It is ultimately responsible for the stewardship and strategic direction of the ACT and accountable to the members. Day-to-day management is delegated to the Chief Executive and, through the Chief Executive, to the Executive team.
Council consists of two Officers (President and Deputy President) and up to eight other elected members, as well as the Chief Executive and up to four co-opted members. i.e. a maximum of 15 Council members. In any year the term for Officers and elected members commences on 1 May.
The full list of Council members for 1 May 2025 - 30 April 2026 is shown below. Further information about Council, panels and other groups is set out in the council terms of reference.
Annette Spencer was appointed Chief Executive of the Association of Corporate Treasurers in September 2023. She previously held senior roles at membership associations The Investment Association and The Institute and Faculty of Actuaries, and her earlier career was spent in communications, policy and marketing roles in financial and professional services, including at a number of FTSE 100 companies.
Group Treasurer, Peabody
Please provide a brief description of your career
Not-for-profit housing association treasurer with early career in private sector audit and corporate banking. Other roles included magistracy, charity trusteeships and board memberships.
What do you like about working in treasury?
Thinking ahead.
Numbers combining with strategy to deliver the organisation’s mission.
Measurable targets.
Stretching corporate and personal goals.
Professional relationships.
Succeeding through others.
Why should members get involved with the ACT?
ACT professional exams, formal learning and informal peer group networking are a great way to keep up with the complexity and challenge of treasury and corporate financing profession.
What three words describe you?
Curious*
Hopeful
Grounded
*in a good way
What is the best piece of advice you have ever been given?
Try again.
Please tell us something interesting about yourself.
With Pakistani heritage, UAE upbringing and grown up time in London, I have three distinct social circles.
Group Treasurer, Sky Group
Please provide a brief description of your career
My corporate treasury career began in 1995 in the factory office of a heavy industry manufacturer, York International. I moved to Germany for my next treasury role which was at adidas AG. It enabled me to gain valuable international experiences during the four years I spent at the adidas global HQ. I moved back to England to work in a variety of treasury roles at First Choice Holidays plc and TUI Travel plc. For the past 12 years I have been a Group Treasurer, first with TUI Travel, and currently with Sky where I have been the Group Treasurer for the past 8 years.
What do you like about working in treasury?
The thing I like most is the variety. No two days are the same, and the interaction with different internal and external stakeholder keeps the job always interesting.
What would you like to achieve during your tenure on Council?
Gain a better understanding and appreciation of how the ACT and the Council operates, and the challenges they face. I’d like to help promote the work of the ACT, and to provide my support and assistance to the SLT. To be useful in whatever way that I can.
Why should members get involved with the ACT?
It’s the place to go to for all things treasury. You deepen your treasury knowledge and advance your career via the ACT qualifications. The great events and forums offered are also a fantastic source of treasury knowledge and they are great opportunities to build your treasury network.
What 3 words best describe you?
Straightforward, reliable, amiable.
What is the best piece of advice you have ever been given?
Don’t be afraid to ask stupid questions.
Tell us something interesting about yourself.
I’m originally from Bristol and my family tell me I’m stuck in the 80s because they say most of my reference points come from the 80s – particularly music and football.
Market and Liquidity Risk Manager, African Export Import Bank
Please provide a brief description of your career
I am a Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA) with an accounting degree, an MBA and a Doctorate in Business Administration (DBA). I spent eight years in finance and accounting within the manufacturing and banking sectors before moving into a treasury role. It was at this time that I acquired the Diploma in Treasury and Advanced Diploma in Treasury Management qualifications and became an ACT member. While working for a multilateral financial institution (Afreximbank), I became a pioneering member of their new treasury function where I played a pivotal role in setting up the treasury back-office function and the treasury middle office function (including automating the treasury function). Over the decade that I worked there, I saw treasury evolve from an elementary to an intermediary function. After working for 10 years in treasury, I moved on to set up the market and liquidity risk division where I work with treasury and other risk generating units to manage the financial risks of the bank.
What do you like about working in treasury/with treasurers?
Working in treasury gives you a strong sense of responsibility and custody. The institution must be safe, and the treasury team knows how to do this! To achieve the results, the treasurer needs to know the whole business and interact with most stakeholders in the company.
