Treasury Today Group celebrates over a quarter of a century in the corporate treasury arena this year and 18 years recognising best practice and innovation through our Adam Smith Awards. A highlight in the corporate treasury calendar, we are delighted to continue this important programme, which this year generated a record-breaking 454 nominations across 30 countries – truly outstanding.
The role of treasury as a strategic partner, constantly required to deliver better and more innovative solutions to support corporate growth, especially in such challenging times, shines brighter than ever.
Our popular Best Cash Management Solution category returned this year, and the sheer number of nominations received demonstrates that cash management remains a key area of focus. Celanese Corporation is our Overall Winner for an extensive solution comprising the upgrade of its ERP system, integration of the company’s largest acquisition in its history into a single ERP and a banking redesign/structure that went live in November 2024.
Etsy, is Overall Winner in the Best Cash Pooling Solution category with a novel use of a notional pooling structure within a regulated payment institution and the value of exploring alternative methods of safeguarding, such as a surety bond. The innovation lies not in the pooling technology itself but in the novel way that Etsy applied existing mechanisms to overcome constraints.
Our new category – Best Payments Solution is won by Siemens AG with a blockchain solution enabling near-instant USD transfers between Singapore and New York offering truly 24/7/365 cash management removing constraints of cut-off hours, bank holidays and weekends.
Saudi Electricity Company is a Highly Commended Winner in this category with a solution which has adopted ISO 20022 and includes real-time payment tracking.
Other Overall Winners include the world’s largest home improvement retailer based on net sales, The Home Depot, Inc. (Home Depot) in our Best Funding Solution category to finance its acquisition of SRS Distribution.
Home Depot joins other major corporate names like FedEx, our Overall Winner – Harnessing the Power of Technology; BP which wins Best Treasury Transformation Project and WPP for Best Sustainable Treasury Solution.
Regional Best in Class Treasury Solution awards go to Siemens, AB InBev Africa and Savvy Games Group for Latin America, Africa and the Middle East respectively.
Our judges wanted to recognise two particular nominations this year as Judges’ Choice. Firstly, Reddit for its IPO, priced on 20th March, 2024, marked a major milestone for the company and involved a series of strategic initiatives and careful coordination. Reddit successfully raised US$860m by offering 25.3 million shares at US$34 per share, which was at the high end of the expected range. The IPO was remarkably successful, with the stock closing at US$50.44 on the first day of trading, reflecting a 48% increase from the IPO price. The second Judges’ Choice is awarded to WPP for a Treasurer Bot; an AI-powered tool that leverages proprietary WPP Treasury data, combined with web and internal content, to emulate the role of a corporate treasurer. It can automate tasks such as advising on FX hedging, cash flow forecasting, and reporting, while also providing insights and recommendations on financial planning and risk management.
Our individual award categories were also hotly contested. Our 2025 Rising Star is Octopus Energy’s Angela Hobart. She has helped the company navigate an unprecedented period of turbulence in the UK energy market, during which over 30 energy suppliers failed – all while remaining passionate about championing diversity, making a difference in the world, and challenging herself to move the needle on climate change.
This year’s Corporate Treasurer of the Year is awarded to Barış Gökalp, Group Treasurer/Treasury Director at Şişecam.
Other Highly Commended winners include Inchcape Shipping Services, Bristol Myers Squibb and IWG Plc in our Best Cash Management Solution category; ASDA, Dollar Tree Inc and Costco in our Best Supply Chain Solution and Sylvamo do Brasil Ltd, Coca-Cola and Jaguar Land Rover in our Best Foreign Exchange Solution, alongside many others.
Our most hotly contested Top Treasury Team 2025 accolade breaks with tradition this year as we have announced a shortlist of three candidates; Dowlais Group, Flutter Entertainment plc and Viatris Inc. The Overall Winner will be announced at our celebratory dinner on Monday 23rd June.
Following our live winners’ announcement on 6th May, the Adam Smith Awards season has now begun. It includes a prestigious Adam Smith Awards Celebration Dinner in London at the St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel, where winners and their partners will be presented with bespoke crystal awards. We will also be sharing all their success stories throughout our case study series, launching in August.
The Adam Smith Awards programme is globally recognised as the industry benchmark for best practice and exceptional solutions in corporate treasury, and this year is no exception. We look forward to celebrating our winners’ achievements and to bringing our formidable community together once again.
