Restructuring three functions in 90 days

When I was promoted from SVP to President, Global Clients in 2024, I inherited a portfolio whose support functions had grown up alongside a matrixed, multi-geography organization. HR, Training, and Client Services each did important work, but reporting lines and responsibilities overlapped in ways that slowed cross-departmental delivery.

A new leader has a short window in which change is expected. I chose to use it deliberately rather than let the structure harden around me.

Speed is kind when the direction is clear. Long, uncertain restructurings are harder on people than short, well-explained ones.

Move quickly enough to capture value inside the first 90 days, without making decisions on thin information.

Change three functions at once while preserving the institutional culture people valued.

Protect clients from any disruption during the transition.

Simplify matrixed reporting lines without losing the capabilities each function provided.

I designed and led the restructuring personally, from diagnosis through implementation, working with finance, HR, and the regional leadership teams.

Diagnose fast, listen first

I spent the opening weeks mapping how work actually flowed across HR, Training, and Client Services: who did what, where effort was duplicated, and where handoffs slowed things down.

Design around the work

I redesigned the three functions around the outcomes they owed the business, streamlining matrixed reporting lines and eliminating operational redundancies.

Reskill and match talent

Rather than treat it purely as a cost exercise, I framed the change as a reskilling and talent-matching model that readied the workforce for a more digital-first way of operating.

Protect the client relationship

Client continuity was a hard constraint. Transitions were sequenced so that the people clients relied on stayed visible and accountable throughout.

Lock in the gains

The new structure was built into the portfolio's operating cadence so the savings and speed improvements would persist rather than drift back.

~$7.2M annualized savings

Captured within the first 90 days of tenure.

93% client retention

Clients stayed through the transition.

Faster cross-departmental delivery

Streamlined reporting lines improved project delivery speed across departments.

Culture preserved

The institutional culture people valued came through the change intact.

Restructure around the work, not the org chart.

Start with outcomes and flows; boxes and lines come last.

Protect the client first.

Internal change should be invisible from the outside.

Use the first 90 days.

A new leader's mandate for change is at its strongest early. Waste it and the structure hardens around you.