When embarking on your treasury career, you may think personal branding is something reserved for senior executives or those seeking a promotion. But, your personal brand is being formed right now, whether you're actively shaping it or not. Every interaction, every project, and every conversation contributes to how you are perceived.
Your personal brand is the unique value you bring to your role and how others experience working with you. For treasurers, having a strong brand is particularly important. Treasurers interact with multiple stakeholders on a daily basis including finance, operations, banks, and senior leadership. Building a strong personal brand early in your career will help you stand out, create opportunities, and establish yourself as a treasury professional.
This blog introduces a Personal Brand Canvas specifically designed for treasurers. By working through these nine steps, you'll gain clarity on who you are professionally, what you offer, and how to communicate your value effectively.
1. Who You Are (Identity)
Start by understanding what makes you unique. This isn't about creating a persona, it's about recognising your authentic strengths. Consider your background, values, and what you're passionate about within treasury. Perhaps you have a keen interest in sustainability and ESG financing, or maybe the technical aspects of cash flow forecasting. Your personality matters too. Are you naturally analytical, collaborative, or particularly good at building relationships?
2. What You Do (Offering)
Define the specific skills and services you bring to your team. As a junior treasurer, this might include cash forecasting, bank relationship management, or FX analysis. Think beyond just technical skills. Do you have strong Excel modelling capabilities? Are you particularly good at explaining complex concepts to non-treasury colleagues? Can you build relationships quickly with banking partners?
3. Why You Are Credible (Reasons to Believe)
Credibility comes from demonstrating competence consistently. For treasurers, this might include your ACT qualification progress, relevant industry experience or a successful project delivery. Keep a document to log all of your achievements which you can build upon each year. Keep a record of projects where you've added value, such as improving forecast accuracy or identifying cost savings in banking fees.
4. What Benefits (Key Benefits)
Consider what colleagues gain from working with you. Functionally, you might deliver accurate forecasts that enable better decision-making. Emotionally, perhaps you're reliable and calm under pressure during month-end. Do people feel confident seeking your input, knowing you will provide a satisfactory response or at least seek the information after the meeting? Are you able to make complex FX hedging concepts easier to understand for the accounting team?
5. Why You (Positioning)
What makes you different from your colleagues and peers in your organisation or network? Perhaps you combine technical treasury knowledge with strong data visualisation skills, making your reports particularly clear. Or maybe you're the team member who proactively builds relationships across departments, giving treasury better visibility into upcoming cash flows.
Your positioning should be credible, specific, relevant to your organisation's needs, and difficult for others to quickly replicate. Avoid generic statements like "hard-working" or "detail-oriented." Instead, focus on what genuinely sets you apart.
6. How They Know You (Communication)
Your personal brand only exists if others know about it. This doesn't mean self-promotion, it means ensuring your good work is visible. Volunteer to present at department meetings, share insights from ACT webinars with your team, or write process documentation that helps others understand treasury better. Build your presence on LinkedIn by engaging with treasury content and sharing occasional insights from your work.
7. Who Needs to Know (Audience)
Identify who needs to understand your value. Your immediate manager and treasury team are of course, but think broader. Who in finance, operations, or procurement do you interact with regularly? Which banking partners do you work with? Who influences decisions about your career progression? Different audiences need different messages. Your manager needs to see your project delivery and development whereas banking partners need to experience your professionalism and technical competence.
8. What You Get (Results)
Define what success looks like for your personal brand. This might include being recognised as the go-to person for certain treasury activities, receiving positive feedback from stakeholders, or being invited to participate in strategic projects. Track how you're perceived. Are you being asked to take on more responsibility? Do colleagues seek your input? These indicators show your brand is strengthening.
9. What You Need (Investments)
Building your personal brand requires investment. Time is the primary resource, dedicated to developing skills through your ACT qualification, attending treasury conferences, or networking with peers. You might invest in communication training, technical courses on new treasury systems, or membership to professional networks. Consider what you need to develop to deliver on your brand promise. If you want to be known for FX expertise, invest time in market analysis and understanding hedging strategies deeply.
Taking Action
Your personal brand will take time to develop, but by being intentional about these nine elements, you'll develop a clear professional identity that opens doors throughout your treasury career. Start by completing the Personal Brand Canvas worksheet, then identify two or three specific actions you can take this month to strengthen your brand.
Personal branding isn't about being someone you're not, it's about being yourself and ensuring the right people know about the value you create.
Download the Personal Brand Canvas worksheet to begin mapping your own professional brand today.
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This blog was written by Jennifer Pearson, CEO & Founder, TreasuryEdge who is a member of the Future Leaders in Treasury working group. To find out more about the group please visit the Future Leaders in Treasury webpage.