“Execution is where most change programs die.” Yvan Gilliard, a transformation and operations leader who has spent 17 years building (and rebuilding) the systems that make large organizations run, on what separates strategy-on-paper from operational change that actually survives contact with reality.

Yvan’s career is a rare blend of consulting rigor and operator instincts: starting in supply chain and strategy at Deloitte, then running 24/7 service logistics in Europe, stepping into corporate PMO and integration work, and later moving to the US to help scale e-commerce logistics at speed. At Radial, Yvan led high-pressure growth and transformation efforts, including opening multiple distribution centers, onboarding dozens of new brands, and later rebuilding a payments and fraud business by leaning into expertise, asking “why” relentlessly, and sharpening the value proposition.

In this episode:

• Trust as a career accelerator: why senior sponsorship and “character” often matter more than a perfect resume

• Scaling under pressure: opening 3 distribution centers and onboarding ~30 brands in 6 months, with minimal resources

• Turning tribal knowledge into playbooks: how to document expertise without triggering “you’re replacing me” defensiveness

• What it takes to build an enterprise PMO: unifying tools, standards, and leadership alignment across silos

• Payments and fraud as a strategic asset: why history, pattern recognition, and clear positioning still win in an AI era

• APAC reality checks: why scaling in Asia is different, and how to choose the right first market “one bite at a time”

• Leadership shifts in the next generation: rewards, expectations, work-life balance, and what “trust the process” means now

If you lead transformation, run operations, or sit between strategy and execution, this conversation will sharpen how you think about scaling teams, systems, and trust across markets.

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If the topics discussed resonate with your own leadership challenges or the conversations happening in your organization - assessing international leaders, aligning global and local teams, building capabilities across regions. You can reach us at LYC Partners to set up a consultation.

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Produced by Bonjour Podcast (Melanie Hong), Leaders in Motion blends storytelling, strategy, and data-driven insight, giving today’s leaders a roadmap to anticipate tomorrow’s challenges and lead with intention.

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