This year’s US Forum took place on Wednesday 19th October from 12pm-4:30pm
EDT at the elegant Midtown Loft and Terrace, New York. The forum welcomed over 120 attendees and featured a lively and thought-provoking panel discussion led by Sophie Jackson, Joint Publisher and Head of Strategic Content, Treasury Today Group.
The forum opened at noon with a pre-lunch networking reception featuring an informative presentation from Meg Coates, Joint Publisher and Head of Operations, Treasury Today Group, which outlined some of the key findings from our Women in Treasury Global Study 2022, proudly supported by State Street Global Advisors.
The reception was followed by a three-course lunch in the Loft, during which an inspiring and insightful panel discussion took place with our leading industry key speakers.
Sophie moderated the discussion and facilitated the debate on some of the key topics highlighted by respondents of this year’s study and the conversation allowed our speakers to share their stories and advice.
We were delighted to be joined this year by a superb line-up of key speakers:
- Lisa Chan – Director of Global Treasury, Airbnb, Inc.
- Meena Dafesh
- Jude Leclerc – Regional Head of Payments Solutions, North America, Global Payments Solutions, HSBC
- Valeria Strappa – Managing Director, Regional Head of Liquidity and Account Solutions for the Americas Payments, J.P. Morgan Payments
Following the panel discussion was a very lively question and answer session, with many members of the audience taking the opportunity to seek advice, share their views and pose questions to the panel.
At the end of last year, Treasury Today’s Women in Treasury initiative was included within the Global Diversity List 2021, a definitive register of organisations and individuals that demonstrate an unswerving commitment to the values of equality, diversity and inclusion. Thank you to all the women, non-binary people and allies who have lent their time, support and voices to this platform! This accolade allows us to continue growing and developing our initiative.
Keep the conversation alive, join our private Women in Treasury community on LinkedIn.
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US 2022 panellists
Lisa Chan
Director of Global Treasury, Airbnb, Inc.
Lisa Chan is the Director of Global Treasury at Airbnb, Inc. As the first treasury hire for Airbnb in 2014, she’s built out the team to grow and scale alongside the company. Her team oversees all treasury banking operations and has built and maintains the banking infrastructure behind Airbnb’s robust platform payout ecosystem. Lisa’s treasury career has spanned over 15 years with previous roles held at Salesforce and Symantec. She holds an undergraduate degree in Economics from the University of Washington.
Meena Dafesh
Meena Dafesh is a seasoned finance executive, with over 20 years of global corporate treasury experience and a passion for sustainability. Most recently she was the VP, Global Treasurer at Carrier Global Corporation where she led the treasury, risk management and credit and collections functions. Prior to that, she held multiple treasury roles around the world at Ingram Micro, having been based in Australia, Singapore and the US. Meena started her treasury career in her native Australia, and she has a focus on developing diverse global teams. She is mother to a young son and is passionate about supporting working mothers. Meena is a CPA (CPA Australia), holds a bachelor’s degree in business from the University of Technology, Sydney, and is a very proud member of Chief. Watch this space soon for what her next role will be!
Jude Leclerc
Regional Head of Payments Solutions, North America, Global Payments Solutions, HSBC
Jude Leclerc is the Regional Head of Payments Solutions, North America, for HSBC’s Global Payments Solutions (GPS) business. In her role, Jude is responsible for setting product direction, go-to-market strategies, deploying enhancements and new products for HSBC’s suite of Payments in the US and Canada. Jude has worked in the banking sector for over two decades in Canada and the United Kingdom (UK). For ten years, Jude worked at the Bank of Canada and subsequently Payments Canada. Upon her arrival in the UK, Jude joined HSBC’s GPS Sales team. In 2014, Jude became the Global Business Manager for GPS’s Financial Institutions Group (FIG). After eight years at HSBC’s global headquarters in the UK, Jude returned to Canada to lead HSBC’s Global Payments Solutions Product team. Jude is a graduate of the University of Ottawa (Canada) and holds both an Honours Degree in Communications and a Masters in Business Administration (MBA).
Valeria Strappa
Managing Director, Regional Head of Liquidity and Account Solutions for the Americas Payments,
J.P. Morgan Payments
Valeria Strappa is the regional Head of Liquidity and Account Solution for the Americas within J.P. Morgan Payments. Throughout her career, Val has held regional and global leadership positions with McKinsey, GE, Citi, and J.P. Morgan. She is a former professional tennis player who transitioned to the corporate world 20 years ago. Val speaks four languages and has lived and worked in more than 32 countries. She holds a Global Executive MBA and a BS in Industrial Engineering and was recognised among the top 75 alumni for her social and economic contributions to the world. She was also included in Fortune’s “100 Most Powerful Women in Business in Mexico”. Val is the Chair of the Corporate Board of Advisors for APLFA DFW, a board member of the Tecnologico de Monterrey, a member and a mentor for the Women in Payments network, a fellow of the International Women’s Forum (IWF) leadership program and a mentor of EY’s Women Athletes Business Network (WABN). She champions J.P. Morgan’s diversity and sustainability efforts, and she is the executive leader of J.P. Morgan’s Women in Payments for Latin America.
Sophie Jackson
Publisher & Head of Strategic Content, Treasury Today Group
Sophie Jackson is Publisher & Head of Strategic Content at Treasury Today Group and has 14 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. Treasury Today Asia is now read by 65,000 corporates across Asia Pacific and our Adam Smith Awards Asia are in their eighth year. 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.
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