My early background is in banking. In Nigeria, I worked for Citi, Standard Chartered and Skye Bank in roles in international trade, transaction services and payments. In 2005, I left banking when I was approached by a colleague who knew that telecoms company Starcomm was looking to fill the role of treasury manager. I enjoyed the work and the insights that working in cash and liquidity management and treasury operations brought.
In 2006, I came to the UK because I wanted to experience working here. And while I wanted to stay in treasury, I was told that would be difficult without UK experience. So once again, I found myself in banking roles – at ABN Amro in Manchester, RBS in London and then in 2013 I moved to Bank of America in London where I was an operations lead in the EMEA trade services division.
The opportunity came up to be a finance manager at the John Lewis Partnership on a one-year contract. Initially, I was part of the finance operations team, with some cash management and treasury operations responsibilities. Then came the move to Hogg Robinson, where I was head of treasury and responsible for domestic cash management, FX, treasury reporting and project work.
After Hogg Robinson was taken over by Amex, I moved to renewable energy company Ørsted, before becoming director of treasury at travel company Kiwi.com, where I have been for three months.
For me, it was coming to the UK in 2006. When I was about to leave Nigeria, I found myself having to explain this move to my CFO. I told him that I had always wanted to try myself abroad, that this had always been one of my ambitions. Coming here and effectively starting all over again has been a great experience – and I always say I have built my career twice over in my lifetime.
Nigeria and the UK are very different. Quite simply, what this move has given me is greater experience in dealing with people in diverse settings. In both Nigeria and the UK, I have moved from bank to bank. Even within the banking sector you will find a great diversity in both the bank culture and in terms of the people working within banks. I have worked with people from all over the world: Asia, Europe and South and North America, and I’ve enjoyed that aspect of my work tremendously.
My dad brought me up to believe that I could be anything I wanted to be and that I could work anywhere in the world – that I could go anywhere and be good at my job. That confidence has really helped me. It means that I don’t walk into roles and feel overwhelmed. I have that foundation.
And I would also say that I have been the beneficiary of the kindness of strangers. I have had managers who have trusted and believed in me when they didn’t have to. The late Davina Taverner, who was customer office head at ABN Amro in Manchester, took me on when I had no UK banking experience. That job was crucial because it was my stepping stone into the UK corporate world.
I’ve been given a lot of opportunities to develop myself, promotions that have allowed me to take on more responsibility. It was while I was at the John Lewis Partnership that I began studying with The Association of Corporate Treasurers, for example. I’ve been extremely lucky in terms of my experiences, and I’ve also been able to draw on my own internal motivation. It is hard for members of the Black, Asian and minority ethnic community to make headway in this country – and you need confidence to attack the glass ceiling. I didn’t go to school in this country. Sometimes, you apply for jobs and you don’t know why you were turned down – in spite of your profile being fantastic for that job.
I’ve made applications to sit on boards of organisations – and you get turned down. I recently saw an advertisement for a non-executive director. The recruiter wrote that she was looking for people from ethnic minorities who had a couple of years’ experience at FTSE100 companies, but the cohort of individuals with that kind of experience is very small in number.
I have to say, however, that I really enjoy attacking the glass ceiling. When I talk to others in my position, I say: “If we don’t do it, no one is going to do it for us.”
I am head of treasury at travel search company Kiwi.com, which is based in the Czech Republic.
I was so pleased when I got this role. It provides an opportunity to show competency as a professional and displace doubt that people like me can take senior roles and thrive. I go into schools, sometimes in quite deprived areas, and talk to different groups about my career and journey, and tell them: if people like me can come here on a plane and get somewhere with my career, then they can, too.
There is clearly a technical aspect to this role: cash, liquidity management for the short and longer term. There are banking relationships to manage and technology is a significant area.
Then there’s the strategy part – where we are, where we want to be. Treasury needs to help the business be profitable and relevant – treasury is part of making that happen.
I also enjoy the leadership aspects of the role and the fact that it’s an amalgam of a lot of qualities and competencies.
It should be the case that people can share their problems and issues, and that their manager or leader will help them to move on. If you can do something to ensure people are happy in their roles, that’s a good thing in leadership.
As leaders, we are trying to create a centre of excellence for ourselves, being proactive and giving advice and guidance.
It’s early days, but there is an opportunity to do exciting things here.
Liz Loxton is editor of The Treasurer