Member story: Alan Chitty, Director of Group Treasury, Tax and Risk, Pepco Group

1. Please provide a brief description of your career.

Although I studied engineering at university, I went straight into finance with an external audit role, and qualified as a Chartered Accountant in South Africa.

Moving over to the UK in 2004, I held a number of very interesting roles in internal audit, management accounting, technical IFRS conversions and then found treasury operations at Toyota Financial Services, and Anglo American. I then moved to SABMIller and again had the fortune of having very different roles from TMS implementation and regional treasury centre rollouts to group treasury controller and then European & corporate treasurer – these roles gave me many amazing experiences across eight years and six continents.

As part of the acquisition of SABMiller, I moved to Asahi International and setup the group treasury function, and then a group financial shared services which also involved recruiting great new talent, and travelling / meeting people from around the world.

I have recently moved to Pepco Group Limited as Director of Group Treasury, Tax and Risk and am enjoying working on a great project alongside some extremely knowledgeable and talented colleagues and advisors.

2. What do you like about working in treasury?

Treasury has led to me meeting wonderfully diverse people from different backgrounds and facilitates the dissection of the silos that companies often form to work closely with IT, legal, tax, finance, IA, HR, orocurement, marketing and, at SABMiller and Asahi, even brewers.

3. What would you like to achieve during your tenure on Council?

I would like to understand the mechanisms / strategies that the ACT has to drive the diversification of the treasury profession and membership away from the historical compositions, and really promote treasury as an amazing career to allow talented individuals to enjoy the same kind of experiences and career progression that my colleagues and I have been able to enjoy, regardless of their backgrounds.

4. Why should members get involved with the ACT?

The ACT is extremely dedicated to the profession, more so than other professional bodies that I have worked with or been members of. They also have amazing resources, qualifications, learning events – and of course the Annual Dinner.

5. What three words describe you?

Loyal, easy-going, competitive.

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

Hire people much smarter than you, even if they become your boss someday soon – after all someone has to be your boss… - this was from Philip Learoyd.

7. What is the most exciting project you have been involved in?

Setting up the financial shared service at Asahi, my CFO Rohan Cummings, gave me a lot of control over all aspects of the project – recruitment, IT ERP implementation, project management, finance graduate scheme to drive Robotic Process Automation and the Risk and Control Framework.

We went live with 6 entities in 6 months and had 26 entities in 3 years – whilst being involved in the acquisition of the Fullers Beer Company – it was a great ride.

8. What would you say to someone who is thinking about starting a career in treasury?

I would really encourage it, find the right company and grow with it whilst ensuring you do your AMCT qualifications and have a lot of fun.

9. What book are you reading at the moment?

My reading lists tend to be rather low brow spy and murder fiction novels on Kindle – I am reading Holy Island by LJ Ross, and a slightly differently named motivational book by Mark Manson.

10. Tell us something interesting about yourself.

Pre Covid-19, I was still playing competitive water polo for Guildford Water Polo Club. Being based at the University of Surrey a number of my team members are far less than half my age. What I have lost in speed over the years, I have gained in weight.