Welcome to the February issue of The Treasurer. Each year, this is the issue in which we celebrate the accomplishments of treasurers in the UK and continental Europe over the past 12 months. In the deal categories, we focus on their fundraising achievements. In the team categories, we consider their broader contributions to the companies in which they work.
We are proud that the reputation of The Treasurer’s Deals of the Year Awards continues to grow.
In 2014, the awards attracted more nominations than ever before, and these came from more countries than have previously entered before. Greece, for example, submitted nominations for the first time. This year, as in prior years, the judges were very impressed by the standard of entries to the awards. The overall Deals of the Year winner set the bar particularly high by executing a very complex transaction in a short time frame. To find out more, see page 19.
Treasurers tend to be extremely modest about what they do, yet it is they who secure the crucial funding that organisations need to invest, to expand and, sometimes, even to survive. So I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate all the award winners and runners-up in The Treasurer’s Deals of the Year Awards. You are making a real difference to European business.
In this issue, we also meet Air France treasurer Frédérique Lacombe. She offers some insight into what it is like to work in the glamorous airline industry, the challenges she faces with regulation, and how she and her team are supporting the business’s transformation programme. To hear her views and to find out how the difficulties in the eurozone are affecting Air France, turn to page 30.
Times remain uncertain, so treasurers will be taking a keen interest in the funding options that are available to them this year. If you are looking for an overview of what is happening in the loan markets, then I recommend you read our analysis on page 44. Meanwhile, the strengthening of the US dollar, the weakening of the euro, and the volatility of the emerging-market currencies (especially the rouble), mean that FX continues to preoccupy treasurers. In the event that you find yourself having to explain your company’s FX policies to the board, I’d suggest first reading our article, on page 46.
Finally, I wish you every success in the year ahead.