Trump mulls White House AI czar, Man Utd boss eyes improved recruitment process & Lufthansa showcases “benchmark” BPM
Swire Coca-Cola optimizes Hong Kong operations and HEINEKEN says Agile principles are in its DNA
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PEX Network’s weekly news bulletin rounds up the latest from the process community including operational excellence (OPEX), digital transformation, business process management (BPM), process mining, artificial intelligence (AI) and much more.
This week includes:
- Trump considers White House AI czar appointment
- Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim wants better recruitment process
- Swire Coca-Cola optimizes Hong Kong operations
- Agile principles are in HEINEKEN’s “DNA”
- Mayo Clinic seeks automation process analyst
- Post University appoints new COO to drive OPEX and streamline processes
- Lufthansa Group shares “benchmark” BPM success story
- Pallion Group expedites internal processes and customer service
- Knife River appoints Glenn R. Pladsen as new VP and chief excellence officer
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Trump considers White House AI czar appointment
President-elect Donald Trump is considering appointing a White House AI czar to coordinate federal policy and governmental use of the technology. The AI czar will be charged with focusing both public and private resources to keep America in the AI forefront, reported Axios.
Tesla CEO and X owner Elon Musk is expected to be closely involved in shaping the future of the debate and use cases. Musk owns AI startup xAI, which was founded in 2023. It has made strides in generative AI launching the Grok chatbot as a direct competitor to OpenAI’s ChatGPT.
AI will be the biggest OPEX and business transformation investment area over the next 12 months, according to the PEX Report 2025. A survey of almost 200 professionals found that more than half of businesses (58 percent) have discussed potential AI projects to drive OPEX and transformation objectives.
Watch Tyrone Smith Jr., program faculty member/adjunct associate professor at University of Southern California (USC) and founding member of Society of People Analytics (SPA), discusses building trust in AI
Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim wants better recruitment process
New Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim has called for improvements in the Premier League side’s recruitment process. “I have to have a strong position on that because I’m the coach,” he said in a recent press conference. “I have to understand the league – that is important. Then, when everything is aligned – all the ideas, everybody’s on the same page – we can buy and sell players [more effectively].”
Amorin refused to specify whether he will have final sign-off on player recruitment, instead stating that he has a “great responsibility” in the club’s choice of players. “This is something that should be done in this way. I’m the manager, the head coach, so I have to choose the players.”
Watch Dan Riley, co-founder/CEO of RADICL and founding member of SPA, reflects on integrating ai into HR decision-making processes
Swire Coca-Cola optimizes Hong Kong operations
Swire Coca-Cola, a leading beverage company operating in Greater China and Southeast Asia, has successfully implemented SAP S/4HANA to optimize its Hong Kong operations, signifying a milestone in the company’s digital transformation journey, according to a press release. Swire Coca-Cola produces, bottles and distributes a portfolio of 60 beverage brands, serving a franchise population of over 956 million customers.
By adopting SAP S/4HANA, the company to harmonize its complex operations with flexibility, speed and insights required to tackle both present-day challenges and capture future opportunities in Hong Kong, it stated. By optimizing its multifaceted operations, including manufacturing, sourcing, financing, customer ordering, discount offering calculation, warehousing and delivery, Swire Coca-Cola can continuously support delivery across Hong Kong and leverage 360-degree real-time visibility of the automated pricing and offerings.
“At Swire Coca-Cola, we strive for collective success by consistently supporting our employees, partners, community and the planet, said Matthew C.M. Wong, general manager, digital and IT – Southeast Asia, Hong Kong and Taiwan at Swire Coca-Cola Limited. “Having the right partner to deliver exceptional results is imperative as they strive to understand our unique needs, provide innovative solutions and consistently exceed our expectations.”
Watch Sonik Sikka, senior lean operations manager at Sheppard Pratt, explore building a culture of continuous improvement
Agile principles are in HEINEKEN’s “DNA”
Agile ways of working are part of the “DNA” of The HEINEKEN Company, according to Ronald den Elzen, chief digital and transformation officer at the global brewing giant. “Agile principles align perfectly with The HEINEKEN Company’s ambition and strategy,” he said. “Since starting our Agile journey in 2018 within IT, HEINEKEN has expanded Agile across eleven operating companies in all four regions. Our results show significant improvements in speed, cross-functional collaboration and “learn-share-reapply” practices.”
