For Amit Grover, the most appealing aspects of treasury include the strategic and dynamic nature of the profession, as well as its importance to the company as a whole.

“Treasury constantly keeps you engaged with new challenges, and constantly pushes you to find innovative solutions,” he notes. “What’s more, treasury sits at the heart of the organisation – the things you do in treasury are so critical that it’s practically impossible for the organisation to function without them.”

He also emphasised the profound impact of winning the Rising Star award at the Treasury Today Group’s Adam Smith Awards Asia in 2018. He explained that receiving this accolade early in his career was a significant confidence booster. This recognition not only motivated him to strive for excellence, but also played a crucial role in his professional development and transformation journey. Furthermore, the award symbolised a milestone that has encouraged him to continuously improve and embrace new challenges with renewed vigour.

Pivotal moment

Grover did not initially have his sights set on a career in treasury. After qualifying as a Chartered Accountant in India, in 2012 he began working for Ernst & Young (EY) in an assurance function. But not long after that came an opportunity that Grover describes as “a pivotal moment in my career”, which led to him joining GE’s corporate treasury team in India.

The new role brought with it a rapid learning curve. “At that time, I had very limited knowledge about what treasury does, so I had to learn very fast, mainly relying on on-the-job training,” Grover recalls. “But very soon, I started developing a passion for treasury. I like how it keeps you on your toes, and provides opportunities for you to create an impact in the organisation.”

Initially working as a cash management analyst, Grover progressed steadily through a series of roles at GE, and in 2017 he moved to Singapore to establish the company’s regional treasury centre in Asia Pacific (APAC). “My primary responsibility in this role was to transform APAC cash management, which included developing sustainable solutions that would consolidate cash across the region and in turn help GE to repay its debt at a global level,” he explains.

To achieve this, Grover set out to gain a detailed understanding of the APAC region as a whole, as well as the regulatory framework across different countries. “I navigated the challenges and developed a number of multi-country, multi-currency, multi-bank cash management solutions across the region,” he says. “These structures not only improved the efficiency of GE’s cash management in the region, but also helped to mitigate liquidity risk during turbulent times such as the COVID-19 pandemic.”

As part of this effort, Grover was involved in setting up a multi-currency notional pooling structure in Singapore – a project that was Highly Commended in the 2020 Adam Smith Awards Asia programme. The solution helped to reduce manual effort and is an efficient way of managing working capital in multiple currencies across the region.

Building treasury from the ground up

Following some significant restructuring and M&A activities, in November 2021 it was announced that GE would split into three separate publicly traded companies for its aviation, healthcare and energy businesses. Following the announcement, GE HealthCare started trading in January 2023.

From a treasury point of view, the separation of the company presented a unique set of challenges, notably because of the high-profile nature of the split and the interest it attracted from global markets and investors.

As part of the restructure, Grover moved to GE HealthCare, where he was tasked with leading the company’s regional treasury teams for APAC and Latin America. In addition to his regional role, he was also responsible for leading the setup of a global liquidity framework for GE HealthCare following the spin-off.

Notably, this involved building the entire regional treasury function for the company from the ground up, as the newly-formed company’s treasury had to be separated from GE’s existing processes and structures. This exercise included separating out cash management structures, LE restructuring, setting up functional workstreams and putting in place the necessary banking arrangements.

Particular highlights of the exercise included setting up a new regional treasury centre in Singapore and creating a multi-currency notional pool structure. Grover’s team also needed to define and implement new processes and procedures, and put in place best-in-class treasury management tools. The team was therefore able to build an efficient and future-proof treasury structure, harnessing cross-functional collaboration with internal and external stakeholders to ensure the smooth execution of the project.

Gaining recognition

These achievements brought further recognition in Treasury Today Group’s Adam Smith Awards Asia programme in 2023. The company was Highly Commended in the Best Treasury Transformation Project category – in particular because of the speed at which the new treasury framework had been set up.

“Everything was accomplished in a very short time span, including designing systems, recruiting the right people and establishing processes,” says Grover. “We are now in that stabilisation phase, ensuring that everything operates as smoothly as expected. I’m looking forward to the next phase of transformation for the company.”

At Treasury Today’s recent Future Treasury & Finance Leaders Forum in Singapore, Grover reflected on the experience of winning several awards under the Adam Smith Awards Asia programme. “As there is so much competition in these awards, our objective has always been to put our best foot forward, and present the transformation work we’ve been doing,” he commented.

Making connections

Today, GE HealthCare has a regional treasury function that Grover describes as “lean”, primarily based in Singapore and Mexico and managing APAC and LATAM respectively. “It’s a very young team, responsible for the important treasury activities across the region, including cash management, risk management, banking solutions and relationships,” says Grover. “We also work closely with our global functional teams and COE (Centre of Excellence) teams.”

