LAURA ROMERO ARIAS
Amstelveen,Netherlands
Summary
Accomplished professional with extensive expertise in communication, leadership, and people management. Demonstrates advanced proficiency in ERP systems, cross-cultural competency, and both B2B and B2C operations. Proven track record in cost reduction, efficiency improvement, and staff development. Adept at organisational change management, technology integration, and business process improvement. Skilled in talent acquisition, IT infrastructure understanding, and intercultural competence. Recognised for initiative taking, resilience under pressure, and cultural awareness. Career goal: to leverage leadership skills to drive team success and organisational growth.
Overview
26
26
years of professional experience
8
8
years of post-secondary education
Work history
Head of Business Applications & Data Integration
G-Star Raw
Amsterdam, Netherlands
2024.07 - 2026.02
- Management of a bigger team of thirteen direct reports (SAP, EDI and Centric PLM consultants, and EVA Retail system coordinators), including two consultants working in other countries.
- Coaching and mentoring all members of the team, and carrying out objectives and goal sessions.
- Responsible for the communication and negotiation of work packages and contract SLA’s with external partners in all the different systems under my responsibility.
- Involvement in different projects including any system under my responsibility, and this means any system that other department are working with (Logistics, Supply Chain, Wholesale, Retail, Digital, Product Development and Merchandising).
- Responsible of the coordination and work together with the ICT Infrastructure team.
- Responsible for functional aspects in the external ICT yearly audit.
- Designing the project roadmap with the ICT project manager.
Business Applications Manager
G-Star Raw
Amsterdam, Netherlands
2024.01 - 2024.06
- Management of a bigger team of six direct reports (senior business application consultants), including two consultants working in other countries.
- In addition to the below tasks, responsible for the communication and negotiation of work packages and contract SLA’s with external partners.
- Involvement in different projects including new Warehouse Management implementations in different countries with Third Party Logistics partners, and projects with different parts of the business such as Digital (E-Commerce), Product Development, Sales and Retail.
- Implementation of the Agile methodology in the team’s ways of working as well as supporting other departments in the transition and progress of this methodology using Jira as the program tool.
Business Applications Team Lead and SAP MM/LE/SD Consultant
G-Star Raw
Amsterdam, Netherlands
2017.01 - 2023.12
- In addition to previous tasks, responsible for the SAP MM/LE/SD/FI/CO team’s organization, work overview, structure and assignment, conducting mid and end year reviews, and representing the team in front of the business.
- Involvement in the SAP S/4 HANA Retail implementation project (blueprint, design and cutover).
- Responsible for the communication with IT Logistics third party partners.
- Responsible for RFID maintenance and changes with our external partners.
SAP Logistics (MM/LE) Consultant
G-Star Raw
Amsterdam, Netherlands
2013.05 - 2016.12
- Responsible for the coordination and resolution of SAP production support and change requests.
- Involvement and responsibility in ongoing projects and business architecture.
- Liaison with the business to ensure proper communication for improved support for the users.
SAP Logistics Consultant
Epson Europe
Amsterdam, Netherlands
2008.03 - 2013.02
- Responsible for SAP production support and change requests consistency with IT policies.
- Involvement in the SAP rollout project for European sites.
- Serving as the main point of contact between IT and business, and liaising with the users to provide a reference of trust and common ground for working.
SAP ERP Consultant
Accenture Technology Solutions
Almere Stad, Netherlands
2007.03 - 2008.02
- Assignment to the Financial Shared Services project for Unilever.
- Communication lead with Unilever and IBM for the interfaces between the IBM system for Accounts Payable and SAP in the different rollout countries.
- SAP configuration to develop application requirements based on input gathered from a variety of sources, including GAP analysis results, configuration and feedback from the local user community.
Senior Central Master Data Co-ordinator
Pilkington
St Helens, UK
2002.11 - 2007.02
- Responsible for the Master Data consolidation and activities for the SAP Automotive Project and Group Operations.
