Meet Dea | Roche

We'd love to get to know you: kindly share your name with us and tell us about your role and when you became part of the Roche team?
My name is Dea Szokol-Humay, I am the Global Business Process Manager (GBPM) for Accounts Payable (AP) and I joined Roche in 2015.

What are the things you like the most working at the Business Process Manager (BPM) team?
I highly value the opportunity to grow and develop in a safe environment, as well as the trust and support I receive from my leaders to pursue my decisions. Additionally, I find that each working day is unique, which may sound chaotic and unstructured to some, but I personally enjoy this diversity. It allows me to continuously adapt to changing priorities, push my limits, learn something new, and collaborate with colleagues from across the organization regularly. Whenever I encounter challenges, I can always rely on someone within my team to brainstorm ideas or to help me move forward, showcasing the strength of our community. The people I work with are amazing; despite facing their own daily battles, they remain helpful, open, and humorous, which I believe is key to our success.

Lastly, I particularly enjoy working closely with Operations, who are responsible for all processes and actions impacting invoices received by our suppliers across the globe. Even during fast-paced and challenging times, it's essential to keep our end goal and vision intact: to assist them in running their daily operations in the most effective and harmonious way possible.

Why is your job important to you? What is the value you generate for Roche’s patients?
Having a background in Operations, I appreciate the chance I now have in the BPM team to make a meaningful impact and oversee areas for process improvement on a global scale. Introducing new technologies and striving for harmonization not only affect our internal operations but also have a direct impact on our suppliers, who play a crucial role in delivering drugs and medicines, among many other essential items, to hospitals and our patients.

Tell us a little bit about your journey at Roche before joining the BPM team!
In 2015, I began my career as an Accounts Payable (AP) Accountant, marking my first full-time job after university. I had studied economics and never anticipated that I would end up, let alone enjoy, working in Finance. However, I embraced the opportunity to learn everything from scratch in the field of Accounts Payable, and my knowledge grew rapidly, thanks to the exceptional experts on the team I joined.

After two years, I sought additional opportunities and was appointed as a Subject Matter Expert within the department. This role involved handling trainings and tackling more complex issues across teams, which allowed me to expand my network not only within the department but also with Support and IT teams through continuous collaboration during issue resolution. This experience made me realize that a similar role could be a significant step forward in my career at Roche.
Thus, in 2018, I applied for the Global Business Process Specialist (GBPS) position and was fortunate to become the first GBPS under the Pharma division. I vividly remember feeling nervous during the interview process and elated when I received positive feedback. Stepping into a global role brought its own set of challenges, but I took pride in my achievements and focused on learning on a more End to End scale.

As a GBPS, I participated in several projects and had the opportunity to collaborate with AP Teams across the world. This experience gave me the strength and courage to take another step forward in 2021 when I applied for the Global Business Process Manager position at AP. During this time, BPM underwent an organizational change, and I became part of the Demand to Pay family, joining forces with several other Procurement BPM Teams that were previously unknown to me. I knew this role would be a tough challenge since our team was involved in all running global projects. At times, I doubted whether I had the necessary skills and qualifications, but fortunately, my Line Manager believed in me and provided the trust and support I needed to grow into this role. I am and will forever be grateful for this opportunity.

Now, looking back, over two years have passed, and I can confidently say that the challenges were quite exciting. Nevertheless, the journey of personal and professional development, the support of my team members, and the small victories along the way make it all worthwhile and compensate for the harder days.

What would you say to someone who is considering joining the BPM team?
If you're looking for a team that encourages accountability, growth, and the freedom to learn from your mistakes with full support, then you've come to the right place. Our BPM team offers an ideal environment for those who are eager to tackle challenges, strive for improvement, and actively participate in global projects. If you have a strong desire to excel and are unafraid of exploring uncharted paths to find solutions, you'll undoubtedly discover exactly what you're looking for here with us.