ACT 10 Questions: Naresh Aggarwal

1. Please provide a brief overview of your career to date.

I started out in the Treasury team at BP – at the time one of the largest corporate treasury functions in the world with trading desks in London, Cleveland and Melbourne. Since then I have worked in a variety of sectors – one of the largest private property companies, the UK’s oldest computer company (ICL) and one of the first telegraph companies (Cable and Wireless). I’ve mixed the commercial experience with advisory spells at KPMG and most recently with PwC where I was the UK Lead for Cash Management.

2. What has been the most interesting project you have been involved in and why?

A large multinational client was looking to offer on-line payment capabilities for its global offering. In addition to the usual work of building business requirements for card processing merchants, issuing an RfP and then evaluating responses, I successfully proposed investigating alternative payment methods such as PayPal, writing a detailed paper on their risks, controls and pricing structures. This was the first paper written on the topic in PwC and was subsequently used on a number of different projects and with clients. I enjoyed the project because I was able to expand the work beyond the initial scope and create something of value for clients. This work was the foundation for a proposal on an internal initiative that won an Innovation Award (and a Mont Blanc pen) from the PwC Board and helped spark my interest in the changing payments landscape.

3. How has treasury changed over the last 20 years?

Not very much in my opinion. Whilst we now have email, the internet and multiple tabs, the core activities of risk and liquidity management haven’t fundamentally changed.

4. What advice would you give to someone thinking about treasury as a career?

Go for it. If you’re interested in the financial markets and how they can affect business, I cannot think of a better job where each day is different and you can measure the difference you make!

5. If you could go back in time and give a piece of advice to you on your first day at work what would it be?

Be open minded about everything you see and hear.

6. What ACT resources do you use the most and why?

Has to be the Treasurer’s Wiki. I enjoy reading and contributing!

7. What is the best piece of advice you have been given?

Listen more and talk less.

8. If you could invite anyone through time to a dinner party who would it be?

Charles Shultz for giving us Charlie Brown or RJ Palacio who has written a brilliant book about being different (Wonder).

9. Quote of the day…

Make sure every day is a school day (though not popular with my kids!)

10. What do you do outside of work?

I’ve been on the board of a theatre company located 10 minutes from Waterloo. Tara Arts is one of the UK’s oldest Asian theatres and supported by the Arts Council England producing plays across the country and performing at the National as well as it’s recently refurbished theatre in Earlsfield. It makes a welcome change working with non-financial people and marrying commercial and artistic perspectives. There’s also a real passion amongst the staff and the actors I’m privileged to meet which is sometimes lacking in the financial circles I mix in! I also love that I’m playing a small part in bringing the vast cultural wealth from the sub-continent to audiences of all backgrounds.