Although my current role is in risk management, I still use all the knowledge I gained while in the treasury team and I love working with the treasury team because we speak the same language: "manage the risks, take calculated risks, keep those risks within the organisation's risk appetite".
What would you like to achieve during your tenure on Council?
I want to add value. I want to encourage more treasury professionals to engage with the ACT and to show them the value of the qualifications and membership. I want to lead by example and show others what the ACT has done for me which I believe to be both a personal and professional transformation!
Why should members get involved with the ACT?
The ACT is the professional body for treasury. Members should get involved with the ACT because the training and development they will gain will last a lifetime. The ACT's hands-on and innovative approach fosters continuous growth that keeps members in touch with the realities of a treasurer. By getting involved with the ACT you can maintain your knowledge and benchmark against others. And by attending networking events and workshops you can develop your contacts as well as your knowledge.
What three words describe you?
Visionary, Enthusiastic, Effective
What is the best piece of advice you have ever been given?
Keep moving forward!
Director Treasury Operations, Adecco Group
Please provide a brief description of your career
Treasury professional for more than 12 years. Today, I work as a Director Treasury Operations at the Adecco Group. Experience from a diverse set of industries like building materials, machine manufacturing and HR solutions as well as a diverse set of treasury functions spanning from middle to front office roles.
What do you like about working in treasury?
Treasury is a dynamic and fast paced environment. Volatility in financial markets and changes of business strategy (like M&A, restructuring) makes every day exciting. In Treasury you are required to adapt quickly to new circumstances and there are often days where “all hands on deck” are required. Excitement and adrenaline pure.
What would you like to achieve during your tenure on Council?
Having spent my professional career in Switzerland and since July 2024 relocated to Stockholm, Sweden, I hope to bring my knowledge and expertise from these markets to the ACT Council. But above all, I do my best to support the ACT president and the overall council to continue and expand ACTs great offering for treasury professionals
Why should members get involved with the ACT?
The ACT is “THE” foremost professional body for treasurers in Europe. Unique qualifications offered via the different certification levels. I am personally very much involved in the ACT mentoring program as a mentor which brings me much joy and satisfaction to see younger treasury professionals evolve.
What three words best describe you?
Integrity
Pragmatic
Cheerful
What's the best piece of advice you have ever been given?
"A positive mindset doesn’t just change how you see the world—it changes what the world becomes for you."
Global Head of Treasury, AMS
Please provide a brief description of your career
I started my career in treasury straight after graduating from my MBA, worked myself up through the ranks over the past 17+ years: Analyst, Manager, Deputy Treasurer and now Global Head of Treasury for AMS. My experience is international (France, Germany, Canada and now UK) and spreads over a range of industries from FTSE-listed multinationals, private equity firms to not-for-profits.
What do you like about working in treasury?
I love the diverse nature of treasury. Every day is different, so never a dull moment! Also, recent events of failures at high profile banks highlight the importance of treasury’s key role in the context of financial risk management.
What would you like to achieve during your tenure on Council?
I believe that the ACT is a fantastic organisation and as a younger international female treasurer, I think I am closer to the next generation’s aspirations, as well as trends which will shape the future of the profession. My goals are to help the ACT’s Executive and Senior Leadership Team: by ensuring the association consolidates its financial recovery post-pandemic, grows by increasing membership base and revenue from events, remains relevant/attractive in its offering, stimulates interaction with members and continues to augment membership benefits.
Why should members get involved with the ACT?
In my view, if your goal is to have a career in treasury, then an ACT qualification is a must, and taking on an active role in the ACT community will help build your professional network in the field, to learn faster and to leverage the skills of more experienced treasury professionals.
What is the best piece of advice you have ever been given?
Don’t procrastinate and if a challenge seems too overwhelming at first, tackle it in manageable phases.
Tell us something interesting about yourself.
My first treasury role was with the Salvation Army where my responsibilities included managing donations that sometimes included gold bullions or live horses.
