Mohamed Kortam AffilACT did not set out to become a treasurer. Like many finance professionals, he initially imagined a more traditional route through FP&A and commercial finance, with ambitions of eventually becoming a finance director. But somewhere along the way, treasury captured his imagination and changed the course of his career.
Today, the regional treasurer for Middle East & Africa at Lesaffre is not only an experienced treasury practitioner, but also the founder and host of the rapidly growing MEA Treasurers podcast, a platform that has helped create a new treasury community across the Middle East and Africa.
Kortam, who recently won Treasury Innovator of the Year at the ACT Ones to Watch Awards, describes his introduction to treasury as a turning point. After beginning his career in accounting and finance, including roles at Reckitt, he was exposed to treasury while working as a senior credit and treasury analyst. “Instantly I fell in love with it,” he says. “I shifted my goal completely.”
I’d rather be a jack of all trades than a master of one, and that’s exactly what treasury is
Initially, it was the technical side of treasury that appealed to him: FX, hedging and financial risk management. But over time, his appreciation deepened. “Now I love treasury because it’s a strategic role,” he explains. “A treasurer needs to know a little bit about everything – regulations, tax, accounting, banking, risk, operations. I’d rather be a jack of all trades than a master of one, and that’s exactly what treasury is.”
That breadth of responsibility has shaped Kortam’s own career. After relocating from Egypt to Dubai in 2019 for a treasury role at Mantrac, he steadily built his expertise. Today, at Lesaffre, he oversees treasury operations across more than 70 countries in the Middle East and Africa region.
But despite his professional success, Kortam saw a gap in the market. Treasury professionals in the region often lacked access to the same practical insights, peer networks and shared experiences available in more established treasury centres such as Europe and North America. That realisation sparked the idea for the MEA Treasurers podcast.
Launched in May 2025, the podcast began almost accidentally. Kortam wanted to help a friend explain the practical applications of stablecoins to CFOs and treasurers, so he recorded a detailed conversation exploring the questions practitioners would genuinely ask. The response was immediate and overwhelmingly positive. “I realised people really valued practical knowledge,” he says. “Not just theory, but people sharing real experiences, real projects, real challenges and how they solved them.”
That practical focus has become the hallmark of the podcast. Episodes feature treasurer-to-treasurer discussions covering topics from payments innovation to risk management, often unpacking highly technical subjects in an accessible way. Kortam handles everything himself – filming, editing, scripting and promotion – alongside his full-time treasury role.
Now two seasons and 19 episodes in, the audience extends well beyond Dubai. Listeners tune in from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the UK, the Netherlands and the US, reflecting the growing international interest in treasury issues affecting the Middle East and Africa.
If 100 people genuinely learn something from what we’re doing, that’s better than thousands just following for exposure
Yet for Kortam, the podcast has never been about personal profile. “I’m not here to be an influencer,” he says. “If 100 people genuinely learn something from what we’re doing, that’s better than thousands just following for exposure.”
Instead, his ambition is to build a lasting treasury community – one based on openness, shared learning and collaboration. “There is no monopoly on knowledge,” he says. “Anyone can do this. Learn, share and pass on what you know.”
Philip Smith is a journalist and former editor of The Treasurer