Crucially, the team acts as the face of treasury in the region, providing a single point of contact for both internal and external stakeholders. As Grover explains, “One of our main focus areas from a regional treasury perspective is to go beyond the core activities and collaborate with key business stakeholders, in order to support business growth and commercial activities.”

Reflecting on the qualities needed by an effective treasury professional, Grover emphasises that a successful treasurer needs to be skilled not only at solving complex problems, but also at building trust and relationships with stakeholders. “Having strong relationships can be really useful to ensure seamless coordination and alignment on various matters,” he adds.

Likewise, Grover shares that the ability to collaborate effectively with stakeholders in areas such as tax, legal and finance is one of the key attributes of a successful treasurer. On a personal note, he says that his background as a Chartered Accountant has enabled him to understand the unique perspectives and needs of these different stakeholders.

At the same time, he points out that treasurers need to be able to communicate their successes effectively. “Treasurers are often excellent at planning and executing, but they also often need to improve at showcasing their achievements and the valuable work they do to the rest of the organisation. As I mentioned earlier, treasury is the heart of the organisation – its smooth functioning goes unnoticed, but the moment it falters, the impact is felt throughout the entire organisation,” he adds.

Navigating complexity

Turning to the topic of risks and challenges, Grover highlights the considerable difficulties involved in managing disparate and complex countries across APAC and Latin America. “I manage approximately 60 countries across both these regions and most of them are emerging and highly regulated markets,” he says. “There is always something unfolding, be it geopolitical issues, macroeconomic shifts or new regulatory developments.”

As such, he emphasises the importance of staying on top of developments and responding effectively to the markets. “And the solutions you have to create in these markets are pretty complex – you must be adept at structuring solutions, collaborating with various stakeholders, and leveraging all your knowledge to devise solutions tailored to your specific situation.”

Staying abreast of macro-economic and geopolitical developments and building good contingency plans is essential – but as Grover points out, there can still be surprises, “such as the recent political issues in South Korea, which no one was prepared for. It’s important to always be thinking about what else you can do to make your treasury or your processes more resilient.”

Driving continuous improvement

Looking ahead to the coming 12 months, Grover says that while GE HealthCare is still coming out of the recent spin-off exercise, the company is already gearing up for the next steps on its transformation journey.

“In 2025, our main focus will be on continuous process improvements and optimisation,” he says. “While we are still in stabilisation mode, we are also looking for new opportunities to optimise and improve. So, we have a few major initiatives identified as part of our future-state treasury roadmap.”

As part of this, Grover says the treasury is planning to examine its existing processes closely, and benchmark these against industry best practices. By carrying out a detailed benchmarking exercise he aims to identify opportunities for improvement and enhance the resilience of the existing set-up.

“There may be opportunities to automate processes, implement new technologies or adopt new innovative banking solutions,” Grover explains. He points out that banks have an important role to play when carrying out such exercises, as they can leverage their knowledge of how other companies are approaching their own processes.

Simultaneously, another key priority for the treasury will be to serve as a catalyst for business growth, driving commercial success while enhancing relationships and partnerships throughout the region.

Harnessing technology

In the wake of the spin-off, GE HealthCare has built its entire technology stack from scratch, with the goal of staying on top of further enhancements as they become available. “Keeping up with the ever-evolving technology landscape can be challenging, but it’s essential,” says Grover. “One must stay informed about market trends and continuously benchmark activities against industry best practices.”

Where newer technologies are concerned, Grover is excited about the opportunities presented by artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning. “Some of the treasury use cases I’ve seen so far look very promising,” he says. “These technologies definitely have the potential to allow teams to become more efficient and more focused on strategic initiatives, instead of being weighed down by routine tasks.”

Nevertheless, he points out that these technologies are still very new. “Honestly, we are in the early stages of development right now,” he says. “It will be interesting to see how this all unfolds in the future, and to what extent companies are able to adapt these technologies into their day-to-day processes. Certainly there is good potential when it comes to overall optimisation.”

Taking stock

While the last few years have brought no shortage of challenges and opportunities, outside of the office, Grover enjoys spending time with family and friends, listening to podcasts and news, and playing tennis. “Travelling to experience diverse cultures and cuisines is another passion of mine,” he shares. He often gets his travel inspiration from his wife, whose adventurous spirit and love for exploring new places motivate him to discover unique destinations and experiences.

Reflecting on the career opportunities he has had at GE and GE HealthCare, Grover says he is grateful to his managers for entrusting him with challenging opportunities, and for offering their unwavering support. He also appreciates his colleagues for their contributions to the collective learning experience. “The transformative events at GE and GE HealthCare have presented unparalleled learning opportunities for me that I might not have encountered anywhere else,” he observes.

And speaking about the nature of treasury more broadly, Grover emphasises how much he enjoys the ever-changing nature of the profession. “Even after ten years it never feels monotonous – each day is a new day, with a new set of opportunities and challenges,” he concludes.