Scaling a Global Giant: IPO Carve-Out to €9B M&A Integration

Client: Adevinta (Online Marketplaces) 

Scope: 20+ Countries | 7,000+ Employees | Workday, SmartRecruiters, Docebo 

Key Achievements: 2024 Workday Rockstar Award & EMEA Rising Runner-Up

The Challenge: Building the Plane While Flying

The project began as an IPO carve-out, requiring the rapid stand-up of a new global organization. The complexity escalated instantly with the €9 billion acquisition of eBay Classifieds Group, the largest deal in online marketplace history.

The mandate was twofold:

1. Carve out data and processes into a new global Workday instance under strict Transitional Service Agreements (TSAs).

2. Scale and optimize the platform to support a massive, diverse global workforce while maintaining speed to market.

The Strategy: Innovation at Scale

I led the global programme team to move beyond basic ERP deployment, focusing on a "best-of-breed" ecosystem and high-end automation.

1. The Global Ecosystem Architecture

We didn't just deploy Workday; we built a seamless talent and learning engine.

• Talent Acquisition: Integrated SmartRecruiters as the global ATS.

• Continuous Learning: Deployed Docebo as the global LXP to drive a culture of development.

• Operational Support: Established a global AMS (Application Managed Services)team to move from project delivery to continuous optimization.

2. The M&A Playbook

Managing constant M&A activity required a standardized, repeatable approach. I developed a proprietary M&A Playbook that allowed us to:

• Standardize data migration protocols.

• Map complex TSAs to delivery timelines.

• Ensure day-one readiness for thousands of transitioning employees.

3. Driving "Benefit-Led" Adoption

Technology is only successful if used. We launched global engagement campaigns focused on Employee and Manager Self-Service (ESS/MSS). By highlighting "What’s in it for me?"—such as real-time team insights for managers and data autonomy for employees—we achieved consistent adoption rates of 75% to 80%.

The Innovation: Leading with Machine Learning (ML)

We pushed Workday to its limits, resulting in industry-wide recognition:

• Workday Help: Implemented ML-driven support to optimize document searches, allowing employees to find policies and guided learning content instantly.

• Skills Cloud & Gigs: We used Skills Cloud to identify engineering talent globally and Gigs functionality to deploy them to high-priority projects. This provided a demonstrable competitive advantage in speed to market.

The Results: Award-Winning Excellence

The programme’s success was validated on the global stage:

• Winner: 2024 Workday Rockstar Award (Iberia).

• Runner-Up: 2024 Workday EMEA Rising (Innovation Category) — narrowly following Rolls Royce.

• Efficiency: Drastic reduction in manual HR intervention through ML-optimized support and high self-service adoption.