the human core of finance transformation: an interview with ainhoa zubillaga, randstad’s head of global finance operations.

tl;dr / summary:

• Ainhoa zubillaga, randstad's head of global finance operations, is leading a major transformation to standardise processes across 39 markets using the X-One platform.
• She emphasises a "human-centric" approach, viewing systems as enablers for people, not replacements for them.
• Standardisation is framed as a tool to create structure and clarity, freeing up 10% of time for high-value tasks and professional autonomy.
• To manage the intensity of transformation years, she advocates for healthy boundaries, full disconnection during time off, and transparent communication.
• She encourages finance professionals to stay curious about new technologies, viewing AI and automation as partners that elevate human roles by handling repetitive tasks.

For nearly twenty-five years, Ainhoa Zubillaga has built a career grounded in operational grit, long-term organisational loyalty, and an unwavering belief in human potential. Of Spanish origin but a long-time resident of the Netherlands, she spent nearly two decades navigating the high-pressure, centralised finance operations of American retail and fashion giants like Calvin Klein and Foot Locker.

A few years ago, she brought that dynamic "retail mindset" to Randstad. After a rapid ascent from CFO of Randstad Netherlands to Regional CFO for the UK, Southern Europe, and Latin America, she recently stepped into a massive global mandate: Head of Global Finance Operations. Her mission this year is to lead a profound transformation journey—standardising mid- and back-office processes across 39 markets using automation and the X-One platform.

Ainhoa may prefer execution over self-promotion, but as Randstad enters a milestone transition year, she shares insights that provide a clear value for every finance professional. For our internal community especially, this journey offers the practical guidance needed to navigate large-scale change, prevent burnout under pressure, and use standardisation to unlock true professional freedom. For external peers, her human-centric philosophy reveals how to build high-performance global operations that deliver real, lasting value.

the transformation blueprint.

Randstad: Ainhoa, looking at your career before Randstad, you managed major restructuring, reorganisation, and system integration processes within the highly dynamic retail sector. Large-scale change is never just about installing new software; it is about changing habits. How have your past experiences shaped your philosophy on successfully guiding people through a massive corporate pivot?

Ainhoa Zubillaga: You are entirely right. A big transformation always brings a mix of three components: systems, processes, and people. But in my experience, people are always the absolute crucial element to everything we do. Systems are simply enablers for processes and human needs; we do not work for systems; systems must work for us. The real substance of change lies in shifting the daily behaviours and habits of the teams involved.

My philosophy is built on three core steps. First, you must motivate and inspire your teams to truly believe, “We can do this.” Getting people to put their minds to it is the first hurdle because when a team is genuinely aligned, they can achieve great things. Second, we have to care deeply about the outcome and have the ambition to make it excellent. While absolute perfection does not exist, we must aspire to it. Third, you have to maintain intense curiosity and empathy. You must constantly ask questions—both locally and globally—to understand what is missing and ensure no market is left stranded.

human-centric global operations.

R: You are standardising mid- and back-office processes through our global X-One platform. When teams hear the word "standardisation," they sometimes worry they will lose local autonomy or become rigid box-tickers. How do you shift the mindset so teams see standardisation as an empowering tool?

AZ: Sometimes we treat standardisation as a "bad word". It triggers a fear that our daily work will become less interesting or less nice. But if you look closely, standardisation is simply structure—and human beings actually thrive on structure. We get up in the morning and naturally follow our own daily customs and routines.

Standardisation is about creating a clear, reliable framework for roughly 90% of our transactional tasks. It clears the path so that for the remaining 10%, our people have the genuine autonomy, customisation, and cognitive space required to deliver deep value and customer intimacy.

We cannot pretend to standardise everything; it is neither healthy nor productive. By standardising the heavy lifting, we give teams a clear path forward, allowing them to bring real "business sense" to their local markets rather than firefighting administrative chaos.