Various Non-Executive Director appointments
Please provide a brief description of your career
I have held a variety of executive roles at the ACT between 2006 & 2020 in member engagement, publishing, commercial development and treasury research. In addition I continue to moderate and chair treasury, corporate finance and global trade finance events in the UK, Middle East, continental Europe and Asia, representing the treasury voice in a private capacity as an independent treasury specialist.
My corporate treasury and finance career (1982-2006) included roles in major public corporates in the UK and Germany. I qualified for the MCT / Advanced Diploma with the ACT in 1994 and was made an ACT Fellow in 2000 and Honorary Fellow in 2021. Prior to treasury, I qualified at the Chartered Institute of Bankers in 1986 (working at Lloyds Bank, 1982-1986).
What do you like about working in treasury?
The dynamism, the access to the whole business, the need to think both operationally and strategically and to know that the lifeblood of a business passes through treasury.
What would you like to achieve during your tenure on Council?
To help promote the association and the role of treasury as a profession especially via public engagement.
Why should members get involved with the ACT?
To enhance their careers via qualifications, to enhance their profession and to help shape professional standards.
What 3 words best describe you?
Loyal, inquiring, social..
What is the best piece of advice you have ever been given?
Always make sure that the numbers add up!
Please tell us something interesting about yourself.
There is nowhere in the world I’d rather be than at Lord’s, on a sunny day, watching Middlesex play cricket.
Partner, Rodford & Partners
Please provide a brief description of your career
I qualified as a chartered accountant (ACA) in 1985 in London, after which, in 1986, I joined Price Waterhouse as a management consultant, first, in The Netherlands and then in the firm's London-based treasury management team. During that time I was the treasurer to the Administrators of Maxwell Communications. In 1996, I moved to UBS Investment Bank, also in London, where I held numerous local, regional and global project management, strategy, risk and business COO roles, including Leveraged Finance, Islamic Finance, EM Fixed Income Trading & Sales, Securities Distribution and Rates Trading, as well as establishing local market bond trading operations in Moscow and Istanbul. In 2013, I moved to Abu Dhabi as Wholesale Bank co-Head of Strategic Planning & Business Development at the National Bank of Abu Dhabi where I developed strategic plans to set up operations in five new jurisdictions and research into how Middle Eastern banks could finance the demand for energy in the region (mainly through renewables sources) - this was my first introduction to the concept of “sustainability”.
On my return to London in 2015, I became the Head of Change Management, Group Sales, at Deutsche Börse Group until early 2018. For 21/2 years, thereafter, I undertook numerous interim management roles including the CFO/COO for a start-up PE firm, 7Ridge, and Advisor to the Board of Future Planet Capital, an Impact-Investing VC. In late 2020, I was appointed Chief Revenue Officer and Head of Impact for a B-Corp registered anti-financial crime technology, research and investigations firm, Themis.
In September 2024 I joined Rodford & Partners as a Partner. The firm is a sustainability-focused recruitment and consultancy firm, which helps organisations develop sustainability strategies and implement their sustainability initiatives and reporting requirements. In Q4 2024, I co-authored the ACT’s Certificate in Sustainable Finance course and am now its tutor. Additionally, I’m a Trustee, Finance Committee Chair and Trustee Sustainability Lead of a Multi-Academy Trust in East London and Chair of a 450-year-old Trust in The Netherlands.
What do you like about working in treasury?
I see treasury as the financial heart of an organisation. To be effective, it’s important for a treasurer to understand all aspects of the business, what drives its revenues, costs, risks, financial flows, etc. As a result, the treasurer needs to understand a business’ strategy and its operations, requiring the treasurer and treasury team to collaborate and work effectively with all disciplines of a business. Hence, a good stepping stone to becoming a CFO.
What would you like to achieve during your tenure on Council?
Help the executive team to implement the ACT’s strategy, encourage financial professionals from across the globe to join the ACT and ensure that the education and other training that the Association provides remains relevant to the membership in a fast changing world.
Why should members get involved with the ACT?
The ACT depends on its membership being actively engaged. Not only in undertaking the Association’s internationally recognised education and attending its events, but also supporting its initiatives. By becoming involved, members establish a fabulous network of other treasury professionals with whom they can share experiences and seek support and advice.
What three words best describe you?
Strategic, international and curious.
What's the best piece of advice you have ever been given?
