Vevey / CH. (nsa) Swiss Nestle S.A. officially opened its Shared Business Service Centre in Lviv, Ukraine. The centre will provide standard and cost-effective internal financial and employee services to Nestle operating companies in more than 20 countries in Central and Eastern Europe. As the fifth centre of its kind set up by Nestle since 2006, Ukraine joins Brazil, the Philippines, Ghana, and a satellite centre in Egypt, in providing a single location from which to complete specific activities such as employee payroll and invoicing.
Laurent Freixe, Executive Vice President of Nestle and Head of Zone Europe, attended the inauguration ceremony in Lviv along with Jean-Marc Duvoisin, Deputy Executive Vice President of Nestle and Head of Human Resources and Centre Administration; and Stephane Alby, Head of Global Nestle Business Services. Others in attendance were Alfredo Silva, Head of Human Resources for Nestle Zone Europe; Simon Smith, Head of Finance for Nestle Zone Europe; and Maurizio Patarnello, Market Head of Nestle in Ukraine and Moldova. Mykhailo Tsymbalyuk, Governor of the Lviv region; and Andriy Sadovyi, the city´s Mayor, were also present.
Freixe reiterated why Lviv had been selected as the location for the centre: «Lviv was chosen for its location due to its local infrastructures, the talent potential, real estate and office space availability and the cost competitiveness. In addition, the city is linked to the history of Nestle in Ukraine as it is also home to Nestle´s Svitoch company. With the opening of the Shared Business Service Centre, we have also significantly strengthened Nestle´s position in Ukraine and the role of the Ukraine in Central and Eastern Europe».
Already fully serving Nestle in the Ukraine and Russia, the Lviv centre will soon support its operating companies in Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. By 2012 it will also support Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, Greece and the Adriatic markets, which include Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, and Slovenia.
The centre already employs 180 highly skilled experts in the field of Finance and Human Resources, with its total staff expected to reach 230 in the coming months. It promises to boost the local talent pool by providing professional training in technology and management skills, as well as working with local universities to develop training programmes in foreign languages and international finance.
