Treasury Today’s Adam Smith Awards Asia programme continues to celebrate the best and brightest in corporate treasury in the APAC region. Nominations for this year’s programme closed on August 3rd, marking the start of a rigorous judging process that culminates in our live announcement on September 17th.
While our judges continue the lengthy process of sifting, assessing and shortlisting this year’s entries, we take a look at our most coveted award, Top Treasury Team.
Delivering real impact
One of 19 categories in this year’s Adam Smith Awards Asia, Top Treasury Team is open to any corporate treasury team that has demonstrated excellence in any area of treasury. Winning in this category is a particular honour – and as well as being a hallmark of technical achievement, the award is one that aims to showcase the power of teamwork in treasury.
“Winning an Adam Smith Award Asia means a great deal to our team. It validates the many hours spent collaborating across markets, designing solutions and overcoming operational challenges together,” explained Kathy Yu, Head of Treasury APAC at Royal Philips, when her team was named Highly Commended Winner in last year’s Top Treasury Team category.
“For Philips, it reinforces our belief that when we work together with purpose and curiosity, we can deliver real impact for the business and set new standards in treasury excellence.”
Overall Winner in Top Treasury Team in 2025 was ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India, a joint venture between ArcelorMittal and Nippon Steel. Led by Annapoorna Venkataramanan, Chief Treasury, Capex Investments, Risk & Insurance, the team embarked on a journey of transformation.
A key element of the project was pioneering India’s first private sector Global Treasury Centre (GTC) at GIFT City – an effort that involved securing internal and regulatory approvals on an accelerated timeline. As Venkataramanan explained, the company’s success “has since become a benchmark, with industry peers seeking our guidance to follow.”
Other highlights of the winning project included implementing a landmark INR project finance facility, and beginning a digital transformation featuring robotic process automation (RPA) and artificial intelligence.
Sahil Mehta, a member of the treasury team, observed that Venkataramanan had “created an environment where innovation thrived, and her confidence in team abilities pushed them to deliver the best.”
Best in class treasury practice
Looking further back, it’s clear that no two winners of Top Treasury Team are alike.
Overall Winner in this category in 2021 was Shell Treasury Centre East (Pte) Ltd, following the team’s achievements in leading the way in treasury and finance strategy across the region. Particular highlights included a highly efficient liquidity management structure, as well as excellence in payments and collections. The team’s achievements also included rethinking cash flow forecasting and FX execution during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Infosys – the 2022 Top Treasury Team – adopted a partnership approach to achieve best in class treasury practice across areas ranging from FX risk management to liquidity and investments.
Meanwhile, Lenovo’s treasury team achieved success in 2017, only to win the award again in 2024 when the company achieved a key ratings upgrade through a comprehensive effort to build liquidity management resilience.
Collaboration and teamwork
Above all, the Top Treasury Team award is one that recognises the power of talented individuals – as demonstrated by Nestlé Treasury Centre Asia-Pacific (NTC-AP), winner of the award in 2023. One notable element of the team’s success was its approach to developing treasury talent.
“My passion is really in people, I look to envision, encourage and challenge the next generation of leaders to lead with courage and integrity,” commented Felicia Foong, Regional Treasurer, APAC. “Going through the various financial crises and pandemic, I have learnt that we need to build resilience and foster even closer collaboration and teamwork.”
