About the ACT
ACT professional network - the route to treasury excellence
The Association of Corporate Treasurers (ACT) is the leading professional body for international treasury providing the widest scope of benchmark qualifications for those working in treasury, risk and corporate finance. We define standards, promote best practice and support continuing professional development. We are the voice of corporate treasury representing the interests of our members.
What can the ACT do for you?
We provide a wide range of professional development and networking opportunities centred around:
- professional qualifications and training courses
- conferences, briefings and thought-leadership events
- publications, technical updates, guidance and dialogue.
We also work in partnership with leading accountancy bodies to offer a fast-track programme for qualified accountants who wish to gain the AMCT Diploma in Treasury:
- Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA)
- Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA)
- Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW)
- Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS)
Our structure
Council is the governing body of the ACT. It is ultimately responsible for the stewardship and management of the ACT’s affairs and accountable to the members. Day-to-day management is delegated to the Chief Executive and, through him to the Executive team.
Council consists of up to nine elected members who serve a three-year term, four Officers – President, Deputy President, Vice President and Immediate Past President – and the Chief Executive. The normal succession route for Officers is Vice President, Deputy President, President and finally, Immediate Past President with each post lasting one year.
For further information about Council and its committees see Guidelines for Council
Council members for the term commencing 1 May 2010
Officers and elected members cannot be contacted via the ACT. To speak to a member of the executive team please see the Contact Us page.
Officers
Matthew Hurn
President
Executive Director - Group Treasury
Mubadala Development Company
James Douglas
Deputy President
Partner
Deloitte
Bob Williams
Head of Treasury and Corporate Finance
Barratt Developments
Gerry Bacon
Immediate Past President
Senior Advisor
Anthem Corporate Finance
Elected members
Charles Barlow FCT, Group Treasurer, Coats
Graham Bond FCT, Managing Director, Treasury & Risk Management
Francis Burkitt FCT, Managing Director, Debt Advisory, NM Rothschild & Sons
Peter Goshawk FCT
Stephen Pugh FCT, Finance Director, Adnams
Jonathan Slade MCT, Global Head of Corporate Finance, Rio Tinto
Martyn Smith FCT, Director of Tax & Treasury, Dyson
Alison Stevens MCT, Senior Capital Markets Manager, National Grid
Yann Umbricht AMCT, Partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers
Co-opted Members
Richard Dakin AMCT, Managing Director and head of Corporate Real Estate, Business Support, Lloyds Banking Group.
Sean Hanafin AMCT
Chief Executive
Stuart Siddall
Committees
The Council is supported by a number of voluntary committees:
Each committee has a chairman who works closely with the appropriate department in the central office.
Advisory Board
The Advisory Board, currently chaired by Chris Jones, a former President of the ACT, consists of members drawn from senior positions in finance and commerce, including financial journalists and regulators. No serving member of Council may be a member of the Board. The Board meets at least once a year to discuss and advise on matters of importance to the ACT and its members, including commenting on the ACT's policies, governance and strategic plan. The chairman of the Board makes an annual presentation to Council.
The current members of the Advisory Board are:
Chris Jones, Partner, Financial Services, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (Chairman)
Paul Boyle, former Chief Executive, Financial Reporting Council
Alastair Clark, Senior Adviser on Financial Stability Issues, HM Treasury
John Coombe, Chairman, Hogg Robinson Group
Carolyn Eadie, Partner, Spencer Stuart
Michael J Kirkwood, Chairman, Ondra Partners
John Plender, Leader & Feature Writer, Financial Times
Ian Plenderleith, Chairman, BH Macro, former Deputy Governor, South African Reserve Bank
Hector Sants, Chief Executive, Financial Services Authority
Andrew Shilston, Finance Director, Rolls-Royce plc
Paul Spencer, former ACT President and Chairman of National Savings and Investments
Tony Watson, Non-executive Director, Vodafone Group, former Chief Executive Officer Hermes
Appointments, Remuneration and Audit Committee (ARAC)
ARAC is chaired by the Immediate Past President and consists of the President and up to three other non-Officer members of Council. In addition there may be up to three non-Council members. ARAC members are appointed by Council with at least one member being a qualified accountant. It meets four times a year and more frequently as required; at least once a year ARAC meets with the auditors without members of the executive team present.
The current members of ARAC are:
Gerry Bacon (Chairman), Senior Advisor, Anthem Corporate Finance
Graham Bond, Managing Director, Treasury & Risk Management
Lucy Fuller, Group Treasurer, Smith & Nephew
Matthew Hurn, Executive Director, Group Treasury, Mubadala Development Company
David Timson, Senior Partner, The Curzon Partnership
David Swann
Yann Umbricht, Partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers
The executive team
For contact details for every member of staff, visit the contact us page.
Stuart Siddall
Chief Executive
Stuart is a Fellow of the ACT, having been in the very first group to take the ACT's professional qualifications when they were launched in the mid 1980s. For more details see Contact Us.
Pauline is responsible for commercial events at the ACT and with her team delivers in the region of 30 events per year. These events range from topical breakfast briefings and evening symposium through to the talkingtreasury series in Europe and beyond. The events team also look after the Annual Dinner and are responsible for the ACT Annual Conference which in 2008 attracted over 900 attendees.
Charles is responsible for all electronic information systems from our telephones to the office network and public websites.
John is Policy and Technical Director. He has a wealth of senior-level treasury and finance experience, including being Director of Treasury at Cadbury Schweppes and Finance Director of the Global Confectionery division of Cadbury Schweppes. John is a previous chairman of the ACT’s Education Committee and Chairman of Council. He is a Chartered Secretary as well as a Fellow of the ACT. He is involved as a small business angel with a number of early stage companies.
James Lockyer
Director of Education
James co-ordinates the ACT’s qualification and training programmes and works closely with Marketing to communicate their strengths and develop new initiatives, both in the UK and internationally. For more details see Contact Us.
Peter Matza joined the ACT in September 2006 as Policy & Technical Officer and was appointed Head of Publishing in May 2008. Peter is responsible for the publications business of the ACT, in particular the flagship publications, The Treasurer and The International Treasurer’s Handbook. Peter also runs editorial and advertising strategy, and takes an active role in commissioning, ensuring both publications remain market leaders in treasury publications and provide an essential, practical resource for ACT members and others involved in treasury. Peter is a member of the Chartered Institute of Bankers and a Fellow of the ACT. Peter has over 20 years of treasury experience and prior to joining the ACT was based in Germany as Senior Manager, Head of Capital Markets at RWE AG.
Denis is responsible for developing strategic commercial relationships and tailoring advertising and sponsorship solutions to the needs of individual customers.
John runs the finance department and manages the financial operations of the company. He provides financial information to senior management and the ACT's Council.
Sharon heads up the marketing function and is responsible for ensuring the ACT communicates effectively with its members, the wider financial community and the media. She oversees a wide range of communications programmes and projects to build global awareness of the ACT and its products and services. Sharon also co-ordinates activities with overseas national treasury and other relevant associations and organisations to make ACT’s internationally-recognised qualifications available to their members.
Ria Robinson
Director of Membership and Administration
Ria has overall responsibility for member services, HR and office administration. As the ACT’s Company Secretary she is involved with all governance and constitutional matters and works closely with Council and the Appointments, Remuneration and Audit Committee (ARAC). She is also Secretary to the ACT Educational Trust. For more details see Contact Us.
Regional Groups
There are a number of regional groups in the UK and other countries. Through regular meetings, they provide support to members, students and other interested parties. Each group is run by one or more members - Regional Group Organisers (RGOs).