Treasury Talks podcast series

In our latest podcast with Standard Chartered, Tarek El-Yafi, Regional Head of Cash Management Sales, and Karen Hom, Managing Director of Transaction Banking, discuss working capital solutions, the importance of technology, and what a well-run treasury should look like.

In the third episode of the Innovation at Standard Chartered podcast, Waqar Chaudry, Executive Director – Innovation, Financing & Securities Services, and Rene Michau, Global Head, Digital Assets, explain why digital assets are a 'today problem' that cannot be put off until tomorrow.

On 25th November 2022, senior financial professionals from across the Asia Pacific region gathered at Raffles hotel in Singapore for the ninth Women in Treasury APAC Forum. As well as celebrating women in the world of treasury, the annual event has also become a powerful voice in furthering diversity and inclusion.

We are joined by Citi's Lorraine Donnelly, EMEA Industry Sales Head, Healthcare & Consumer Goods Clients, Treasury & Trade Solutions and Laura Fogarty, Healthcare Industry Head to discuss the latest developments at Citi surrounding the intersection of technology and healthcare as industry sectors and how the bank categorises these different supergroups.

On 19th October, senior financial professionals from across the United States gathered at the Manhattan Midtown Loft and Terrace for the seventh Women in Treasury New York Forum. Our four key speakers discussed their career paths, shared their thoughts on diversity and inclusion and offering advice from overcoming cultural differences, mentoring and the challenges of career and family life.

This is the tenth year of our Women in Treasury EMEA Forum and our four experts discussed their career journeys and shared insights on how they have shaped their own leadership style. They also spoke about the efficacy of quotas and some of the enduring challenges for women in treasury including the stigma of maternity leave in the US, and concerns about returning to work after a break.

Standard Chartered's Head of Client Analytics Oksana Pidkuyko explains how companies can navigate today's heightened risks by developing hedging strategies that turn volatility into a friend rather than a foe.

Employers offering full remote working have the competitive edge in today's struggle for talent. Candidates with tech and AI skills are most in demand but movement across senior treasury positions is still slow. Mike Richards from The Treasury Recruitment Company talks to Sarah Rundell.

In this final episode we explain the criteria for entry, some tips to help you prepare your nominations and what our judges look for when making their decisions.

By combining banking, technology and innovation, SC Ventures, Standard Chartered's innovation, investment and ventures arm, is creating new business models that are solving treasury's most pressing challenges.

In this episode, Sophie Jackson, Publisher & Head of Strategic Content, explains the new and exciting award categories we have added this year. A full list of our categories and descriptions is on our website here: https://treasurytoday.com/adam-smith-awards-asia/categories

The Ukraine crisis, inflation and rising interest rates are all affecting the investment landscape. At the same time, money market fund reform is once again on the horizon in the US and Europe. We hear from industry experts Whitbread Group, HSBC Asset Management and BlackRock to find out more about the factors shaping today's MMF landscape and the possible impact of future reform.

We are delighted to begin our Adam Smith Awards Asia 2022 – A Winners' Guide podcast series. In this first episode, Sophie Jackson, Publisher & Head of Strategic Content, explains what the Adam Smith Awards Asia are, why you should consider nominating and the key dates for your diary. Nominations are now open and will close on September 5th.

In the fourth Digital Dialogues podcast episode, Citi's Kanika Thakur speaks about trade finance trends in APAC, while Nanyang Technological University's Kwok-Yan Lam shares his views on developments in data security.

From lockdowns to rising inflation, the last two years have brought multiple challenges for global supply chains – and disruption and uncertainty are set to continue. How can treasurers help their companies navigate this challenging landscape? Andrew Blincoe, Head of Corporates & Institutions at NatWest Group, and Peter Bolstorff, Executive Vice President, Corporate Development at The Association of Supply Chain Management, share their views.

Balagopal Kunduvara, Divisional Vice President Financial Services at Singapore Airlines talks about his treasury priorities during the pandemic and his key focus for the company in the year ahead.

