Treasury Today took its pioneering Women in Treasury Forum to New York for the second time last week. Here are some highlights from the day.
On Thursday 12th October Treasury Today hosted the New York installation of our global Women in Treasury Forums. A fresh format with fantastic, energetic panellists and a gathering of impassioned corporate finance professionals in our audience created an electric atmosphere at The Pierre Hotel in Midtown.
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The Women in Treasury initiative was established to support, inspire and raise the profile of women in our industry. It now encompasses regular profiles of women in our industry, Forums across the world, our annual global study, our Woman of the Year Award within our Adam Smith Awards programme recognising exceptional female achievement in treasury and our dedicated LinkedIn Women in Treasury community. Since its inception, the initiative has evolved to encompass a wider dialogue around diversity, inclusion and equal opportunity, and we are proud to be part of a movement that encourages and supports this essential progress.
Attendees from the worlds of treasury, technology and finance gathered in New York to network, share ideas and opinions derived from our 2017 Women in Treasury Global Study, the results of which were released earlier in October. They also came, of course, to hear from 2017’s panel. This was composed of:
- Susan Mercer – Vice President, Assistant Treasurer, Cargill, Incorporated
- Jenifer Herdin – Vice President, International Treasury, Viacom
- Mary Gilbert – Treasury Manager, Duracell
- Karen Gilhooly – Executive Vice President, Global Liquidity and Cash Management, Head of Client Management – North America, HSBC
- Eric Houser – Executive Vice President, Head of Technology, Media and Telecom Corporate Banking Group, Wells Fargo
Over the course of the twelve months following our first Women in Treasury Forum in New York, we have seen worrying global political developments that have made the conversation around diversity and inclusion more important than ever.
The day began with a networking drinks reception and a speech from Meg Coates, Associate Publisher EMEA & Americas, Treasury Today, who highlighted key findings from the 2017 Women in Treasury Global Study which sits at the heart of the Women in Treasury initiative and maps the treasury profession’s path to diversity.
352 female corporates from across the world participated in the 2017 Women in Treasury Global Study. The subsequent panel discussion focused on some of the key themes raised by the respondents of this year’s study. Moderated by Sophie Jackson, Associate Group Publisher, Treasury Today Group, the conversation centred around what the terms diversity and inclusion really mean for a modern US audience.
The panel also addressed issues of visibility for women and minorities. Honing in on the specifics of corporate treasury and finance and highlighting the stumbling blocks to greater representation, the panel’s overwhelming tone was energetic and determined with many impactful calls to action for the audience to take away with them.
Takeaways for those in the room last Thursday were around the importance of speaking out and making the use of your voice and presence, taking and earning your seat at the table. There was also a passionate message around the importance of giving back to the next generation and pushing forward to create a better working future for all.
If you would like to learn more about our Women in Treasury initiative please visit treasurytoday.com/wit or don’t hesitate to reach out to us to learn more wit@treasurytoday.com
