Women in Treasury EMEA Forum 2024

Billie O’Connor

CEO, NOVA Community

Billie O’Connor is a highly accomplished C-suite leader with experience at both Executive and Statutory Board levels. She has served as CFO and CIO at a £170m T/O Business, and has over 20 years of expertise in finance, IT, business transformation and change management, spanning various industries. She founded NOVA in February 2023 as a passion project aimed at connecting senior women together. She has been celebrated as winner of GENCFO’s “Influential Woman of the Year, 2023”, and was nominated by Robert Walters as “CFO of the Year”. Through NOVA, Billie is not only fostering a supportive network for female leaders but also actively working towards breaking barriers and promoting gender diversity in leadership positions.

Lei Wang Giaever

VP Group Treasury, Crayon

Treasury Today’s Champion of Change EMEA – Highly Commended Winner 2024

Lei Wang Giaever was born and raised in Shanghai, China and immigrated to Norway 25 years ago. Since then she has completed her education and gained valuable work experience in the beautiful Nordic country. She very much admires the strength of the Norwegian people, but longs for the traditions and culture from her mother land. Lei specialises in corporate finance and treasury and with her experience, skillset and ambition is always able to help shape the corporate culture and lead improvements where she can.

Aysha Sheikh

Group Treasurer, Evolution AB

Treasury Today’s Woman of the Year EMEA – Overall Winner 2024

Aysha Sheikh is the Group Treasurer of Evolution AB, an OMX30 company. She joined Evolution in 2020 as the first dedicated treasury resource. Evolution, a publicly listed Swedish company, is a leading global provider of B2B online gaming services, delivered via multiple channels and devices. Prior to joining Evolution, Aysha worked at PwC’s Centre of Excellence for Treasury Consulting in Brussels. She has also held various treasury roles at the Swedish telecom giant Ericsson in Sweden and the UAE, including Risk Manager and Treasury Manager. Aysha is the Overall Winner of Treasury Today’s Woman of the Year award for EMEA 2024.

Monique Codjoe

Managing Director, Europe Head of Business Management & Chief Control Office, Global Payment Solutions, HSBC

Monique began her career graduating from New York Military Academy, where she served as the Battalion Executive Officer (2nd Corp. Captain) and was a recipient of the General MacArthur Award (1998) for excellence in the areas of academic achievement, leadership, discipline, athletics and character. In her current role, Monique is a Managing Director at HSBC Bank plc where she serves as the Head of Business Management & Chief Control Officer (CCO) for its Global Payment Solutions business in Europe, providing strategic, value-add and proactive business & risk management execution. Prior to this role, Monique worked for a New York-based HSBC global team where she led high profile regulatory examinations in Mexico, Brazil, Canada, Dubai, Argentina, the UK and the US. Monique is highly engaged in the Bank’s global diversity and inclusion programmes with a focus on enterprise-wide initiatives and actions towards the attraction, retention, and promotion of Black heritage employees across the Group as well as the intersectionality between diversity strands and inclusion initiatives.

Pat Brolly

EMEA Head of Merchant Acquiring Product, J.P. Morgan Payments

Pat Brolly has 25 years’ experience in financial services, having held Product, Marketing and Operations roles at VISA, Barclaycard, Capital One, and Morgan Stanley. Pat is currently a Managing Director at J.P. Morgan, based in London, leading the Merchant Acquiring business for EMEA. Pat has a BA in French and Spanish from Leeds University and an MA in Spanish from University College, London (UCL). She is also an Advisory Board Member and Judge for the Women of the Future programme, is a Trustee of the Richard Dimbleby Cancer Fund and a supporter of CW+ (Chelsea and Westminster Hospital).

Joy Macknight

Moderator

Joy Macknight is a freelance journalist and former editor of The Banker, part of the Financial Times group. She joined The Banker in August 2015 as transaction banking and technology editor, was promoted to deputy editor in September 2016 and then to managing editor in April 2019, before becoming the first female editor in the publication’s history in March 2021. Previously, she was features editor at Profit & Loss, editorial director at Treasury Today and editor at gtnews. She also worked as staff writer on Banking Technology and IBM Computer Today, as well as a freelancer on Computer Weekly.

Sophie Jackson

Publisher & Head of Strategic Content, Treasury Today

Sophie Jackson is Publisher & Head of Strategic Content at Treasury Today Group and has 16 years’ experience in publishing. She began her career in a role in cultural publishing at the Dazed Group in London before moving to Tokyo in late 2010 to work as a freelance editor and consultant. Sophie headed up the launch of Treasury Today Asia in 2012 whilst based in Japan and then Hong Kong. Sophie is a driving force behind our global Women in Treasury initiative and a passionate proponent of diversity and inclusion. She is a UCL graduate who studied in Paris and London and is based in Europe.