Skills‑Based Organisations – From Vision to Operational Reality

Lilia Hayrapetyan

MD, Global Head of People Analytics & Insights · Citi

Ying Li

Sr. Director, Global Head of People Analytics · PepsiCo

Aashish Sharma

VP Workforce Intelligence · RTX

A real‑world comparison of three Fortune Global 500 skills programmes. RTX exposes skills APIs consumed by engineers and deal teams; PepsiCo links plant‑level proficiency to pay bands under Works‑Council scrutiny; Ericsson maintains a 48‑hour refreshed skills graph covering 5 000 roles. Guided by Citi's people analytics chief, the panel dissects messy data foundations, taxonomy choices, governance trade‑offs, ROI evidence and privacy gates, then condenses lessons into a 90‑day starter plan before audience Q&A. Expect quantified results on fill‑rate uplift, contractor‑cost reduction and margin gain, alongside frank accounts of pitfalls such as semantic chaos and change fatigue.

• Real‑world data foundations – HRIS, LMS, project and external labour feeds.
• Skills taxonomy harmonisation and handling semantic clashes between vendor and industry lists.
• Operating‑model choices: graph database, data‑mesh APIs and federated plant matrices.
• Governance and risk tolerance across defence, CPG, telecom and unionised environments.
• ROI evidence – fill‑rate uplift, contractor‑cost savings, margin impact and regulatory risk reduction.
• Privacy constraints, change‑fatigue triggers and tactics for manager adoption.

• Compare three proven skills‑data architectures and identify the best fit for your organisation.
• Build a practical starter checklist of data sources, taxonomy decisions and privacy gates.
• Quantify ROI with CFO‑ready metrics linking skills capacity to cost and margin improvements.
• Structure governance that satisfies Legal, Works Councils and business users without stalling progress.
• Frame a 90‑day action plan to secure budget and stakeholder commitment to a skills‑based strategy.

Lilia Hayrapetyan

MD, Global Head of People Analytics & Insights · Citi

Enterprises are spending millions on skills platforms, yet CFOs demand clear margin impact and regulators scrutinise data privacy. Aerospace defence, consumer goods plants and telecom operations each face acute talent gaps and cost pressure. Understanding which operating model unlocks value while meeting works‑council, legal and engineering demands is now critical for any skills transformation.