Description

I help scaling companies and large enterprises diagnose and redesign the operating model that sits between strategy and delivery. When complexity has outpaced your ability to coordinate across functions, geographies, or product lines, I identify what is breaking down and design the infrastructure to fix it.

My background spans 20+ years in financial services, fintech, and professional services with senior global roles at Visa and Mercer. At Visa, I led regional product delivery within a global product operations function, accountable for the operating model connecting global strategy to execution across 200+ markets. At Mercer, I designed the operating model for a newly formed $800M+ global business line and separately redesigned commercial operations for revenue transparency across the enterprise. I bring both the strategic frame and the hands-on rigour to make change stick.

I work where the friction lives: governance gaps, unclear accountabilities, and coordination failures that slow execution and frustrate leadership. Engagements typically include operating model diagnostics, operating model redesign, decision rights and governance frameworks, and implementation support to embed change on the ground, including in complex, multinational environments. I also offer fractional Chief Transformation Officer support for organisations that need senior capacity on a flexible basis.

AI is changing what is possible in this space. A well-designed operating model is the foundation that determines whether AI investment delivers or stalls, and the diagnostic and design work that has historically been slow and expensive is precisely where AI creates the greatest opportunity to move faster and go deeper.

If your organisation is growing faster than its infrastructure, restructuring after acquisition, or navigating an AI transformation that is not yet landing, let's talk.

Industry field of expertise

Languages

English
Native or bilingual

Workplace preferences

Can work on-site

London (up to 50km)

Sarah Heffron Advisory & Consulting
Business Operations Consultant
CONSULTING AND AUDITS
January 2026 - Today (5 months)
London, UK
Execution infrastructure specialist: I help multinational enterprises and scaling companies redesign the systems that connect strategy to delivery, targeting the coordination failures that emerge at the seams between functions, geographies, and product lines. Where AI investment is stalling, a poorly designed operating model is usually a significant part of the reason.
Diagnostic-first methodology: Every engagement begins with structured diagnosis before any redesign. My Seven Signs assessment identifies where operating infrastructure has been outpaced by organisational complexity, giving clients a clear picture of root causes rather than symptoms. A well-functioning operating model is also the foundation that determines whether AI delivers or disappoints.
Three-phase engagement model: I move clients through Diagnostic, Design, and Implementation in deliberate sequence, ensuring decisions are grounded in evidence and that organisations build internal capability rather than external dependency.
Member of UKAI Trade Association
Business model Change and Transformation Management Business analysis artificial intelligence
VISA
Senior Director, Global Product Operations
DIGITAL AND IT
November 2019 - December 2024 (5 years and 1 month)
London, UK
Led global transformation portfolio, partnering with product, technology, and regional leadership to redesign operating models, governance, and digital capabilities across the enterprise.
Owned the design and governance of Visa's global product execution system, redefining the global-to local operating model to align strategic priorities, regional capacity, delivery sequencing, and risk controls across markets
Integrated regional product leadership into quarterly planning and OKR processes, ensuring local market priorities, dependencies, and capacity constraints shaped global decision-making and portfolio allocation
Implemented enterprise-wide operational governance and risk review frameworks, strengthening compliance readiness, eliminating low-value initiatives, and streamlining go-to-market decision-making
Built the management information and tooling underpinning portfolio decisions, providing end-to-end visibility of regional demand, dependencies, and constraints, reducing prioritisation cycle time by 50%
Designed and launched an enterprise product lifecycle and delivery governance framework, standardising decision gates, documentation, and control points from ideation through commercialisation
Delivered process reengineering roadmap across 48+ interdependent processes, prioritised to close control gaps and eliminate bottlenecks while modernising documentation through AI-enabled tooling
Directed regulatory and market-entry programmes (e.g., PSD2 ecosystem enablement, Türkiye tokenisation solution), ensuring cross-functional operational readiness and regulatory compliance
Built and led a globally distributed operations function responsible for sustaining execution discipline, governance integrity, continuous improvement, and change adoption across regions while enabling local adaptability
Change and Transformation Management Process Management Product Development Business model Digital Transformation
MERCER
Global Programme Director
CONSULTING AND AUDITS
September 2013 - December 2018 (5 years and 3 months)
New York, NY, USA
Directed enterprise-wide transformation programmes, partnering with the CEO, CFO, and COO to redesign operating models, strengthen governance, modernise processes, and build scalable global capabilities across 40+ markets.
Architected and delivered a new $800M+ multinational client operating model, defining multi-year strategy, governance, and execution roadmap, achieving 50% revenue growth within two years
Established global PMO and analytics teams, embedding consistent execution and reporting frameworks, and established an offshore operations team in Warsaw to scale reporting and stewardship
Directed enterprise resource planning, integrating business planning, budgeting, and workforce strategies with Finance and HR to align capacity with strategic priorities
Integrated a newly acquired SaaS platform into Mercer's global operations, harmonising technology, service delivery, and client support structures ensuring faster post-merger value realisation
Redesigned the enterprise revenue system, aligning sales activity and realised revenue through improved governance and data integrity, doubling forecast accuracy and strengthening decision-making
Designed and delivered executive dashboards and KPI frameworks, integrated across CRM, ERP, and enterprise reporting systems, providing real-time visibility into revenue, profitability, and operational performance and developed guidance for leaders on how to use insights for decision-making
Established and led Global Contracting & Negotiations Centre of Excellence, standardising processes and negotiating global preferred-provider agreements that protected margins, reduced deal cycle times, and improved consistency across top-tier accounts
Change and Transformation Management Digital Transformation Post-Merger Integration Business intelligence Business model