HR – Finance Partnership: From Talk to Operating Model

Jamie Durling

VP HR, Americas & South Africa · Dolce & Gabbana

Courtney McMahon

Senior Director, Head of Global People Analytics · Colgate-Palmolive

Alan Susi

VP, Global Head of Organizational Analytics and People Insights · S&P Global

This 40-minute panel shows how HR and Finance can build a durable operating model, linking every people decision to financial outcomes. Panellists share artefacts such as ownership maps and value notes, demonstrate finance-aligned productivity metrics, and explain capacity-to-budget methods. Compare enterprise and midsize playbooks, and learn how to sustain results with a monthly cadence that lasts.

• Concrete artefacts: ownership maps, assumption logs and finance-facing value notes.
• Clarifying decision rights across HR, Finance, IT and data functions.
• Finance-aligned productivity metrics: turnover cost, revenue per FTE, utilisation rates.
• Capacity-to-budget: converting time saved into staffing and budget moves.
• Enterprise vs midsize playbooks and the monthly cadence that sustains value.

• Design an ownership map to end HR–Finance role confusion.
• Present people metrics in CFO-credible one-page value notes.
• Translate productivity gains into budget moves with Finance validation.
• Clarify decision rights for AI and analytics projects across functions.
• Adapt enterprise practices to midsize contexts without losing rigour.

Labour costs dominate operating spend, growth is constrained by capacity, and AI is reshaping work. CFOs demand finance-grade evidence for people investments, while HR needs budget alignment to scale change. Without a shared model, decisions stall, value leaks and headcount actions miss strategic intent.