Richard Bender
Adelaide,SA
Summary
Senior management leader and Chartered Accountant (CA(SA)) with deep experience operating at the intersection of finance, technology, and enterprise operations within large, complex, multinational organisations. Proven ability to translate strategy into execution, align investment to business outcomes, and deliver measurable value across infrastructure, ERP, digital enablement, and core business systems. Recognised as a credible, grounded leader who combines strategic oversight with hands-on accountability when required. Trusted advisor to executive leadership and global stakeholders across Europe, Africa, North America, and Latin America, with a strong track record in restructuring teams, optimising cost bases, managing risk, and leading change in high-complexity environments.
Overview
12
12
years of professional experience
Work History
ICT Delivery: IT Infrastructure South Africa
BMW Group South Africa
03.2025 - 10.2025
- Accountable for national IT infrastructure strategy, operations, and financial performance across manufacturing, sales, financial services, and local for global IT hub environment.
- Led multi-site service delivery covering infrastructure platforms, digital and industrial workplaces, and enterprise connectivity, ensuring stability, security, and value optimisation.
- Acted as senior stakeholder interface between local executive leadership and global BMW Group steering and governance forums.
- Identified and eliminated AUD 8m in avoidable IT expenditure through contract renegotiation, consumption transparency, and cost re-allocation.
IT Steering Lead for Mexico BMW Plant San Luis Potosí
BMW Group
07.2024 - 02.2025
- Appointed as local IT lead for high-risk, politically sensitive ERP initiatives spanning Finance and Logistics, reporting into CIO Americas.
- Provided decisive portfolio steering, budget governance, and delivery assurance across multi-region stakeholders in a complex manufacturing environment.
- Represented plant and regional interests in global programme governance and executive reporting forums.
- Managing executive escalation and risk mitigation in cross-border programmes.
- Accelerated a major ERP programme by two years, materially reducing duplication risk and avoiding multi-million-dollar cost exposure to the plant.
- Successfully led early-phase delivery (kick-off, exploration, and design) for Mexico and supported the parallel USA rollout, stabilising momentum across regions.
SAP Enabling and Logistics
BMW Group South Africa / Mexico
10.2016 - 06.2024
- Held senior leadership accountability for enterprise systems enabling Finance, Logistics, Customs, HR, and production systems and operations across manufacturing and sales entities.
- Led large, multi-disciplinary teams delivering stable operations, regulatory compliance, and continuous digital improvement in alignment with global product ownership.
- Oversight of internal controls (ICS), audit outcomes, and regulatory compliance.
- Contribution to group-level digitalisation and data strategy.
- Acted as director proxy and trusted advisor to plant and regional leadership in strategy, risk, audit, and governance matters.
- Designed and rolled out a standardised Mobility Service Tool, delivering 30–40% capacity savings per location and improving scalability across markets.
- Migrated critical customs systems from on-premise to SaaS, reducing infrastructure dependency by 80% and improving service responsiveness by 30%.
- Led cloud architecture optimisation using ARM-based platforms, delivering 15% cost savings and a 40% reduction in resource consumption, with measurable sustainability benefits.
- Enabled regulatory and trade initiatives contributing AUD 800m to a major vehicle business case and recovering AUD 10m through system enhancements.
- Implemented enterprise travel, analytics, and self-service platforms, materially reducing operational workload across Finance and HR while strengthening internal controls and risk detection.
Finance Manager – Plant Accounting & Management
BMW Group South Africa
02.2014 - 09.2016
- Led plant finance operations, balance sheet governance, and audit readiness for a complex manufacturing environment.
- Acted as senior financial advisor to plant leadership, improving transparency, control, and working capital efficiency.
- Chaired cross-functional governance forums impacting production and cost outcomes.
- Developed process automation tools reducing finance workload by 30% and accelerating critical export accounting cycles by 70%.
- Delivered sustained working capital improvements of approximately AUD 2m per annum through balance sheet clean-ups and process redesign.
Education
B.Com. with Honours - Accounting Sciences
University of Pretoria
Chartered Accountant South-Africa -
South African Institute of Chartered Accountants
Agile Project Management Foundation Examination -
APMG Accredited
Prince2 Foundation Certificate in Project Manage -
Torque IT - AXELOS & APMG Accredited
ITIL 4 Foundation -
ITSM HUB Australia
AI For Leaders -
University of Texas At Austin
Skills
- IT development and operations management
- Major incident management
- Financial acumen and business strategy
- Project management and steering
- Team leadership and development
- Stakeholder relationship management
- Risk assessment and reporting
- Effective communication and presentations
- Strategic planning and execution
- Creative problem solving
- Analytical skills
- ERP: SAP
- Proficient in MS Office Suite (Excel, Word, PowerPoint, VISIO, MS Projects)
- AI Assisted Python coding (Vibe coding)
- JIRA & Confluence (Atlassian)
References
References available upon request.
Languages
- Afrikaans
- German
- Spanish
- English, Native/ Bilingual
- Afrikaans, Native/ Bilingual
- German, Limited
- Spanish, Elementary
Systems And Software
SAP, MS Office Suite (Excel, Word, PowerPoint, VISIO, MS Projects), AI Assisted Python coding (Vibe coding), JIRA & Confluence (Atlassian)
Websites And Social Links
www.linkedin.com/in/richard-bender--
Timeline
ICT Delivery: IT Infrastructure South Africa
BMW Group South Africa
03.2025 - 10.2025
IT Steering Lead for Mexico BMW Plant San Luis Potosí
BMW Group
07.2024 - 02.2025
SAP Enabling and Logistics
BMW Group South Africa / Mexico
10.2016 - 06.2024
Finance Manager – Plant Accounting & Management
BMW Group South Africa
02.2014 - 09.2016
B.Com. with Honours - Accounting Sciences
University of Pretoria
Chartered Accountant South-Africa -
South African Institute of Chartered Accountants
Agile Project Management Foundation Examination -
APMG Accredited
Prince2 Foundation Certificate in Project Manage -
Torque IT - AXELOS & APMG Accredited
ITIL 4 Foundation -
ITSM HUB Australia
AI For Leaders -
University of Texas At Austin