In the third Digital Dialogues podcast episode, we hear from Philip Summerton, CEO of Cambridge Econometrics, together with Sandip Patil and Kanika Thakur from Citi, about geopolitical risk and the broader world trends shaping treasury in 2022.

We are delighted to continue our Adam Smith Awards 2022 – A Winners' Guide podcast series. In this third and final episode, John Nicholas, Senior Advisor, talks through the criteria for submissions and gives some helpful tips on what our judges will be looking for. Nominations are now open and will close on 11th April.

In our 2021 Women in Treasury US Forum, our five experts discuss their career paths, share their experiences and highlight the importance of gender equality, representation and visibility within our community whilst offering advice on what we should keep in mind when looking ahead to the future.

We are delighted to continue our Adam Smith Awards 2022 – A Winners' Guide podcast series. In this second short episode our Publisher and Head of Operations, Meg Coates, talks through the new and enhanced categories for this year and hears from some of last year's individual category winners. Nominations are now open and will close on 11th April.

Standard Chartered's Simon Derrick and Robert Newell discuss the key types of sustainable finance that treasurers should be aware of, the workload and risks to consider when embarking on sustainable finance initiatives, and the extent to which developments vary between different markets.

We are delighted to launch our Adam Smith Awards 2022 – A Winners' Guide podcast series. In this first short episode I will explain what the Adam Smith Awards are, why you should consider nominating and the key dates for your diaries. Nominations open on 31st January and will close on 11th April.

Treasury teams should explore cash segmentation strategies to balance their liquidity and working capital needs alongside investing for higher returns and diversification. BlackRock's James Morek and Brett Davis explain.

Enno Dykmann, Treasurer of Alliander, and Geeta Sharma, Director, Portfolio Manager at BlackRock's International Cash Business, discuss how treasurers can invest cash in a sustainable way, and how asset managers are incorporating ESG considerations into their processes.

In this year's EMEA Forum, four experts discussed their career journeys and shared their insights on how to make the right decisions, take risks and switch between different disciplines. They also spoke about the importance of mentorship and sponsorship, and what hybrid working means for gender equality.

Standard Chartered Bank's Stuart Keelan and Desiree Pires discuss how navigating inflation risk, hedging and sustainability are key themes for treasury teams coming out of the pandemic.

Cash management technology has an increasingly important role to play as treasurers look for ways to free up time and manage risk more effectively. James Capps and Tricia Turner of BlackRock explain the value they see in technology in today's market and share their thoughts on how this space could develop in the years ahead.

In our second audio episode we sat down with Sarika Joshi of Zalora and Sanjeev Jain at Citi to explore emerging business models in theory and in practice. Some of the most dynamic treasury, payments and general corporate finance innovation is occurring in the e-commerce and digital native space. The pandemic has accelerated and enhanced the commerciality of digital first, e-commerce, young and adaptive companies. The ability to move rapidly and both guide and follow their consumer base has propelled retail companies with a strong e-commerce base into a new world. These savvy and tech-based businesses process data and consumer insight rapidly, adjusting and evolving their approach and outlook to maximise efficiency and profit. This is reflected in their treasury and finance functions, where they can adapt to a fast paced environment and allow data and consumer insight to power a new kind of progressive and future focused decision making business model.

Alexander Foltin, treasurer at European chip maker Infineon talks about his treasury priorities against the backdrop of challenges in the global semiconductor industry.

In our first audio episode with Jason Han of Nanyang Technological University and Citi's own Sandip Patil, we explored the most exciting digital innovations of the past decade, outlining the scope of our upcoming episodes throughout the course of this year's series and focusing on both their experiences and insights.

In this Episode, we explain the criteria for entry, some tips to aide your submissions and what our judges look for when making their decisions. Nominations are now open and will close on 6th September 2021.

In this year's APAC WiT forum, expert panellists reflect on how they progressed their careers in finance and share their key advice. Elsewhere the conversation talked about the damaging impact of the pandemic to gender equality and the role of men in supporting equality.

