Optiver, a global leader in market making, engaged Digital Rehab to lead a series of strategic initiatives across Talent Engagement & Experience (HR), IT, Finance & Control, and Middle Office functions. Operating as Special Projects Manager, Alisdair Blackman was responsible for driving transformation from discovery and planning through to delivery and implementation.
Key Initiatives & Outcomes
HRIS Business Requirements Scoping & Planning
Work with a diverse range of stakeholders including HR, Trading, IT, Middle Office & Finance functions to scope and gather business requirements for a new HRIS ahead of procurement.
Then, conduct a detailed global analysis and review of the HRIS solution landscape in the following areas: Core HRIS/HCM, Recruitment, Onboarding, Succession Planning, Workforce Planning, Performance, Rem and Learning & Development.
A detailed business case was then developed to help guide procurement efforts.
Once done, I oversaw and managed procurement activities from evaluation, selection, legal and commercial discussions etc.
As an outcome from this project, I have accummulated considerable knowledge and IP around the current state of play in the HR landscape, the vendors strengths and weaknesses and implementation / delivery methods.
Workday HCM Implementation Across Four Countries
- Led end-to-end requirements gathering, sourcing, procurement, and vendor selection
- Working with Implementation partner Cognizant nee Collaborative nee Theory of Mind
- Delivered Workday HCM implementation across Australia, Singapore, China, and Taiwan within 12 months
- Project Managing the delivery of Core HCM, Recruitment, Performance and planning for Payroll integration with Preceda
- Unified HR processes and improved workforce visibility across the region
Regional Payroll Project for Optiver APAC offices
Engaged to document regional payroll needs and requirements across Sydney, Shanghai, Hong Kong & Taiwan offices. Once done, evaluate the suitability across all payroll vendors to deliver on our requirements – automatic integration with our General Ledger, sync with our new HRIS for employee data inputs, and push payslips back into Workday. Decision reached to appoint NGA / Preceda.
Delivered Preceda into Optiver within 6 weeks – the fastest Preceda rollout EVER! Huge achievement by the team!
Global Corporate Website Redesign with ATS Integration
- Partnered with Tribal DDB (Amsterdam) to deliver a bold new website aligned with Optiver’s 2020 Attraction Strategy
- Oversaw content coordination across six global offices, consolidating design and UX feedback
- Managed delivery of DDB’s scope and ensured seamless integration with three Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS)
Cross-Functional Strategic Delivery
- Defined and managed initiatives across IT, Finance & Control, and Middle Office
- Enabled operational efficiency and improved cross-regional alignment
This engagement positioned Optiver for scalable growth, enhanced talent attraction, and operational excellence—reinforcing its reputation as a global leader in high-performance trading.