R: As mid-office processes consolidate under the Finance pillar, you are bringing together functions that traditionally sat in different silos. From a human perspective, this requires a significant cultural shift. How do you plan to bring these operational and finance teams together to build a shared identity?

AZ: Interestingly, when I look at the local countries in my previous regional roles, operational middle-office teams have often reported informally to the local CFO. The change we are driving now is that we are officialising and confirming the Middle Office globally as a core functional part of the Finance pillar.

Because we operate in a matrix organisation, we have to get comfortable managing across multiple stakeholder maps and learning to manage without relying on direct authority. From a cultural standpoint, it truly does not matter what the reporting line looks like, or who reports to whom. If the strategy we are executing is good for Randstad, we must drop the defensive silos and work together toward that shared goal.

high-performance leadership under pressure.

R: This year will be highly demanding for our internal finance community across all 39 markets as we transition systems. You are known for a hands-on management style and a unique ability to keep teams motivated under tight deadlines. What is your practical approach to preventing burnout and protecting team morale when the workload is intense?

AZ: This is a vital question because transformation years are undeniably intense. There will be high-pressure periods, especially right before a system go-live, where teams are running legacy systems while building new ones, working day and night and even weekends to hit deadlines. That collective push is actually a good thing—it builds a strong bond when we say, “Let’s go for it, we are going to cross this finish line together.”

However, as a leader, you must be hyper-alert for signs of overwork. My rule is simple: when you are on, you are full-time on; but when the moment comes to be off, you must be full-time off. It is not healthy to live in a state of permanent partial connection. When you take time off, you must fully disconnect. Transition your files to a colleague, take a distance from your device, and don't check your phone. I highly respect that Randstad values this personal boundaries culture deeply compared to the intense environments of some American corporations I’ve seen in the past. If you need that time off to recharge, you must take it.

corporate mobility & mentorship.

R: Your own career trajectory has moved at a remarkable pace. You have also contributed as a guest speaker for Randstad's Female Leadership program. What core piece of advice do you share with rising talent about navigating growth in a global matrix organisation?

AZ: My starting premise is that we are all leaders who own our respective pieces of work. As corporations move toward more horizontal structures, you cannot wait around for age or time to hand you experience. I have immense respect for the younger generation of finance professionals who actively step up and embrace complex technological topics early on.

Your career development is ultimately in your own hands. My biggest advice is to be ambitious, be entirely open, and communicate clearly with your leaders about what you enjoy and what makes you click. Do not fall into a reactive, passive mode. Transformations are unparalleled, golden opportunities for career growth. They don't happen every day. Use these moments to try something new—step out of your comfort zone into a global project team, gain those fresh skills, and you can always bring that enhanced value back to core operations later.

the road to 2030.

R: As automation handles transaction-heavy tasks, the day-to-day reality of a finance professional is fundamentally changing. Given your people-first perspective, how does this digital shift unlock human potential at Randstad, and how should teams prepare?

AZ: It is completely natural for people to feel uncomfortable or anxious about how automation or artificial intelligence might change their daily responsibilities. But we need to flip the narrative from fear to opportunity. Finance is fundamentally a service function—we do not exist to do finance for the sake of finance; we do it to empower every other business line to make sound commercial decisions.

Digital transformation doesn't eliminate the human element; it elevates it. Randstad will never compromise on compliance or on doing the right thing for our customers and talents, meaning we will always require the "human in the loop" to provide ethical judgment, empathy, and control.

Think of technology as your ultimate companion. Personally, I look at an AI tool as a partner sitting next to me, taking care of the repetitive tasks I don't enjoy doing, which frees up my time to focus on higher-impact strategy. To prepare for tomorrow, stay intensely curious. Start asking questions about these new technologies today. Sit down with your teams and try to understand how backend architectures operate, or look into complex new financial realities like AI pricing and token models. The more we understand the real-world consequences of these tools, the better we can steer Randstad forward.