MEET OUR JURY

The Jury

An independent jury board reviews each entry. The board includes international industry experts. The judges score all entries against a set of key criteria as appropriate: financial results or benefits for the client / employee / community/

Managing Director, ABSL DACH

Tom Bangemann

Tom Olavi Bangemann is an experienced manager, coach, mentor and board member with proven content and managerial track record. Currently he is an independent advisor in his role as the owner and Managing Director of ConAxia. He is also Head of Data Development & Research as well as Advisory Board member for SSON Analytics, Advisor to DCG Global, and Board member of Welspun Transformation Services.

Tom is also the founder of several GBS communities, e.g. Hungarian Shared Service Community and Baltic Shared Service Community. He supported and advised several ABSL chapters and the UK Shared Service Forum.

Tom has extensive coaching and mentoring experience over the past 10+ years, including mentoring the CHRO of a 1bn revenue listed consumer goods company. He has been on the Board of Directors for 2 years in Basware, a listed software company. Previously Tom was Senior Vice President Business Transformation at The Hackett Group until end of June 2021. He had been with The Hackett Group for 19 years in various regional and practice leadership roles. Before that Tom was with Arthur Andersen in auditing and consulting.

Tom is a recognized speaker on hundreds of conferences/events on 4 continents, Chairman of numerous events e.g. in UK, Germany, Hungary, UAE, China, as well as author of the Hackett Institute’s Advanced Diploma in GBS Professionals Program, and the book „Shared Services in Finance and Accounting“.

Principal, Fingar Direct Investment

Courtney Fingar

Courtney Fingar is a leading expert on foreign direct investment (FDI) and a business editor with more than 20 years of media experience. She has covered business stories in all major regions of the world and has been on assignment to more than 80 countries, interviewing government and business leaders.

She has appeared on television and radio in dozens of countries as a commentator and has twice been called to give evidence to the UK Parliament about inward investment.

Among her ongoing media work, she writes a column for Forbes on FDI and is contributing editor for Real Asset Media.

An in-demand moderator, master of ceremonies and keynote speaker, Ms Fingar has participated in hundreds of business events globally and advises event organisers on content and strategy.

In 2023, she set up Fingar Direct Investment, a boutique consultancy advising governments on investment promotion, location marketing and content creation and private-sector clients on strategic communications. She also serves as senior advisor for the World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies, and is a member of the advisory board of the Global Chamber.

She previously served as the editor-in-chief of Investment Monitor, a digital publication focused on cross-border investment, and before that spent 15 years with the Financial Times where she ran the group’s specialist FDI publication.

Ms Fingar has a BA in journalism from the University of Alabama in the United States and an MSc in International and European Politics from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland.

CEO and Co-founder, Inixia

Tony Saldanha

Tony Saldanha is a global industry founder within Global Business Services (GBS) and Digital Technology. He ran Procter & Gamble’s famed multi-billion-dollar GBS and IT operations in every region across the world during a 27-year career there. 

Tony led the development of major trends in both GBS and IT, including offshoring, outsourcing, disruptive IT innovation, and many others. He has over three decades of international business expertise in the US, Europe, and Asia. Tony advises about 20 of the Fortune 100 organizations on digital strategy at the board or CXO levels.

Tony is also CEO and co-founder of Inixia, the global standards and certification body for the Shared Services industry. Tony is currently President of Transformant, a consulting organization on digital and shared services strategy. He is also a founder of two blockchain and AI companies, and an adviser to venture capital companies.

He was named on Computerworld’s Premier 100 IT Professionals list in 2013. His book titled Why Digital Transformations Fail was released globally in July 2019 and ranked #1 on Amazon’s New Releases for Organizational Change, listed on publisher Berrett-Koehler’s best-sellers for July 2019, and recommended by various publishing forums like CEO-Reads, Book-Pal, CEO Library, and others. Forbes contributor Michelle Greenwald called it the “best business book ever that you’re yet to read”. Tony’s second book called Revolutionizing Business Operations is co-authored with Filippo Passerini. It will be released in September 2023.

Founding Leader, ABSL

Monika Slomska

Monika Slomska is a seasoned executive with a wealth of experience spanning more than two decades. Her impressive track record of leadership extends across CEE, Europe, and globally, making her an invaluable asset to any organization.

Monika is a Partner at ERA Group, a consulting firm that specializes in cost optimization and supplier management. She is also the Founder and Managing Director of Knowledge Pyramid, a management consultancy that helps businesses with transformative change initiatives.

With +25 years of corporate experience in various sectors, including global business process outsourcing and shared services, Monika provides strategic advice to companies on transformational initiatives and organizational restructuring. Her guidance helps businesses streamline their operations, optimize their expenses, and take advantage of growth opportunities.

Monika is a thought leader who has played a vital role in shaping the business services sector and promoting international cooperation. She is a Founding Leader of ABSL in Brussels and has served as a Board Member of ABSL Hungary. Previously, she held the position of President for two years.

In addition to her consultancy work, Monika also serves as a mentor to leaders and C-level executives.