience – No American industry is undergoing more change than the healthcare industry due to regulatory changes, the need to provide more cost effective healthcare, and the need to improved health in our communities.  Changes in the payor and provider industries will necessitate increased use of outsourcing to lower costs, obtain improve process efficiencies, and improve health outcomes.  I will lead HfF’s coverage of the healthcare outsourcing industry.

Tony Filippone (pictured above) has joined HfS Research’s leadership team as Research Vice President, Governance, Sourcing and Healthcare Strategies.  He can be emailed at tony dot filippone @ hfsresearch.com, or tweeted @360VendorMgmt

Posted in : Business Process Outsourcing (BPO), Captives and Shared Services Strategies, Finance and Accounting, Financial Services Sourcing Strategies, Healthcare and Outsourcing, HR Outsourcing, Outsourcing Heros, Procurement and Supply Chain, Social Networking, Sourcing Best Practises