- Involvement in several European rollouts - SAP Spanish and German implementation on site and Italian implementation in Italy on the two Automotive sites. Due to expertise in both Italian and English, responsible for interpreting in meetings and facilitating communication between British consultants and Italian employees.
Junior SAP FI/CO & Authorizations Consultant
Atos Origin UK
Runcorn, UK
2001.07 - 2002.11
- Acquiring knowledge of the SAP FI/CO and Authorisations modules.
- Involvement in a European Security project for a global customer.
- Improving customer relationships with foreign customers through accurate communication in different languages.
Financial Process Analyst at the European Financial Service Centre
The Kellogg Company of Great Britain
Manchester, UK
2000.04 - 2001.07
- Processing of Italian, German, Austrian and Swiss invoices.
- Responsible for accurate payment, answering queries from suppliers and employees, and monitoring the Italian VAT register.
- Responsible for the communication with third party providers and with the Kellogg Italy Finance department.
Education
Nederlands als Tweede Taal (beginner to advanced level)
Universiteit van Amsterdam
Netherlands 2007.01 - 2008.01
Certificate of Higher Education - Curso de Adaptación Pedagógica (C.A.P.) (equivalent to Post Graduate Certificate in Education)
Universidad de Málaga
Spain 1999.01 - 2000.01
Bachelor of Arts - Linguistics and translation studies (Magister)
Universität Passau
Germany 1996.01 - 1997.01
Master’s Degree - Translation and Interpreting (English, German and Italian)
Universidad de Málaga
Spain 1994.01 - 1999.01
Skills
- Organization
- People management
- Critical and analytical thinking
- Collaboration
- Advanced erp systems use
- Cross-Cultural competency
- Leadership and motivation
- Cost reduction and efficiency
- Staff development
- Organisational change management
- Leadership development
- Technology integration
- Business process improvement
- Talent acquisition
- IT infrastructure understanding
- Interpersonal savvy
- Communication proficiency
- Intercultural competence
- Initiative taking
- Resilience under pressure
- Cultural awareness
- Leadership skills
- Team Leadership
- Interpersonal communication
- Resourcefulness
LANGUAGES
Spanish
Native
English
Proficient (C2)
Italian
Proficient (C2)
Dutch
Upper intermediate (B2)
German
Intermediate (B1)
French
Intermediate (B1)
Portuguese
Intermediate (B1)
Korean
Elementary (A2)
Affiliations
- Travelling, languages, sports, yoga
References
References available upon request.
Timeline
Head of Business Applications & Data Integration
G-Star Raw
2024.07 - 2026.02
Business Applications Manager
G-Star Raw
2024.01 - 2024.06
Business Applications Team Lead and SAP MM/LE/SD Consultant
G-Star Raw
2017.01 - 2023.12
SAP Logistics (MM/LE) Consultant
G-Star Raw
2013.05 - 2016.12
SAP Logistics Consultant
Epson Europe
2008.03 - 2013.02
SAP ERP Consultant
Accenture Technology Solutions
2007.03 - 2008.02
Nederlands als Tweede Taal (beginner to advanced level)
Universiteit van Amsterdam
2007.01 - 2008.01
Senior Central Master Data Co-ordinator
Pilkington
2002.11 - 2007.02
Junior SAP FI/CO & Authorizations Consultant
Atos Origin UK
2001.07 - 2002.11
Financial Process Analyst at the European Financial Service Centre
The Kellogg Company of Great Britain
2000.04 - 2001.07
Certificate of Higher Education - Curso de Adaptación Pedagógica (C.A.P.) (equivalent to Post Graduate Certificate in Education)
Universidad de Málaga
1999.01 - 2000.01
Bachelor of Arts - Linguistics and translation studies (Magister)
Universität Passau
1996.01 - 1997.01
Master’s Degree - Translation and Interpreting (English, German and Italian)
Universidad de Málaga
1994.01 - 1999.01