Think before you commit yourself, but once committed, stay the course and don’t give up.
Please tell us something interesting about yourself
I was born in Kenya, and grew up in Hong Kong, Japan, the Netherlands, South Africa, Britain and Spain, As a result, by the time I was 19, I had attended eight schools, in six different countries, in four different languages.
Group Treasurer, Dept Agency, London
Please provide a brief description of your career
I studied law at Liverpool University, then became a qualified accountant with Deloitte.
Law and accountancy careers did not resonate with me. Fortunately, treasury came to my rescue. So I completed two more sets of ACT exams (which really helped my treasury career) when I was at a manufacturing company – Delta plc.
Since then I have worked for large global listed corporates - Cable & Wireless plc, Inmarsat plc, UBM plc, Capita plc and more recently private equity owned companies Survitec and DEPT Agency.
I have been a trustee for five different charities; Better Bankside (Business Investment District), The Independent Cinema Office (“ICO”), a Critical Friend at UP Projects (public art), The Architectural Association (“AA”, higher education) and The World Land trust (saving global habitats). I have chaired the finance, audit and risk committees at the AA and ICO. As a Council member I have experience of good governance encompassing varied issues.
What do you like about working in treasury?
I like the variety of work, being well connected with all parts of the business, working with global colleagues and the challenges that arise working in different countries. Also promoting the company externally to external parties – lenders, credit agencies etc. The opportunities that arise to learn new skills such as corporate insurance, pension liability management and accounts receivables management.
What would you like to achieve during your tenure on Council?
With a new Chief Executive, a new strategy and managing legacy Covid issues it is a very interesting time to join but with challenges. My role is to support the ACT senior leadership team on strategy and any opportunities or challenges as they arise.
In particular it would be great to help on longer term financial resilience, furthering diversity and the vibrancy of the organisation.
Why should members get involved with the ACT?
The ACT provides a great resource throughout your treasury career from education, networking, advice and support, keeping informed on current topics and trends as well as socialising at the events such as the Annual Conference and Dinner.
There are many ways to get involved. I have found such roles expand my knowledge and experience and have made me more effective in my treasury roles.
What is the best piece of advice you have ever been given?
Don’t procrastinate and embrace the challenge and you will likely succeed.
Regional Treasurer, MEA, Pakistan and Turkey, Nestle
Please provide a brief description of your career
My career spans 18 years in finance and accounting with 14 years in treasury managing challenging and dynamic markets within Africa, Middle East, Pakistan and Turkey. The scope has enabled me to work with diverse teams and stakeholders which has been very rewarding.
What do you like about working in treasury?
What I really love about treasury is that every day is different. You pick up the newspaper in the morning or switch on the TV or the tablet and right away your work for the day begins. This forces you to stay on top of what’s going on in the world. And then, it’s about bringing it down to what is happening within the organisation and being able to add value to the business operations. I also love the aspect of working with internal and external stakeholders and the fact that those relationships connect dots and add value to the business in a dynamic and tangible way.
What would you like to achieve during your tenure on Council?
I am excited to contribute to the strategy and decisions of ACT to deliver on its core purpose of supporting its members and the treasury profession. I’m also looking forward to bringing diversity in the decision-making process to help strengthen the global appeal of ACT especially within Middle East and Africa.
Why should members get involved with the ACT?
From education, through qualifications, to career progression and maturity, through networking opportunities and events, members can benefit at every stage in their profession from the value proposition ACT offers. I would encourage every treasurer to be involved with ACT so we can together build the profession to be ready to meet the needs of organisations today and for the challenges of the future.
What 3 words best describe you?
Assertive (Passion), Resourceful, Fun.
What's the best piece of advice you have ever been given?
In relation to continuous learning, a former boss once advised me to pursue professional studies because “Your education is like your briefcase. You fill it up and then when you're ready, you pick it up and go and wherever you go, you carry it along”.
My advice: Aim high! The sky is no longer the limit, even space is now a tourist destination!
