Launched in 2007, BNP Paribas’ Cash Management University is due to celebrate its tenth anniversary towards the end of 2017. We spoke with Carole Djen-Ullmo, Global Head of Marketing and Communications at BNP Paribas Cash Management about this highly successful and important event in the treasury calendar.
Carole Djen-Ullmo
Global Head of Marketing and Communications
What is the central concept of the Cash Management University?
The Cash Management University (CMU) is a unique event designed for treasurers and senior finance professionals. It has been attracting hundreds of delegates from all over the world, who come together for two days to focus on the subject of cash and liquidity management as a performance lever for businesses. Over the years this annual event has established itself as a prominent fixture in the world of cash management. The CMU provides an opportunity for treasurers from all over the world to exchange ideas and experiences with their peers and key industry players and to get to know the latest in the business using pan-European and international case studies.
Tell us a little more about the content of a typical Cash Management University. Also, give us a flavour of the companies represented.
Over the years we have been using the feedback of our delegates to constantly adapt the content and the structure of the Cash Management University. For example, in 2016 the event marked a substantial change in format. We adapted the 9th CMU in order to preserve those features that make the event unique, but also moved away from a ‘seminar-like’ setup. We have been encouraging delegates to co-create the agenda with us so that their engagement becomes a core value of the event. In this spirit, last year’s Cash Management University comprised of smaller workshop sessions on various industry ‘hot-topics’ like fintechs, reverse factoring and treasury robotics. We really do our best to provide unique added value to all our delegates.
As for the participating companies, BNP Paribas Cash Management, alongside other group business lines, has been bringing together major players in the cash management business. For example, the ninth Cash Management University received 260 treasury professionals, 100 group treasurers and leading treasury experts from 20 countries representing organisations like IATA, Orange, Merck, BASF, Accipiter, KPMG and SWIFT. Several of these delegates were more than just participants and took an active part in the plenary sessions or workshops of the event. This afforded them the opportunity to network with their peers as well as representatives from BNP Paribas.
2017 will mark a decade for the Cash Management University. What’s in store for delegates to the tenth anniversary edition?
The motto of the tenth Cash Management University is ‘EXCELerate – from knowledge to decision making’. It will be a revamped and modernised event, the first to be organised at Chateauform Paris, centrally located at Avenue George V in Paris. Instead of two full days, the event this year will be held over two half days (on 30th November and 1st December 2017), giving ample networking opportunity to delegates. The programme will consist of topics at the top of treasurers’ agendas (cyber-security, fintechs, the future of treasury). I am happy to announce that along with Pierre Fersztand, Global Head of BNP Paribas Cash Management, we will have the pleasure of hosting the CEO of BNP Paribas, Jean-Laurent Bonnafé, who will open the second day of the event. The Group Chief Economist, William De Vijlder and Philippe Henrotte from HEC will talk about the global economic outlook and there will be a host of workshops and roundtables around the most important topics of the day. Additionally, there will be a special session dedicated to the second edition of our thought leadership report, Journeys to Treasury, which we are co-producing with the European Association of Corporate Treasurers (EACT), PwC, and SAP.
In 2016, delegates were invited to select a word to summarise the ninth Cash Management University and ‘great’ was the winner. We are committed to improving the experience this year.
