Why do some treasurers progress faster than others?

Here’s a riddle for you…

You’ve got two treasury professionals:

Similar experience, same level of technical ability. Both are great at their jobs.

5 years later, one is a Treasurer running major transactions and shaping strategy.

The other is still a Deputy Treasurer, and still regularly being overlooked for promotion!

What’s happening?

It’s not about IQ.

It’s not about who works harder…

It’s about how visible, connected and understood they are inside the business.

Being technically strong is the baseline – that’s your day job. It’s what you’re paid for.

You manage liquidity, funding, risk, systems, cash flow. You do it well and you’re seen as a safe pair of hands.

But safe hands don’t always = Future Leader.

What I consistently see is that the people who progress faster make a deliberate effort to build relationships across the organisation…

They don’t just know their own function, they also know who sits in tax, financial control, procurement, investor relations, legal, etc. They know who to call when something urgent needs aligning. And perhaps more importantly, those people know them.

One treasurer who’s a great example of this is Keith Gaub, now Assistant Treasurer at Bristol-Myers Squibb:

He moved from banking into corporate treasury, which, on paper, looked like a step sideways, or even backwards to some. But really, it’s set him up for a much broader career.

And in his case, what stood was how intentionally he built partnerships across the business and externally.

They recently executed a major bond deal towards the end of 2025; it was a challenge…

But things moved because he already had strong relationships in place. Tax, financial control, investor relations – he knew who to involve and how to bring people with him.

That kind of network doesn’t appear overnight.

And that’s often the dividing line.

So, which are you?

1: A treasurer who focuses entirely on delivering their remit – doing it well and reliably, but staying firmly within the treasury circle.

Or…

2: You do the same technical job, but you invest time in understanding how the wider business works, attending cross-functional meetings, and maintaining external relationships with banks, advisors and peers.

Because when larger opportunities come up, leadership aren’t just looking for who is technically capable. They want someone who can influence and represent the business externally.

This is why professional networks matter so much. If you’re in the area and looking to expand yours, here’s some of our upcoming networking events you can attend:

If you’re looking at your career and wondering why progress feels slower than expected, it’s worth asking a simple question: who across the business would immediately think of you when a major project lands on their desk?

That answer often tells you more than any performance review.

Best regards,

Mike