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Colin Brennan is CEO of Strada, a people, payroll, and technology provider for international workforce management. He brings to his role nearly 30 years’ experience and deep knowledge of global payroll, HR, and enterprise resource planning (ERP), with prior senior roles at Aon Hewitt, Alight, and Lumin Digital.

Today, he is leading Strada’s ambition to become the leader in workforce operations by connecting HR, payroll, and payments through artificial intelligence (AI)-powered technology—helping organizations simplify complexity, improve workforce performance, and deliver better outcomes for more than 1,400 clients across 180 countries.

 

Q. What are the biggest challenges the C-suite should know are out there for payroll teams, and what’s important to address these challenges?

The biggest challenge I see is complexity. Most multinational organizations have grown over time through acquisitions, regional expansion, or changing business priorities, leaving them with disconnected HR, payroll, and payments systems. That makes it harder to gain visibility, respond quickly to change, and deliver a consistent employee experience.

At the same time, expectations of payroll have changed. Although a critical component, it's no longer enough to simply pay people accurately and on time. Business leaders increasingly expect payroll to provide insights that help them understand their workforce, manage costs, reduce risk, and support better decision-making.

For the C-suite, the priority should be simplifying that complexity. Connecting HR, payroll, and payments through integrated technology gives organizations a more complete view of their workforce, improves governance, and enables payroll teams to spend less time managing manual processes and more time delivering strategic value. That's where AI will play an increasingly important role—helping organizations automate routine work, improve data quality, and turn workforce data into actionable insight.

 

Q. What does the C-suite need to understand about this changing role of the payroll professional?

The C-suite has traditionally viewed payroll as a back-office function, but that mindset is changing. Today, payroll can also provide valuable insights into workforce costs, compliance, productivity, and operational performance. With AI and integrated technology making data more accessible, payroll leaders have an opportunity to contribute far beyond day-to-day operations.

For the C-suite, the priority is ensuring payroll isn't treated as a standalone process. It should be part of a connected workforce strategy, with the technology, data, and governance needed to support better decisions, improve efficiency, and deliver a better employee experience.

 

Q. What has the emotional experience of being an executive leader in payroll meant to you?

One of the things I've come to appreciate most is the level of trust that payroll represents. When people are paid accurately and on time, they rarely think about it. But behind every payroll is a huge amount of expertise, collaboration, and responsibility. I've always had enormous respect for the professionals who make that happen every single pay cycle.

As a leader, that has reinforced for me that payroll isn't just about processes or technology. It's about people. It has a direct impact on employees' financial wellbeing and on the trust they place in their employer. That's a responsibility you never lose sight of.

It's also been rewarding to see payroll gain the recognition it deserves as a strategic business capability. Being part of that evolution has been one of the most rewarding aspects of my career.

 

Q. It’s uncommon to find a payroll expert in a C-suite role. What advice do you have for others who want to follow in your footsteps?

One of the biggest advantages I've had throughout my career is that I haven't stayed in one function. I started on the technical side before moving into operations, client-facing roles, sales, and business leadership. Each move gave me a different perspective and helped me understand how the different parts of an organization work together.

My advice is to build deep expertise in your field, but don't be afraid to step outside it. Volunteer for new opportunities, take on cross-functional projects, and stay curious about how the wider business operates. Those experiences not only broaden your perspective but also help you develop the commercial thinking that's essential for executive leadership.

 

Q. What leadership qualities do you think are essential for payroll executives to influence C-suite priorities effectively?

The best payroll leaders don't just understand payroll; they understand the business. They can connect what's happening in payroll to broader priorities like growth, risk, employee experience, and financial performance.

That means being able to communicate in business terms rather than technical ones. The C-suite doesn't need every detail of payroll legislation or process; it needs clear insights that help leaders make better decisions. Strong collaboration is equally important because payroll doesn't operate in isolation. The greatest value comes when it's connected with HR, finance, and payments to provide a more complete view of the workforce.

 

Q. How do you incorporate cultural intelligence into your global payroll strategy?

For me, cultural intelligence starts with listening. We have colleagues and customers around the world who understand their local markets far better than anyone sitting in a headquarters office. Their insights are essential to building solutions that work not—just technically, but practically—for the people using them every day.

The goal is to strike the right balance between global consistency and local relevance. You need common standards, governance, and technology, but you also need the flexibility to reflect local requirements and workforce expectations. That's how you build trust with employees and customers while delivering payroll effectively at a global scale.

 

"Payroll became a source of business intelligence rather than simply a record of what had already happened."

 

Q. Can you share an example of a time when you successfully integrated payroll insights into a broader corporate strategy? What was the impact?

One example that stands out is a global organization that was operating payroll through a mix of in-house systems and multiple providers across different countries. Like many multinational businesses, it had plenty of data, but very little visibility because that data was fragmented.

By bringing payroll into a single global model, the organization gained a much clearer view of its workforce. For the first time, leaders could consistently see workforce costs, overtime, hiring trends, and turnover across regions, rather than looking at disconnected snapshots.

What was interesting wasn't the payroll transformation itself, it was the business decisions that followed. With better insight, leadership could make more informed decisions about where to invest, where to grow, and how to manage workforce capacity. Payroll became a source of business intelligence rather than simply a record of what had already happened.

 

Q. How do you maintain alignment between payroll goals and overall business objectives, especially during periods of rapid organizational change?

Maintaining alignment starts with ensuring that payroll is closely connected to both customer needs and broader organizational priorities. A key part of this is reducing fragmentation in how payroll is delivered, whether across internal teams or with external vendors. By bringing processes and systems together, companies can achieve more consistent outcomes and ensure that payroll objectives directly support business goals.

