Lei W Giaever is VP, Group Treasury at Crayon and Treasury Today’s Highly Commended Winner of the Champion of Change for EMEA award. This accolade is awarded to individuals who show a real commitment to challenging the status quo and breaking down barriers to facilitate better diversity, equity and inclusion; Lei’s journey and efforts within her organisation and the wider society display just that.
Lei’s journey toward championing diversity and inclusion is deeply rooted in her life experiences. From facing the loss of her mother at a young age to navigating the cultural shift from China to Norway, Lei has demonstrated remarkable resilience in the face of challenges. Despite enduring biases as an immigrant and experiencing unemployment whilst being seven months pregnant, Lei has excelled in her career. Her ascent to a leadership role in treasury displays her sheer determination to overcome all obstacles.
Strong communication skills
In moving to Norway as a child, Lei quickly learned how to adapt to change, embracing a new culture as well as learning Norwegian, a skill that has served her well in her career. Her fluency in Norwegian and Mandarin proved particularly useful in her role as Financial Analyst at I.M.Skaugen ASA, a shipping company, where she worked closely with the company’s Chinese subsidiaries and would frequently travel to China, as well as the Middle East.
“Lei has exceptional language skills. Coming from China and learning Norwegian fluently on top of finance studies is impressive itself. However, she also switches dialects within Norwegian in addition to speaking English fluently,” says Rolfe Berge, VP Global Accounting at Crayon. “Communication skills in a fast-growing global group are essential and one of several success factors for Lei in her position.”
Drawing from her personal experiences, Lei has become a vocal advocate for diversity and inclusion both within Crayon and in broader society. She has an equal appreciation for both cultures that have shaped her, commenting “I admire the strength within the Norwegian people, yet I long for the traditions and culture from my mother land.” Her published articles in the Chinese press about her integration into Norwegian society serve as a testament to her commitment to fostering understanding and acceptance across cultures.
Lei’s advocacy for diversity and inclusion in broader society was at the forefront during the global pandemic, as amidst personal struggles Lei pursued a small food catering start-up to further support the local community.
Initiating change in Crayon’s treasury
Up until a few years ago, the treasury and cash management function at Crayon was managed by the financial controlling team. Lei successfully persuaded Crayon on the importance of a separate department for this function; she secured the needed funding and built up a treasury department from scratch in two years.
Under Lei’s leadership, Crayon’s treasury department has evolved into a diverse and inclusive workplace environment. Lei has harnessed the power of multiple perspectives by recruiting diverse talent to create a strong team composed of individuals from different nationalities, backgrounds and cultures. She ensures that all team members have equal opportunities to contribute and are treated with respect and fairness, which has allowed a variety of perspectives to be shared and better decision making to take place.
Lei also works to improve communication between different functions. “Lei is one of my most important cross function co-workers in Crayon. It has been a pleasure to work with her as she brings significant passion, enthusiasm and treasury knowledge to our global finance team,” says Berge. “In addition to developing the central treasury team and function, she has made significant efforts in enabling cross border teaming with a huge number of local finance functions.”
In the past few years, Lei has implemented many new processes and procedures as well as systems following industry best practices. Alongside help from her team, she has established: an intercompany loan framework, processes to better handle FX and intercompany settlement and a new forecasting system with full visibility of all bank accounts. As well as implementing treasury risk mitigation processes and a physical EUR cash pool, allowing access to the group liquidity in an automated fashion.
These initiatives have resulted in substantial cost savings by centralising the cash management and allowing smooth intercompany payments, reducing FX costs and savings on interest cost by accessing trapped cash, and, as a result, reduced the amount drawn on borrowing facilities. Crayon’s treasury team has significantly reduced financial risk through the processes and procedures implemented.
Before joining Crayon, Lei worked in the treasury department of various companies, such as Hurtigruten Group AS and Norsk Hydro ASA, where she continuously contributed to improve processes in daily operations and foster talent from different backgrounds, advocating for those around her.
Lei’s story showcases how a resilient attitude can turn adversity into an opportunity for personal growth and a passion to help others overcome their own setbacks. Her journey epitomises determination and unwavering commitment to both her career and to equity and inclusion, attributes that make her a worthy Highly Commended Winner of the Champion of Change for EMEA award.