In this Episode, we explore the new categories we have added this year. A full list of categories can be found online at treasurytoday.com. Nominations are now open and will close on 6th September 2021.

We are delighted to launch our Adam Smith Awards Asia 2021 – A Winner's Guide podcast series. In this first short episode I will explain what the Adam Smith Awards Asia are, why you should consider nominating and the key dates for your diaries. Nominations opened on 7th June and will close on 6th September 2021.

Overall Winner – Olam International Ltd., Jayant Parande, in partnership with Citi, DBS, Deutsche Bank, J.P. Morgan and Standard Chartered. Highly Commended Winner – Grab Holdings Inc., Wilson Koh, in partnership with Kyriba and UOB. Highly Commended Winner – HCL India, Vineet Sood, in partnership with Citi. This is our most prestigious and competitive award. Here we recognise any corporate treasury team that has made an outstanding contribution to its organisation over the past 12-18 months. This could be purely the treasury team, comprising several team members, or a broader team effort, involving many disciplines across the enterprise.

Overall Winner – Sanofi India, Somak Ghosh, in partnership with J.P. Morgan. Highly Commended Winner – Visteon Electronics India Pvt Ltd, Jessica Cao and Ramalingam Rajasekar, in partnership with Bank of America. Highly Commended Winner – Herbalife International India Pvt Ltd, Ajay Khanna, Uday Prakash and Vivek MP, in partnership with DBS. To acknowledge the specific challenges of operating in this dynamic country, here we showcase treasuries in India that have implemented, or are in the process of implementing, a cash/liquidity management, card, trade/SCF, WCM/AP/AR, funding/ESG, FX, risk and/or technology/cyber security/fintech solution.

What does responsible investment mean to treasurers? Which factors are driving change in this area? And what sort of terminology should treasurers be aware of? Joshua Kendall, Head of Responsible Investment Research and Stewardship at Insight Investment, shares his views in the first of a series of three podcasts.

Overall Winner – Worley. Their partner HSBC speaks about their winning solution and collaboration. Highly Commended Winner – New South Wales State Government. Their partner Citi speaks about their winning solution and collaboration. Cards are no longer just a piece of plastic; corporate cards have become an integral part of the cash management set-up. Here we see how cards, including virtual cards, are being used to improve the T&E processes.

In this episode, we speak to Minna Helppi, Group Treasurer, at Metso Outotec about the role treasury played during their merger, the companies supply chain finance programme and how she is introducing sustainability in treasury.

Overall Winner – ST Telemedia, Darren Chua, in partnership with Citi. Highly Commended Winner – KPJ Healthcare Berhad, Norhaizam Mohammad, in partnership with HSBC. Highly Commended Winner – Radico Khaitan, Dilip Banthiya, in partnership with DBS. Highly Commended Winner – Samsonite China. Their partner J.P. Morgan speaks about their winning solution and collaboration. This was a new category in 2020 to respond specifically to the challenges faced due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We wanted to recognise the Herculean efforts that have been demonstrated as you respond to the demands of the new normal. There have been some extraordinary demonstrations of best practice that we feel deserve special recognition, this year including one company which switched its entire production facility in response to the crisis and another which deployed a QR code to help swab testing.

In the first of a series of three podcasts, Standard Chartered's Steve Pairman, Head of Cash Product, UK and Marion Reuter, Regional Head of Transaction Banking Sales, Europe discuss the transformational role of digitisation and the key aspects treasury teams need to get right.

How is technology supporting the evolving role of the treasurer? And how can treasurers tap into everything from AI and data analytics to AML solutions as they take on a more strategic position within their organisations? In a recent virtual roundtable held by Treasury Today and the Bottomline TreasuryXpress team, industry experts discussed the latest developments in this podcast.

Overall Winner – Hetero Labs Limited, Dr. Vamsi Krishna Bandi, in partnership with Standard Chartered. This is awarded by our judges to recognise a project or solution that demonstrates something particularly special, outside of our defined categories. It could be something not seen previously or, as is the case this year, an innovative response to the specific challenges posed by the global COVID-19 pandemic. The response was quick, direct and urgently needed.