During periods of rapid change, alignment is also reinforced by improving visibility. When payroll data is standardized and accessible, it becomes easier to understand how workforce decisions are impacting the business and to adjust strategy accordingly.

 

Q. How do you see AI and automation reshaping global payroll processes in the next five years? What opportunities and challenges do you foresee?

AI has enormous potential to transform workforce operations, but its success depends on getting the fundamentals right. AI is only as effective as the data it's working with, so organizations operating across fragmented HR, payroll, and payments systems will struggle to realise its full value.

Over the next five years, I expect AI to take on more of the repetitive work that consumes payroll teams today. It will help identify anomalies earlier, improve data quality, support compliance, answer routine employee queries, and provide predictive insights that enable better workforce decisions. That doesn't replace payroll professionals. It gives them more time to focus on the areas where human judgment, expertise, and collaboration matter most.

I also think—with the use of AI—that we'll see payroll processing become much more real-time. Rather than waiting until the end of a pay cycle to identify issues, organizations will increasingly validate changes as they happen. That creates more opportunities to correct errors, improve accuracy, and provide greater transparency for employees before payday.

Responsible AI is just as important as powerful AI. That means using it transparently, ensuring strong governance over the underlying data, and keeping people at the centre of decision-making. AI should amplify human expertise, not replace it.

 

Q. What strategies have you adopted to navigate increasing global regulatory complexities in payroll compliance?

The reality is that regulatory complexity isn't going away. If anything, it's increasing as governments introduce new legislation and update requirements more frequently. The challenge for multinational organizations is staying compliant while maintaining consistency across multiple countries.

The most effective approach combines strong governance with deep local expertise. You need people who understand the nuances of individual markets, supported by technology that provides consistent processes, accurate data, and visibility across the global operation. That combination allows organizations to respond more quickly to regulatory change while reducing risk.

Ultimately, compliance isn't something you achieve once and then move on. It's a continuous discipline. The organizations that will be most successful are those that build the agility to adapt as regulations, workforce models, and business needs continue to evolve.

 

Q. How can payroll data be leveraged to inform executive-level decision-making across the organization?

Payroll data is perhaps one of the most underutilized sources of strategic insight within a company, yet it provides a highly accurate, real-time view of workforce dynamics and cost.

When payroll data is consolidated into a single view, it becomes a powerful decision-making tool. Leaders can better understand total workforce costs across locations, including base pay, overtime, benefits, and other allowances. It also provides insight into workforce patterns such as hiring activity, turnover, and fluctuations in staffing levels. This level of visibility enables more informed decisions about where to invest, where to scale, and how to optimize location strategy

Payroll also acts as a reliable source of truth because it reflects what is happening in the business on a week-to-week and month-to-month basis. Given that people are typically one of the largest cost drivers for any business, having a clear view of that data is critical to effective strategic planning.

 

Q. What role does payroll play in fostering financial inclusion and global equity within multinational organizations?

Payroll is one of the most important ways an organization demonstrates trust. Every employee, regardless of where they are in the world, expects to be paid accurately, on time, and in a way that meets local requirements.

For multinational organizations, financial inclusion also means delivering a consistent employee experience while respecting local regulations, currencies, banking infrastructure, and employment practices. That is a complex challenge, but it is also an opportunity. Organizations that connect HR, payroll, and payments can reduce friction, improve compliance, and ensure every employee is treated fairly, wherever they work.

 

Q. How do you anticipate the role of payroll leadership evolving with the growing prevalence of decentralized and hybrid workforces?

Whether an organization has office-based, hybrid, remote, or globally distributed teams, the challenge is ensuring payroll remains accurate, compliant, and consistent across every location. That means payroll leadership is becoming increasingly strategic. Beyond delivering pay, leaders need access to connected data and integrated technology that links HR, payroll, and payments, providing the visibility and insight organizations need to make informed workforce decisions.

 

Q. What are the top risks in global payroll today, and how do you mitigate them at the executive level?

The biggest risks in global payroll today are compliance, cybersecurity, fragmented data, and the growing complexity of operating across multiple countries. As organizations expand internationally, many are still relying on disconnected systems and processes that make it harder to maintain visibility, manage risk, and deliver a consistent employee experience.

At an executive level, mitigating those risks starts with simplifying the operating model. Bringing HR, payroll, and payments together through integrated technology creates a single, trusted view of workforce data, enabling organizations to improve compliance, strengthen governance, and identify potential issues before they become business or employee problems.

 

Q. How do you balance the need for cost efficiency with the demand for employee satisfaction in payroll operations?

Cost efficiency and employee experience should not be viewed as competing priorities.

Employees don't judge payroll by how efficiently it operates behind the scenes. They judge it by whether they are paid accurately, on time, and with confidence. That consistency builds trust, while automation and integrated technology help organizations improve efficiency, reduce errors, and free up teams to focus on higher-value work.

The most successful organizations recognise that investing in a better payroll experience ultimately supports both operational performance and employee engagement.

 

Q. What advice would you give to a payroll leader transitioning from an operational role to an executive-level strategic role?

The biggest shift is moving from thinking about payroll as a process to thinking about it as a business capability. Executive leaders need to understand not only how payroll operates, but how it supports growth, manages risk, improves compliance, and contributes to the overall employee experience.

That means developing a broader commercial perspective, building strong relationships across HR, finance, IT, and the wider leadership team, and being able to communicate in terms of business outcomes rather than operational metrics. Increasingly, it also means understanding how connected workforce data and AI can help organizations make better decisions.

My advice is to stay curious, keep learning, and don't be afraid to step outside your functional expertise. The best payroll leaders are those who can translate operational excellence into strategic business value.