Debbie Saldana
Senior Program Manager @NielsenIQ
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WORK HISTORY
Senior Program Manager @NielsenIQ
Provided global PMO leadership through the development, implementation, and worldwide rollout of a modern Program-Project Portfolio Management (PPM) platform, supporting a scalable PMO operating model across North America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe & MEA (EEMEA), Latin America (LATAM), and Asia-Pacific (APAC). Established a unified system of record for portfolio tracking, financial governance, initiative health (RAG), milestones, risks, issues, and executive reporting across the enterprise.Partnered with Legal and Privacy leadership to design and implement a new compliance and remediation framework supporting emerging regulatory requirements. Developed structured assessment and tracking processes that enabled consistent, auditable compliance across global programs; the Legal Privacy team recognized this approach as innovative and setting a new enterprise standard for regulatory program operations.Provided portfolio-level program leadership across three global NIQ portfolios spanning 17 major program areas, enabling senior leadership and technology executives to maintain visibility, alignment, and governance across dozens of concurrent initiatives.Directed cross-functional coordination with SVPs, VPs, Technology Directors, Product leaders, and delivery teams to align scope, timelines, dependencies, and risks across simultaneous programs, ensuring consistent execution and effective escalation management across regions.Owned and delivered a $14M enterprise initiative, refining rollout plans, budgets, and logistics while tracking implementation progress and producing executive-level financial and delivery reporting.Established and led scaled Agile program operations across 20+ teams, defining the program operating model, training team leads, and implementing tooling, workflows, and governance to improve planning, capacity management, delivery, and KPI-driven portfolio reporting.
EDUCATION
Scaled Agile, Inc,
Certified POPM, SAFe Product Owner / Product Manager
Scrum Alliance
Certified Agile Leader (CAL I), Agile Leadership & Transformation
Scaled Agile, Inc.
Certified SASM, SAFe Advanced Scrum Master
Scrum Alliance
Certified Scrum Professional (Advanced CSP-SM), Agile / Scrum
Scrum Alliance
Certified Scrum Master (CSM) , Agile / Scrum
ABOUT DEBBIE SALDANA
Strategic systems leader with extensive experience guiding global organizations through complex, multi‑region initiatives. A trusted partner to senior leadership, I bring clarity, structure, direction, and alignment by establishing governance, visibility, and operating models that enable confident decisions and organizational momentum.Known for directing without authority, energizing and aligning diverse stakeholders, and translating organizational intent into structured global portfolio, program, and initiative tracking through modern PPM platforms and PMO operating models. Combines deep technical fluency with collaborative leadership to support effective executive oversight, risk management, and organizational alignment.Extensive experience leading complex cross-functional programs spanning enterprise IT systems, data platforms, product development, internal business systems, and large-scale integrations. Skilled at aligning technology, product, and operations teams around shared business objectives, ensuring that disparate systems, teams, and priorities move forward together in support of organizational goals.Goal-oriented, results-driven leader with deep experience guiding IT system integrations, SDLC execution, data platforms, and cross-portfolio collaboration. Brings strong analytics and reporting capabilities, including executive dashboards and portfolio-level metrics, to support informed decision-making and organizational alignment.Recognized for collaborative leadership, continuous improvement, and a strong interest in AI and emerging tech that improves portfolio visibility and operational effectiveness. Known for establishing operating cadence, removing delivery blockers, driving decision clarity, and enabling leadership teams to move faster with confidence through disciplined portfolio governance and transparent metrics. Core Leadership & PMO Capabilities Global Program–Project Portfolio Management (PPM) PMO Governance, Reporting & Portfolio Visibility Matrix Leadership & Influencing Without Authority Enterprise Program & Cross-Portfolio Coordination IT, Product & Operations Program Leadership Large-Scale Systems & Integration Programs SDLC (Agile & Waterfall) Executive-Level Reporting & Portfolio Metrics Enterprise Process Improvement Enterprise Tools Expertise Smartsheet (PPM)| Jira | ServiceNow | Smartsheet–Jira Connector | Microsoft 365 (E5)| Power BI | Power Apps | Power Automate | SQL Server | PostgreSQL | Google Workspace (Sheets, Docs, Analytics)
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