Andrea Illes

40+ countries | 6,000+ employees | €3B revenue unit As Global HR leader for CNS P&E, I partner with executives across NAM, Europe, India, and China to align talent strategy with business growth in AI, Cybersecurity, Analytics, and Automation. My role is to design and execute HR strategy and lead transformation programs to shift CNS into a product-operating business. Highlights: Driving succession planning, leadership development, and skills transformation to strengthen diverse, high-performing teams. Leading global transformation programs, M&A integrations, and organizational design to enable agility and long-term growth. Building strong leadership relationships and fostering collaboration across HR functions to deliver scalable, consistent solutions. Championed inclusion and diversity, embedding innovation and collaboration into CNS’s culture. CNS is Nokia’s innovation engine — leading transformational businesses and helping clients adapt to disruption and build new models.

42 countries | 40,000 employees | €23M budget | 350+ HR professionals Led a team of 350+ HR professionals across Europe, including country HR directors, HR consultants, operations, compensation and analytics experts, to deliver people strategy and HR services for 40,000 employees. Full accountability for employee experience, HR operations, labor relations, and talent programs, managing a €23M budget. Highlights: Delivered 20% cost savings YoY while improving employee satisfaction by +10%. Led Europe launch of Oracle Cloud HRIS and manager dashboards, standardizing HR processes, ensuring compliance, and providing real-time workforce insights to leaders. Designed and executed Future of Work policies across Europe, improving flexibility, productivity, and employer branding post-pandemic. Built strong labor and stakeholder relations → finalized Nokia’s first European Works Council agreement and led complex union negotiations across Europe, safeguarding business continuity. Launched digital upskilling programs and competence development to strengthen agile and digital capabilities across the region. Directed crisis management and compliance investigations (COVID-19, Ukraine war), ensuring business continuity and regulatory compliance.

40 countries | 40,000 employees Europe + 10,000 NAM | €18M budget | 165 HR professionals Directed HR Operations for 40,000 employees across Europe and payroll for 10,000 employees in North America. Led a team of 165 across shared services (operations, payroll, data management, TA, and governance), with full accountability for service delivery, employee experience, and portfolio transformation. Highlights: Delivered consistent, compliant HR services across 40+ countries, ensuring high employee satisfaction and operational reliability. Introduced automation, AI, and RPA solutions to streamline HR processes, improving efficiency and scalability. Standardized HR processes and enhanced data governance, reducing risk and enabling better workforce insights. Developed HR operations talent, building a high-performing team culture and strengthening leadership capability. Managed €18M budget, optimizing resources while transforming HR portfolio to meet evolving business needs.

Board-level HR leader reporting to the CEO and COO, responsible for HR strategy during a period of major expansion across Emerging Europe and Central Asia. Partnered with senior leadership on market entry, acquisitions, and cultural integration while building scalable people processes to support firm-wide growth. Highlights: Led HR transformation, aligning structure, capabilities, and processes with business goals, improving efficiency and scalability. Strengthened the talent pipeline through mentoring, succession planning, and cross-border mobility programs. Enhanced employer brand and executive recruitment, securing top legal talent in highly competitive markets. Built a coaching and mentoring culture at partner and director levels, reinforcing leadership capacity and performance.

Joined at launch to help establish Kinstellar, a new independent law firm spun out of Linklaters, operating in 4 countries. Reporting to the CEO/COO and serving as Board Member, I built the HR function and infrastructure from the ground up. Highlights: Designed and implemented HR processes and systems from scratch, enabling smooth spin-off and operational continuity. Set up HR operations, recruitment, and training functions, laying foundations for scalable growth. Developed talent acquisition and employer branding strategies to attract top legal talent in emerging markets. Launched engagement and development programs, improving retention and future leadership capacity. Acted as a catalyst for cultural integration and change management during the firm’s startup and early expansion phase.

Regional HR lead during a major business transformation. Responsible for HR operations, talent management, and people strategy across Central & Eastern Europe.

International Secondment Program management and Global Mobility COE for CEE

Supported the CIO, combining PA duties with HR, procurement, vendor negotiations, and employee engagement.

Co-lead by Laszlo Bock, the CHRO Transformative Leadership Program enables leaders to leverage technology, data and financial expertise to lead powerful long lasting organizational success and change.