Rapid progress, visible impact, drive and initiative, composure under pressure and endorsement from others are just some of the characteristics of rising stars and tomorrow’s leaders. In treasury and finance, these highly valued individuals are also in possession of financial knowledge and technical expertise, standout interpersonal and communication skills and a style of forward thinking that enables them to act like a business partner and see around corners to solve problems. At a time in the economic cycle when treasury is coming into a period of being front and centre for business, these people are more important than ever. But identifying high-potential employees can be a daunting task for any leader. With a long list of daily responsibilities and the pressure to achieve immediate results, it is possible to both overlook the future stars within your team and the skills that need developing.
“We are coming to a moment in this economic cycle where treasury is on every CFO’s mind, treasury professionals who can be both strategic and hands-on can add real value in the current climate and are highly sought after, organisations should make sure these people are given the right tools and opportunities to get the most impact from their skillset,” says Rachael Crocker, Global Treasury & Senior Finance Executive Search and Managing Director at SR Group, Europe.
Standout skills
Crocker is quick to spot the characteristics of next generation talent in the context of a modern treasury. She says these people have interpersonal skills that mean they can build relationships across an organisation they can then use for the benefits of treasury and they understand what information they need from people across the group to enable strategic treasury. Stars of the future also think critically, which is increasingly important with automation and the fluidity between treasury and technology today. “The ability to embrace new technology and understand where it can add value to a role and where human input is still needed, is essential,” she says.
Janet Legge, Deputy Chief Executive, Director of Education & Membership at Association of Corporate Treasurers, agrees, “Next generation treasurers are much more comfortable with automation, data analytics, dashboards and treasury tech from the start. When starting out or being trained, they look at and ask why processes exist, not just how to run them.”
Adam Smith Awards Rising Star winner Angela Hobart, Director of Strategic Finance at Octopus Energy, oversees debt and equity fundraising, capital allocation, FP&A, business partnering, treasury and investor relations at the fast-growing renewable energy tech company in testimony to the importance of financial skills. Over her six-year tenure she has undertaken several investment rounds and raised over £2bn in primary equity. She led the company’s first syndicated financing on a £1.25bn secured facility and oversaw the company’s first private credit ratings process.
“Everyone I know within the bank who has worked with Angela agrees that we have never known someone who’s able to digest so much complex information and deal with things in such an organised way,” says Astrid Perrin-Megret, Director, Global Trade Solutions at BNP Paribas in another essential determination of a rising star: endorsement from peers and colleagues.
Hobart also oversaw liquidity management and hedging during the energy crisis in 2021 when electricity prices spiked sharply higher in a challenging and fast-paced period. “We had to put aside yesterday’s conventional thinking and make decisions quickly. It was important to know when you need to move quickly and avoid ‘analysis paralysis’ and when you need to be 100% accurate,” she recalls, demonstrating another must-have: calm under pressure.
The career trajectory of fellow award winner Adnan Bora Baykal, recently promoted to Head of Corporate Finance and Risk Management, APAC, at Arçelik Hitachi underscores another key characteristics: potential and the ability to adapt to and grow into increasingly complex roles and environments.
His treasury career began at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) where he learnt the basics of accounting, financial control, audit and compliance. In 2022, he joined Arçelik Hitachi just as the group extended its Asia Pacific footprint with a 60:40 joint venture with Hitachi Global Life Solutions. Baykal started in the internal audit team followed by a step up into corporate finance where he supported the establishment of a new regional treasury set up in Thailand tasked with reducing and transitioning bank relationships and sharpening the liquidity structure to increase cash visibility.
Baykal’s rise up the treasury ladder also speaks to the importance of communication skills and an open mindset. “I honestly enjoy learning and adapting to new cultures,” he laughs.
Award winner Mihaela (Misha) Mihaylova’s next generation qualities of resilience and adaptability were obvious before she joined treasury at Coca-Cola. Fifteen years ago, in a remarkable story of personal resilience and growth, Mihaylova landed in Atlanta, Georgia from her native Bulgaria alone, without a job or anywhere to live. After winning the green card lottery, the programme where eligible individuals are selected to apply for a green card and permanent US residency, she took the plunge and chose to start a new life in America. Today, in a fitting circle, she is Director of Treasury at Coca-Cola, rising through the ranks at a company that in many ways encapsulates the American dream she sought.
