DARIEN SMITH
Marietta ,GA
Summary
Finance Transformation executive with 20+ years of Fortune 50 experience leading enterprise-scale PMO and organizational change management (OCM) programs across Finance operating model redesign, process governance, and technology-enabled transformation. Proven track record designing and implementing Finance Target Operating Models (TOM) and Service Delivery Models (SDM) through Current-State Assessments, Work Activity Analysis, and Finance Maturity Assessments. Skilled at translating executive vision into actionable roadmaps, managing cross-functional teams and external system integrators, and driving stakeholder adoption through structured change management. Delivered 150+ initiatives spanning Record-to-Report, Source-to-Pay, and Order-to-Cash process transformation, ERP implementation, and Lean Six Sigma-driven process excellence, generating $60M+ in cost savings and $400M+ in working capital improvement.
Overview
1
1
Certification
19
19
years of professional experience
Work History
Senior Manager, Finance Transformation (Strategy & Organization)
Verizon
Alpharetta, GA
- 01.2025
- Member of a high-performing team architecting the future-state Finance operating model, driving strategic roadmapping, capital governance, and design as part of a large-scale, multi-year Finance transformation.
- Supported development of a multi-year Finance target operating model strategy, applying AI-driven analytics and benchmarking to integrate digital assets, embedded finance, and automated operations — directly informing TOM and SDM design decisions.
- Served on a high-impact tiger team during a 9-month Finance and Risk restructuring, reorganizing 150 FTEs and modernizing talent and service delivery models to increase organizational agility.
- Developed a Proof of Concept for a Community of Practice governance framework, aligning executive stakeholders, strengthening regulatory compliance, and improving investment transparency across capital programs — a model for cross-functional PMO governance.
Program Manager, Finance Transformation (Process Architect, Source-to-Pay)
Verizon
Alpharetta, GA
01.2019 - 01.2022
- Primary process lead for a four-year, enterprise-wide transformation of the Source-to-Pay (S2P) value stream, owning E2E process governance and PMO execution during a large-scale SAP ERP implementation.
- Architected end-to-end process redesign for a $110B+ annual spend portfolio, applying standardization, simplification, and automation-first principles to drive enterprise-wide efficiency — directly analogous to E2E process taxonomy work required for Finance TOM/SDM design.
- Directed a multi-year SAP roadmap, managing project plans, milestones, and governance across global workstreams and achieving 100% milestone delivery over a complex, four-year transformation.
- Partnered with third-party consultants and global PMOs to embed change management best practices, driving stakeholder adoption and sustainable business change for a multi-billion-dollar value realization program.
Senior Manager, Finance Master Black Belt
Verizon
Alpharetta, GA
01.2012 - 01.2018
- Led enterprise Lean Six Sigma deployment and PMO framework design across Finance and shared services, driving process excellence, cost optimization, and large-scale change management.
- Directed a portfolio of 60+ strategic transformation projects across Finance, IT, HR, and Legal, generating $60M+ in cost savings and $400M+ in working capital improvement over six years.
- Architected and scaled a foundational Program Management framework for Finance process excellence, supporting 175+ concurrent projects across Tax, Payroll, and Commissions.
- Led the end-to-end process improvement pipeline for Finance Operations and mentored Black Belt and Green Belt practitioners, embedding a sustained culture of continuous improvement and talent development.
Senior Manager, Finance Operations
Verizon
Alpharetta, GA
01.2009 - 01.2012
- People leader for a global Project Management and Business Analysis organization of 300+ staff, directing finance modernization, outsourcing, and process optimization initiatives across 20+ countries.
- Engineered a strategic roadmap to modernize a $1.8B annual back-office operation, consolidating nine international locations into a single centralized service delivery hub within 12 months.
- Led Phase I of a corporate transformation program, delivering 30% workforce optimization and decommissioning four legacy financial systems to improve global operating leverage.
- Directed a multi-regional team supporting 20+ countries, managing end-to-end vendor outsourcing and executive decision-support programs to sustain process transparency.
Manager, Financial Systems Integration
Verizon
Alpharetta, GA
01.2003 - 01.2009
- Led cross-functional teams delivering enterprise-scale SAP and BI implementations, establishing centralized PMO frameworks supporting thousands of stakeholders.
- Directed end-to-end delivery of a $2M+ multi-year SAP Telecom sub-ledger implementation, strengthening financial controls and operational scalability.
- Co-founded a centralized PMO supporting a high-visibility BI program for 5,000+ stakeholders, integrating 300+ applications and 1,000+ data sources into a unified reporting ecosystem.
- Led critical financial restatement and restructuring initiatives under federal oversight, reconstructing three years of General Ledger records to ensure regulatory alignment.
Education
Bachelor of Business Administration - Accounting
West Georgia University
Data Analytics Graduate Certificate - undefined
Seton Hall University
Skills
- Target Operating Model (TOM)
- Service Delivery Model (SDM)
- PMO Execution & Governance
- Current-State Assessment
- Work Activity Analysis
- E2E Process Transformation
- ERP Implementation (SAP)
- People Management
- 3rd Party Vendor Management
- System Integration Lead
- Executive Communication & Reporting
- Lean Six Sigma / Process Excellence
- Data & AI-Enabled Analytics
- Accounting Operations
- Tax Compliance
- Stakeholder Management
Certification
- PMI - PMP
- PMI - ACP
- Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt
PRIOR WORK EXPERIENCE
- IT Finance Supply Chain Management Program Lead, GE Power
- ERP Implementation Consultant, Edgeware Computers
- Software Sales & Delivery Management, Executive Data Systems
Techincal Skills
• Google Suite
• Generative AI (Gemini, NotebookLM)
• Smartsheet
• Lucidchart
• Visio
• Qlik
• Quickbase
• R & SQL
• Minitab
Timeline
Program Manager, Finance Transformation (Process Architect, Source-to-Pay)
Verizon
01.2019 - 01.2022
Senior Manager, Finance Master Black Belt
Verizon
01.2012 - 01.2018
Senior Manager, Finance Operations
Verizon
01.2009 - 01.2012
Manager, Financial Systems Integration
Verizon
01.2003 - 01.2009
Data Analytics Graduate Certificate - undefined
Seton Hall University
Senior Manager, Finance Transformation (Strategy & Organization)
Verizon
- 01.2025
Bachelor of Business Administration - Accounting
West Georgia University