Overall Winner – Agrocorp International, Vishal Vijay, Nitin Jain and Rahul Jain. Highly Commended Winner – PNB Housing Finance Ltd. Their partner Citi speaks with us about their winning solution and collaboration. Highly Commended Winner – GE Capital, Paul English, in partnership with DBS. This category looks across the range of the E, the S and the G. We focus on sustainable projects including the finance related to the mitigation of and/or adaptation to climate change/CO2 emissions as well as investment strategies which incorporate ESG/CSR factors and solutions which relate to the achievement of sustainability-linked KPIs.

Overall Winner – PTT Exploration & Production Public Co. Ltd., Anutra Bunnag, in partnership with Bank of America. Highly Commended Winner – Sanofi S.A., Jackson Xu, in partnership with Citi. Highly Commended Winner – PLDT Group. Their partner DBS speaks with us about their winning solution and collaboration. Efficient working capital is a key challenge for corporates of all shapes and sizes. This is all about improving key performance indicators of DPO, DSO, DIO, DWC and the cash conversion cycle.

Overall Winner – Alibaba.com, Issac Chen, in partnership with J.P. Morgan. Highly Commended Winner – Dairy Farm, Leslie Chan and May Lee, in partnership with ION Group. Highly Commended Winner – AMS Sensors Holdings Asia Pte Ltd, Arno Gruner, in partnership with Deutsche Bank. Highly Commended Winner – Microsoft, David Meunier. Technology is a key component in many of the submissions we receive and this is always a hotly contested category. We see projects ranging from the use of APIs and RPA to full-blown treasury technology transformation involving TMS/ERP integration and much more.

Overall Winner – Microsoft, Fanny Niu. Highly Commended Winner – Chubb Insurance Australia Ltd, Gerard Sitaramayya. Highly Commended Winner – Pontian Pei Chun Chinese Schools.Payables are key to any business. How do companies negotiate improved payment terms with their suppliers? We have seen an increase in the use of shared service centres and payment factories in recent years, and Payment-on-Behalf-of structures are a lot more common now. We also look at how companies manage their accounts receivables, including reconciliation. As with payments, we are now seeing Collection-on-Behalf-of structures emerging.

Winner – GE Capital, Manoj Sinha, in partnership with Bank of America. Highly Commended – China Unicom. Their partner J.P. Morgan speaks with us about their winning solution and collaboration. Risk continues to be top of every treasurer's agenda, from foreign exchange risk, counterparty risk, commodity risk and interest rate risk to cyber risk, reputational risk and supply chain risk. It feels like corporates have never had more risks to manage, making this an ever-increasing critical responsibility for the treasury function.

Overall Winner – Ant Group, Kelvin Li, in partnership with J.P. Morgan. Highly Commended Winner – General Electric, Amit Grover, in partnership with Citi. Here we look at liquidity solutions such as cash pooling structures. Some are single country/single currency, whilst some corporates have implemented multi-country/multi-currency and even cross-currency arrangements which "follow the sun", and one which goes 'against the sun' yet still respects value dating across time-zones.

Overall Winner – Alibaba, Tian Tian Wang, Newson Liao and Jun Feng, in partnership with Citi. Cyber-security continues to be a major issue for companies of all shapes and sizes with most household names having been victims of cyber-crime past, present and future. We look here at how an organisation is mitigating the threat of a cyber-attack.

Overall Winner – Meituan-Dianping. Their partner J.P. Morgan speaks with us about their winning solution and collaboration. Highly Commended – Medtronic, Tim Husnik, in partnership with Deutsche Bank. Highly Commended – Danone, Zurab Abutidze, in partnership with Citi and Kyriba. This category looks at foreign exchange and solutions that have responded to the ever-evolving challenges this area poses to corporate finance professionals. From technology to new processes, change to a hedging strategy or a new FX requirement as a result of entering a new market or dealing with a new currency and/or client/supplier.