She has just ticked off another item on her personal bucket list after completing a six-month Harvard Publishing Certificate programme to build her business and leadership skills. The programme focuses particularly on critical leadership skills in global finance and strategic decision‑making. Qualifications like the Association of Corporate Treasurers’ globally recognised certificates for people in treasury, risk and corporate finance are also important tools in the armoury or rising stars.
“Pursue a qualification,” urges Fi Wallace, who leads both the Treasury and Interim Tax practices at Pure Search and specialises in recruiting senior treasury leaders. “It takes time and effort, but a qualification allows you to build your technical skills and network.” She notes that formal training doesn’t just signal credibility – it exposes professionals to a broader range of scenarios, frameworks, and peers than they might encounter in their day to day roles. In a field where precision and judgement are essential, she argues that structured learning remains one of the most reliable ways to accelerate capability.
The ACT’s Legge adds, “ACT qualifications help organisations build bench strength, reduce skills gaps and support succession planning. They also support retention by giving talent a clear, respected development pathway aligned to the realities of modern treasury.”
Gaps in the pipeline
But amid pressure to recognise and hold onto talent, commentators increasingly observe that the treasury talent pipeline is evolving, and not always in predictable ways. Communicating treasury insights and key messages to non-financial audiences remains a gap. Translating risk into business impact is a learned skill; and influencing stakeholders is key, even in more junior roles.
Wallace, for example, is concerned that the pandemic has had a long-term impact on how early career professionals develop communication and interpersonal skills. “Finding people with standout communication skills is rarer,” she reflects. She links this shift to prolonged periods of remote work, where younger employees missed out on the informal learning that happens through observation – listening to senior colleagues negotiate, present or handle difficult conversations.
Wallace also sees a pattern emerging around career mobility. While movement can be healthy, she notes that some rising professionals are switching roles before they’ve had the chance to build the depth of experience that comes from navigating different parts of a business. “Changing jobs every 18 months makes it more difficult to truly learn, finish a project, or build your exposure,” she says. Treasury, she explains, rewards those who stay long enough to see the full lifecycle of initiatives – from strategy through execution to outcome. “Rapid job hopping can limit opportunities to develop resilience, stakeholder relationships, and the nuanced judgement that only comes from time spent in varied situations and under different leaders.”
Crocker adds that although the increasingly strategic and technical role of treasury now attracts a new level of talent compared to when treasury was more transactional and administrative, it has also led to a potential skills gap in the foundational piece of treasury amongst the next generation because automation means people no longer learn the nuts and bolts of treasury.
“My senior network of treasury executives today began their careers by making payments, doing all the manual exercises, and in so doing learnt the bread and butter of treasury. Now because these processes are either automated or offshore, people start in treasury with the analytical piece and don’t get to see the grass roots. Does it matter and does it leave a gap? It’s too early to say,” she reflects.
Hanging onto talent
Top talent is hard to find but it is just as hard to hold onto, and commentators flag that companies frequently misunderstand the risk and cost of losing talent. One way companies can hang onto rising stars is the role of purpose. A well‑articulated purpose not only motivates employees but also strengthens relationships with customers and partners and aligning employees’ personal purposes with the company’s mission can significantly enhance engagement and productivity.
For Hobart, purpose comes with a role helping the world navigate the impact of climate change. Looking ahead, she says she sees her career continuing in the climate sector. “If anything, the events of the last five years have shown us that the problem is getting worse, not better. Keeping your foot on the gas – or rather, on the pedal of your electric vehicle – is more urgent than ever!” she says.
Companies also need to give their next generation talent a pathway to progression. Having spent her whole career in finance, Hobart feels very much at home in finance roles. But at some point, she believes that running a business unit could give her a broader exposure to operations that could one day help her become a well-rounded CFO, although she says her focus is on how any future role would contribute to her ability to have impact, not a particular position. “My overriding goal isn’t to be CFO or CEO. I want to be able to look back and say that I threw everything I had at the effort to combat climate change for future generations.”
Alongside the importance of clear development pathways, the ACT also spouses better, more modern styles of leadership shaped around autonomy, flexibility, inclusion and purpose as well as competitive pay. “Some people think the next generation are not as worried about money/salaries when compared to flexibility, however there is research which shows that the next generation find both equally important,” says Legge.
“Some companies have structures in place to spot talent, but it depends on the leadership,” concludes Crocker. “I have treasurers in my network that put talented individuals on new projects and nurture them so they stay in the organisation. But other businesses aren’t so good, and those individuals will move on and we, as recruiters, are very good at spotting it!”