Group Treasurer, British American Tobacco
Please provide a brief description of your career
I am currently the Group Treasurer of a FTSE-10 company. I started my career as a finance trainee processing invoices and doing journal entries in 2005. Over the last 20 years, I have done many diverse roles including Head of Corporate Treasury, Commercial Finance Director of Eastern Europe and Head of M&A in Asia. I’ve had the benefit of not only travelling to many countries because of work but also to live in beautiful places like Singapore, Hong Kong, Romania, Malaysia and UK.
What do you like about working in treasury?
Treasury is incredibly strategic and embedded within a business. You need to constantly marry the external lens (funding, FX, investor engagement) with the internal lens (resource allocation, capital allocation, planning) whilst utilising both technical and soft skills to object business and people objectives. I find this multi-dimensional scope truly challenging and satisfying at the same time.
What would you like to achieve during your tenure on Council?
I have spent over 15 years in a variety of people and business leadership roles. I would like to share my commercial, technical and people leadership experience to the ACT. In particular, I’m a strong advocate of having broad experiences and skills which makes treasurers into successful business leaders. My ultimate aim is to support the ACT in continuing to be successful, relevant, impactful and beneficial as an organisation.
Why should members get involved with the ACT?
The ACT has given me an important professional community with the necessary network and technical knowledge to succeed in the field. I will say the skills and contacts have also helped beyond treasury in general.
Members should actively get involved in the ACT because the dialogue, the interactions and sharing is what makes the ACT great and it will payback many fold in supporting your professional journey.
What three words best describe you?
Curious / Humble / Tenacious
An odd but occasionally useful juxtapose.
What's the best piece of advice you have ever been given?
Always be curious and challenge the status quo. If you are right, you added some value; if you are wrong, you learnt something new.
Partner, Headland Communications
Before joining Headland Communications I was a Partner at Brunswick, the critical issues and communications firm. I led the global Campaign Planning offer; building long term reputation campaigns for companies across markets and sectors.
I worked for over 20 years in advertising as a Planner, responsible for creating brand and communications strategies. I have worked at TBWA/ London, part of Omnicom, on brands such as Apple, Mars, News International, Strongbow, and Thomas Cook as well as on the 2001 General Election campaign for the Labour party. I joined WPP’s J Walter Thompson in 2004, working as the lead global planner on a series of WPP’s multinational corporate clients: Vodafone, Nokia, Shell and HSBC.
I was co-opted to Council in 2015, to provide a different perspective and skills-set, most notably in branding and communication.
What do you like about working in treasury or with treasurers?
I don’t work with treasurers or treasury – but find that I can provide a different viewpoint and set of skills to Council and the ACT.
Why should members get involved with the ACT?
The ACT is run by committed, expert staff for the benefit of treasurers and treasury. As an underappreciated but increasingly important profession, treasurers can benefit themselves and their profession by getting involved.
What 3 words best describe you?
Impatient. Creative. Foody.
Public Cloud Lead, Morgan Stanley
Please provide a brief description of your career
After studying Computer and Management Sciences at the University of Hull, I went straight into software engineering within London’s Financial Services sector. Over the years I have worked across most systems used to support and enable the Investment Management and Investment banking businesses. These include financial reporting, business intelligence, portfolio management, trading platforms, compliance tools, firm wide collaboration solutions and more recently portfolio risk. The last few years have seen my role become as much about building high performing agile teams, as product management and technical architecture. With the advent of Cloud and AI – it’s never been more exciting!
What do you like about working in treasury?
As a co-opted Council member, I am totally new to treasury. Everything I have learnt so far is fascinating and I’m only just beginning.
What would you like to achieve during your tenure on Council?
As an “outsider” to treasury I am hoping to bring a unique perspective to the Council and help contribute however I can. When I leave the Council I want to ensure it is even stronger and more successful than when I joined, and that I contributed to that outcome.
Why should members get involved with the ACT?
It is in the interest of all members to be active in the ACT in some, or any, form. From networking and meeting likeminded smart people, to the superb training opportunities to improve yourselves, there are just some of the many reasons for members to get involved.
What 3 words best describe you?
Hardworking, Driven and Energetic.
What is the best piece of advice you have ever been given?
Early in my career someone told me “Don’t complain about something, unless you want to fix it”. This lead me to be much more deliberate on what I focus my energy on and understand how I add value.
