How did you get into the treasury profession?
I ended up in treasury by accident. While finishing my Master’s degree in Financial Economics, I took a short-term role where I worked for both the finance and sustainability departments. When a position for a Cash Manager opened, I had a coffee meeting with the Group Treasurer to learn more about it. I remember how he passionately spoke about treasury, which inspired my interest in this field. When he offered me a job shortly after, I happily accepted it.
What are your main treasury tasks?
As a Cash Manager at citizenM, my main tasks revolve around managing the company’s cash flow, account reconciliation, intercompany funding, treasury reporting, Know Your Customer (KYC) compliance, managing banking infrastructure, and maintaining relationships with banks. We have a centralized Treasury department based in our head office in Voorschoten.
What appeals to you about treasury?
Treasury is fun because no two days are alike, and it’s hard to get bored as you constantly face challenges you haven’t encountered before. There is a great balance between daily operational work, where you get a sense of immediate gratification when you solve a problem or complete a task, and longer-term improvement projects. As a people person, I also appreciate that maintaining good relationships with internal and external stakeholders is equally as important as analytical thinking.
What challenge in your treasury career has impressed you most?
A challenge that truly stands out to me is the opportunity to be part of establishing the treasury function from the ground up. When I joined treasury, we only had an Excel sheet and access to the banking portal. Working closely with a newly appointed Group Treasurer, I witnessed firsthand the process of building the treasury infrastructure from scratch. Looking back, it’s incredible to see how far we’ve come.
Why is treasury such an interesting field?
Treasury is a fascinating field due to its multifaceted nature. As a treasury generalist, I am required to wear many hats in a single day, being involved in a wide range of tasks that require different skills and perspectives. This dynamic environment keeps me challenged and intellectually stimulated while allowing me to continually develop my skills and expertise.
What would be a big achievement/goal for the future?
I hope to be able to pay forward the invaluable mentorship I was fortunate to receive. Since treasury is a specialized niche within finance and is not widely taught at universities, there is a barrier to entry into the field. Without someone willing to teach and guide, breaking into treasury can be challenging. I was lucky to have an incredibly patient mentor who hired and trained me. It would bring me immense professional satisfaction to hire and mentor someone in the future, passing on the knowledge and guidance that was generously shared with me.