{"id":1482,"date":"2011-07-24T13:17:00","date_gmt":"2011-07-24T13:17:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/projects\/horsesforsources\/don-schulman-part1_072411\/"},"modified":"2025-03-13T13:15:33","modified_gmt":"2025-03-13T13:15:33","slug":"don-schulman-part1_072411","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.horsesforsources.com\/don-schulman-part1_072411\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet The Don of BPO (Part 1)"},"content":{"rendered":"
Donniel Schulman is GM for F&A and Supply Chain Global Process Services at IBM<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
One chap we’ve been trying to get on here for years is known simply as “The Don”… to anyone who knows him.<\/strong><\/p>\n There aren’t too many people who shun the media spotlight to discuss the intricacies of the ideal end-to-end expense management process. \u00a0Nor are there too many senior executives who will quantify exactly how many hours, minutes and seconds they shaved off the time it took to execute that process for a client – and demonstrate exactly how<\/em> they did it.<\/p>\n However, as IBM’s Donniel Schulman’s\u00a0reputation and influence in the BPO industry has grown in recent years, we’ve finally persuaded the chirpy New Yorker to share some of his story since IBM entered the BPO industry via its 2002\u00a0acquisition of PwC Consulting<\/a>, which included a number of large-scale F&A contracts. \u00a0Today, Don leads all the finance and accounting, procurement and supply chain managed services, combined under his leadership as an integrated unit.<\/p>\n Phil Fersht (HfS)<\/strong>: Don, I’ve described you as one of IBM\u2019s “best-kept secrets”. You\u2019re not on every podium speaking, but instead you tend to be operating behind the scenes running a lot of the F&A and procurement work at IBM. Would you please tell our readers about your background, where you came from and how you got to where you are today?<\/p>\n Don Schulman (IBM)<\/strong>: Thanks very much Phil. I\u2019m humbled by your compliment. My career began in banking and financial services, serving primarily in operations roles. After that, I had a boutique consulting firm in the working capital management space, and eventually broke into PwC where I was fortunate enough to be able to lead its financial management businesses worldwide I came to IBM via its 2002 acquisition of PwC Consulting. I actually worked for a while on IBM\u2019s own internal transformation, reporting to the Chairman\u2019s office. And then six or so years ago, after the BPO business had been formally kicked off they asked me to come in and lead this F&A and procurement business. And now I\u2019ve had the terrific opportunity twice in my career to help create a new consulting industry, first in the world of shared services and then in outsourcing.<\/p>\n Phil<\/strong>: So what is<\/em> it like being one of 400,000?<\/p>\n Don<\/strong>: Interesting question. Let me alter it a bit to what\u2019s it like working for IBM. I think there were two big changes for me in becoming an IBMer. On one hand, it\u2019s like being a kid in a candy shop, having all this accessibility, all this unbelievable stuff- technology, client base, investments. On the other hand, IBM is one of the most disciplined corporations in the world, which is nice to have as a benchmark in my back pocket for my clients. With that discipline, quarterly reporting requires a framework and a frame of mind that in private partnerships and private equity companies you just don\u2019t need to deal with, so it\u2019s been an education process for me. I\u2019m delighted that I\u2019ve been able to work through it, and I actually have a lot of respect for the process. At the same time, my group is a \u201ctip of the arrow\u201d business model. It\u2019s one of the fastest growing businesses in all of IBM, and we get a lot of investment support, both in terms of acquisitions and homegrown investments. We also have a lot of flexibility and freedom \u2013 much the same as you have in running your own business \u2013 because we\u2019re not the typical IBM technology business. So it\u2019s a nice balance.<\/p>\n Phil<\/strong>: So when you view the current state of the BPO industry today, what do you see the core differences compared to when you first became part of IBM?<\/p>\n Don<\/strong>: I think the most important difference is that BPO began with a focus on consolidation, offshoring, and labor arbitrage,, and the associated efficiencies. But now, the marketplace has really begun to appreciate that it\u2019s really about business process, effectiveness, and intent. There were different fits and starts in this space. I think there are some companies that are here for the long run and really \u201cget\u201d the big idea. And I think there are other companies that hear the rhetoric but can\u2019t get past the \u201cI just want to offshore.\u201d Analysts like you are helping to drive where the industry really needs to go, which is really about effectiveness and business outcomes, and not only about efficiency.<\/p>\n