Head of Treasury

The Head of Treasury owns the function and the policy behind it. The questions arriving at this desk are not operational: how the group should be funded, what proportion of debt should be fixed, how much liquidity is enough, which banks belong in the core group, and what level of currency risk the board is willing to carry.

The seat sits close to the CFO and, in listed groups, to the audit and risk committee. Treasury reporting becomes a governance product — policy compliance, counterparty concentration, covenant headroom and funding cost — rather than a cash pack. Capital structure work, rating agency dialogue where relevant, and the funding side of M&A all belong here.

In Singapore the role appears in two forms. In regional headquarters it can be an Asia-Pacific function reporting into a global Group Treasurer; in locally headquartered groups, particularly commodities, shipping and real estate, it is the top treasury seat outright. The technical mandate is similar; the political scope is not.

Where this sits: the final rung of the Treasury pathway, above Regional Treasury Manager. Peer leadership roles are Head of Finance and Financial Controller in the Accounting pathway.

• Set treasury policy — liquidity, funding, FX, interest rate and counterparty risk — and secure board or committee approval for it.
• Own the funding strategy: facility mix, tenor profile, fixed and floating balance, and the refinancing calendar.
• Lead debt raising and refinancing, including lender negotiation, documentation and covenant architecture.
• Advise the CFO on capital structure, dividend and repatriation capacity, and the treasury implications of M&A.
• Own the bank group strategy, including core bank selection, wallet allocation and credit relationship management.
• Report treasury risk and policy compliance to the CFO, audit committee and, where applicable, lenders and rating agencies.
• Build and lead the treasury function, including structure, systems roadmap, control framework and succession.
• Ensure the treasury control environment withstands internal audit, external audit and regulatory scrutiny.

• A degree in accountancy, banking and finance or economics, with a completed professional qualification.
• Fourteen or more years of treasury experience, including a full group or regional mandate and team leadership.
• Demonstrated debt raising or refinancing leadership, with lender negotiation and covenant design.
• Experience presenting policy and risk to a CFO, board or audit committee.
• Depth in cross-border liquidity, ideally including restricted currency markets in Asia.
• ACT AMCT or MCT, CA (Singapore) or CFA; treasury centre or listed-group experience is the practical differentiator.

• Lead with a policy you wrote. The hedging or liquidity policy you designed and defended is the core evidence.
• Bring a funding outcome. A refinancing or new facility with pricing, tenor and covenant terms, and what you traded away.
• Show governance fluency. Describe how you report risk to a committee and what you escalate versus absorb.
• Explain the bank group you built. Core bank selection and wallet logic reveal strategic rather than operational thinking.
• Clarify the reporting line. Reporting to a CFO versus a global Group Treasurer changes the mandate entirely — establish it early.