The company embodies the three core Agile components of consumer and customer-centricity, being value focused and demonstrating adaptability, den Elzen added. “Let’s bust the myth that Agile is ‘fluffy.’ It’s a structured, visual and outcome-driven methodology that delivers real business results.”
Mayo Clinic seeks automation process analyst
American academic medical center the Mayo Clinic is looking to hire an automation process analyst. The individual will be responsible for the facilitation of multiple performance improvement efforts, applying a variety of improvement methodologies including Lean and supporting individuals and teams through process improvement initiatives, according to the job description. The successful candidate will work collaboratively with leadership to increase efficiencies, decrease costs, reduce errors/defects and improve outcomes, it added.
“This individual should have the ability to respond to unexpected situations with resourcefulness, flexibility, creativity and professionalism. This individual is expected to continuously learn and apply new continuous improvement methodologies, and to spread successful innovation through the institution.”
The position is described as “100 percent” remote and offers an annual salary range of US$94,765 – $142,147.
Watch Tariq Munir, APAC financial planning transformation lead at PepsiCo, explore measuring the impact of AI and intelligent automation
Post University appoints new COO to drive OPEX and streamline processes
Post University announced the promotion of Jeanna Sinn to chief operating officer (COO) to lead strategic initiatives aimed at enhancing student success, driving OPEX and fostering institutional growth. In her new role, Sinn will focus on streamlining processes, optimizing resource allocation and enhancing service delivery. She will also work closely with the leadership team to ensure that strategic initiatives are executed efficiently, improving both operational performance and the student experience.
“Post University has been my professional home for over a decade, and I am thrilled to take on this new role as COO,” commented Sinn. “The opportunity to further our mission of providing accessible, student-centered education – especially to those who face barriers to traditional college enrollment – is something I am deeply passionate about.”
Post University is a private for-profit university in Waterbury, Connecticut with thousands of students in online, main campus, undergraduate and graduate programs.
Watch Pradheep Kileti, director at National Grid, outline balancing operations and innovation
Lufthansa Group shares “benchmark” BPM success story
Aviation leader Lufthansa Group shone a light on its impressive BPM successes with Jöran Glüsen, leader of the company’s Center of Competence for Process Excellence, appearing as a guest on the latest episode of the New Process Podcast. “Here comes one of the rare case studies of a BPM implementation, which I consider to be the absolute cross-industry benchmark,” said host and BPM expert Mirko Kloppenburg.
In the episode, Glüsen discussed what Lufthansa Group’s approach to BPM looks like, why and how are doing it, what can be learnt from 20+ years of BPM experience and how to successfully design, implement and operate a human-centric BPM framework.
Watch Ekaterina 'Katie' Curry, Millennial Specialty Insurance and Donald Kuk, formerly of BNY Mellon, discuss using BPM and automation
Pallion Group expedites internal processes and customer service
Australian precious metals and jewelry company Pallion Group has partnered with intelligent integration and automation leader Boomi to scale its digital transformation strategy. Sydney-headquartered Pallion comprises six brands that source, manufacture, distribute, sell and store for gold, silver and custom jewelry to organizations and individuals in Australia, Hong Kong and China
“We need consistent uptime of and between our systems so that data flows back and forth in real time, while giving our teams a consolidated view of customer information on one screen,” commented Simon Smith, group chief information officer (CIO) at Pallion Group. “Boomi has fostered an environment we know we can trust to get data across to the right people and places securely with no downtime – spanning production operations through to the websites our customers use to buy precious metals and jewelry.”
Watch Isolde Kanikani, VP, Association of Change Management Professionals, discusses the power of employee happiness on customer satisfaction
Knife River appoints Glenn R. Pladsen as new VP and chief excellence officer
Construction materials firm Knife River named Glenn R. Pladsen new vice-president and chief excellence officer to lead safety performance and excellence across its commercial and operational initiatives.
“We believe Glenn’s combination of deep institutional knowledge and his proven ability to help us innovate will allow us to more quickly and consistently target areas where we can improve our processes,” commented Knife River president and CEO Brian Gray. “Whether it is commercial excellence, OPEX or safety excellence, adding this position to our senior management team puts an emphasis on our drive and determination to reach our goals – for our team members and for our shareholders.”
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