On 9th July, treasury professionals from the Asia Pacific region, along with banking and technology partners, gathered at Singapore’s Four Seasons Hotel for the Women in Treasury & Finance APAC Forum 2026.
Hosted by Sophie Jackson, CEO of Treasury Today Group, and Meg Coates, Publisher & Operations Director, the forum generated insightful discussions and gave guests an invaluable opportunity to network and share ideas with colleagues across the industry.
Leadership workshop
The morning session began with a leadership workshop sponsored by Standard Chartered. The workshop was led by Arlene Gan, Global Head of Implementation, Transaction Banking, and Sharad Desai, Global Head, Markets Sales & Structuring.
The workshop explored one of the key themes raised by Treasury Today Group’s 2026 Global Equity Study, which was sponsored by Standard Chartered: how men and women can work together to drive equity.
“Meaningful progress happens when talented people have access not just to mentors, but to advocates and sponsors who open doors, create opportunities and champion their success. That is why this conversation – Men on Board – Equity in action – matters,” says Jennifer Doherty, COO, Transaction Banking, Standard Chartered.
Resilience and supporting diverse talent
Opening the afternoon session, Meg explained how Treasury Today has helped lay the foundations for a global treasury community through long-standing relationships, industry-leading events and prestigious awards programmes.
Next, Sophie held a fireside chat with Rachel Whelan, Managing Director, APAC & MEA Head of Corporate Cash Management & Global Head of Payments & Transactional FX Product Management at Deutsche Bank.
Rachel described her ‘origin story’, explaining that she grew up in a small village in Ireland. Qualified as a CIMA accountant and built an international career that ultimately led her into global leadership roles within Deutsche Bank.
Rachel also shared lessons from experiencing burnout earlier in her career, emphasising that resilience is not simply about pushing harder, it can also be about making the decision to stop. “We often think that if we work harder, things will improve,” she said. “But resilience isn’t always about pushing through. Sometimes it’s about recognising that something isn’t sustainable, making difficult decisions to choose a different path or just creating space to reflect, and find where your recharge buttons are.”
When it comes to recruitment, Rachel explained that she is highly committed to supporting diverse talent and focuses more on candidates’ abilities and potential than on their backgrounds or qualifications.
“From an equity perspective, we need to recognise that people bring different experiences, perspectives and strengths,” she said. “As leaders, we have a responsibility to look beyond what is written on a CV and create opportunities for talented individuals who may otherwise be overlooked and never get past the door.”
Making the most of opportunities
Following the fireside chat, guests moved through to the ballroom for the presentation ceremony of the Women in Treasury & Finance Awards. This was followed by the panel discussion moderated by Rozella Marie Mahjhrin, trainer, speaker and founder of True Complexion.
The discussion opened with the panellists recounting their own career journeys and their thoughts on developing the talent of others. “I came here in 1995 for a two-year stint with Deloitte, and I am still here, and I love it,” said Shelly Maneth, APAC Chief Financial Officer, Clifford Chance, talking about her 30-year career in Singapore.
Struck by the diverse nature of the countries she works across, Shelly highlighted the abundance of talent in each of those countries as a common denominator between them. She explained it is the role of leaders to open doors to that talent and nurture it within the organisation.
“As a senior leader, one of the things I try to do is give visibility to those opportunities to people in my team,” she explained. “Sometimes it’s a conversation, or an introduction to a colleague or a stakeholder. But it’s really important to show people that their path could be something different to what they imagine.”
Manoj S Bhatia, Managing Director, Global Head of Subsidiary Banking, Global Corporate & Investment Banking, Asia Pacific, MUFG Bank, Ltd., asserted that the chief obstacle to advancement is self-doubt.
“In a corporate setting, you’re not there because someone’s doing you a favour – you’re there because they believe you have the potential to deliver,” he said. “You don’t need to know everything there is to know, and you don’t need to have done everything yourself.”
He added, “When you’re stepping into a bigger role, you have to put self-doubt behind you and give yourself permission to belong. Unless you believe in yourself, you will always be under the shadow of self-doubt.”
From technical expertise to cultural intelligence
Jinny Goh, Group Treasurer, SATS Ltd, explained that she spent five years in corporate communications before transitioning to treasury. She argued that while technical knowledge is essential for a career in treasury, communication skills become increasingly important as an individual’s career progresses.
“We need to create the space for our team members to feel supported and confident enough to ask for the next opportunity,” she added. “The worst thing that can happen is that you will get a ‘no’ for an answer – but you might get an answer of ‘not yet’, which can lead to further conversations.”
Rebekah Wong, Head of ASEAN Payments at J.P. Morgan who heads the Payments franchise across six markets in South-East Asia, shared that she has learned not to judge too quickly. “Whether we like it or not, we all come with our own sets of unconscious biases. I have made a very conscious effort to rewire the way I engage with my team and even with clients. Most importantly, that means listening very hard, not just with your ears but with your eyes.”
She also added, “Technical expertise is certainly important, and emotional quotient (EQ) is important as well. But there should be more emphasis on cultural intelligence when managing regional teams.”
Navigating difficult conversations
Later in the discussion, Shelly spoke about the challenges of navigating difficult conversations about bias, bullying or microaggression.
“I admire leaders that can sit with the discomfort of such conversations, pause for a moment, and try to understand the situation better,” she said. “Working across Asia Pacific, we know that what can sit well in one culture can be taken very differently in another, and it’s extremely important to be able to recognise that.”
Highlighting the importance of listening and recognising when something has not gone well, she noted that feedback “is not as a verdict on someone’s character, but a way of helping them learn and grow.”
Giving structure to empowerment
Manoj spoke about the evolution of MUFG’s global corporate business. He highlighted the bank’s increasing focus on diversity and inclusion in recent years, noting that MUFG runs a structured programme that focuses on empowering women.
“We have about 130 women globally, and in the US we have 10 male participants,” he explained. “We’re in the second year of the programme, and 16% of the first cohort has already been promoted. This is helping to demonstrate that we value cultural diversity, and there is nothing to stop individuals from growing within the firm.”
On the topic of in-house initiatives and events, Jinny noted there is a risk of ‘preaching to the converted’, rather than reaching the people who are furthest from power and visibility.
SATS has recently set up the SATS Network of Women, which now has 60 members in its Singapore chapter and 120 in EMEA. The network recently partnered with a social enterprise called Daughters of Tomorrow.
“We collaborated with our HR department to run a resume-writing workshop for low-income women – mainly single mothers – to find their way back into the workforce,” she explained. “I thought that was a very meaningful experience. Sometimes we need to look outwards and empower people who are the furthest away from opportunities.”
Future of work
Rozella concluded the discussion by asking Rebekah her thoughts on AI and the future of work.
“The speed of AI adoption has been tremendous in the last 12-18 months,” Rebekah said. “Everyone is racing to use AI – but when it comes to using it responsibly and thinking about the impact further down the road, I’m not sure we have fully figured it out.”
Nevertheless, regulators around the world have become a “lot more mindful” about how best to deploy, govern and use AI in years to come. Rebekah cited a recent paper published by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) on deploying agentic AI.
“The takeaway here is that there’s a lot more awareness with regulators making sure that we use AI responsibly,” she observed.
Reaching out
Following a brief Q&A session, Rozella thanked everyone for attending and ended by encouraging those present to take out their phones.
“Think about one person from work who inspires you or who makes your life easier, and send them a brief message,” she suggested. “Because we want to extend that kindness and gratitude outside of this room.”
