As we celebrate International Women’s Day at Trovata, we recognize both the progress and ongoing challenges for women in finance. Despite advances, women remain underrepresented in corporate leadership—holding just 18% of CFO positions within the S&P 500 in Q1-Q3 2024. Treasury reflects these disparities, with women making up only 22% of the Association of Corporate Treasurers (ACT) membership.
However, a promising shift is underway. While women remain underrepresented in CFO roles, 29% of S&P 500 CFO appointments in the first three quarters of 2024 were women—the highest percentage in the past three years. Additionally, women now account for 33% of ACT’s student population, signaling a growing pipeline of future female treasury leaders.
Progress is happening, but challenges remain. Breaking into treasury—and thriving in it—demands perseverance and technical skills often while being the only woman in the room. Many women have successfully navigated these obstacles, built influential careers, and paved the way for future generations.
We asked 11 trailblazing women in treasury to share their best career advice to inspire the next generation.
Whether you’re just starting out or looking to advance in your treasury career, their insights—based on a combined 130 years of experience—will provide inspiration and guidance.
Featured Treasury Trailblazers:
- Christina Jewell – Treasury Manager at Gibson Brands
- Erica Proctor – Senior Treasury Manager at Dallas Cowboys
- Erin Dewar – Treasury Director at IMA Financial Group
- Jessica Siu – Vice President, Treasury at Authentic Brands Group
- Kimber Davis – Treasury Manager at Speedcast
- Laura Loeffler – Manager of Treasury, Cash Operations at Real Chemistry
- Maritza Gerde – VP of Treasury at Globalization Partners
- Megan McLaughlan – Treasury Manager at Park Place Technologies
- Priti Kartik – VP Treasury at CrowdStrike
- Raluca Dusa – VP Treasury and Risk Management at Flow Control Group
- Samma Hollier – Treasury Operations Manager at Trupanion
Breaking into Treasury: How They Got Here
Every treasury professional we spoke with had a unique career path. Some intentionally sought out the field, while others discovered it unexpectedly. No matter how they got there, these treasury trailblazers haven’t looked back.
Erin Dewar worked for over 10 years in banking and financial services, supporting CFOs, treasurers and treasury teams with solutions to help optimize cost of capital and accelerate cash. She joined the practitioner side 2 years ago to take a deeper dive into treasury and organizational change.
Laura Loeffler transitioned into corporate treasury after eight years in commercial lending, and she found that seeing the industry from both sides—banking and corporate—gave her an invaluable perspective.
Christina Jewell stumbled into treasury when she took on a backfill position at Gibson: “My first goal for Gibson treasury was to consolidate payments from physical checkbook accounts into one central bank. I’ve been automating banking processes ever since, and I love it.”
Meagan McLaughlan wanted to stay connected to banking while working on the corporate side, making treasury a natural fit for her.
For Erica Proctor, a former manager suggested treasury as a career path, and she hasn’t looked back since. “I have been in the treasury field for 13 years, and I have absolutely loved it!”
Priti Kartik moved into treasury from Ops Finance after returning from maternity leave. “Treasury allows me to drive economic value while managing risk, and it has been an incredibly rewarding experience.”
Jessica Siu proactively sought out a treasury role by reaching out to a mentor, who later became her manager at two different companies.
Raluca Dusa discovered the field when she moved from Romania and landed a Treasury Analyst job.
Kimber Davis was presented with the opportunity to switch from accounting to her company’s treasury team. “While accounting gave me a deep understanding of financial statements and their underlying movements, I’ve found that working in treasury has given me many opportunities to be at the forefront of my company’s finance team.”
Samma Hollier was on another finance team, and the role was recommended to her.
For Maritza Gerde, the path to treasury started in hedge fund accounting in Chicago. When she moved to Indianapolis, there were fewer opportunities in that niche. A recruiter helped her determine that, given what she loved in her old job, she should seek a treasury role. And it paid off. “At the time, I didn’t really know what treasury was or what responsibilities were within that team, but I gave it a chance. Almost 20 years later, here I am still in treasury and loving it!”
Top Advice Women in Treasury Would Give to Tell Their Younger Selves
The road to success is full of lessons, many of which only become clear in hindsight. Here’s what these treasury leaders wish they knew when starting their career.
1. Be Your Own Advocate
Confidence, speaking up, and self-advocacy were major themes among the treasury leaders.
Laura Loeffler shared how she was fortunate to have this value instilled from the start:
“Self-advocacy and being vocal was instilled in me early on in my career while working at Celgene under Sandra Ramos-Alves, now SVP & Treasurer of BMS. Don’t be afraid to advocate for yourself and what you want, speak up, be confident, and take a seat at the table.”
According to Jessica Siu, knowing when to speak up for yourself is essential:
“Advocate for yourself and don’t be afraid to speak up; the worst thing you’ll hear is ‘no.’ Not all fires need to be put out; learn what is urgent and important. Finally, don’t be so hard on yourself because you are your own worst critic.”
Raluca Dusa agrees with Jessica on that last point; be gentle with yourself and discern what matters most:
“‘Good enough’ is good enough. It’s not ideal to seek perfection in everything. The key to success is to find the few items where you must strive for perfection and do your best to pursue it.”
For Priti Kartik, taking risks and a betting on yourself is crucial:
“Trust yourself and take the leap. Opportunities often come disguised as challenges—embrace them, invest in building expertise, and step confidently into unfamiliar territory. The risks you take today will shape not only your career, but also your confidence and the person you become.”
Meagan McLaughlan believes in using your voice to question the status quo:
“Never hesitate to ask why things are done a certain way—there’s often a better approach.”
2. Build Strong Relationships and Leverage Your Network
Success in corporate treasury goes beyond technical expertise. All of the leaders agreed… relationships matter.
Samma Hollier put it simply:
“Network – you can work hard in your current role and slowly move up, but real growth happens through ideas and change.”
Kimber Davis believes mentorship and the ability to “manage up” is critical:
“Your manager is the absolute best source of knowledge, motivation, and growth. Do not take those relationships for granted. Come to every meeting thoroughly prepared, ask questions, volunteer for projects, and get their feedback often. You can not succeed without your manager’s buy-in and the best way to get that is to show enthusiasm and gain their trust.”
And not only with your manager, but other stakeholders as well, she adds:
“Treasurers need to be great relationship builders, both within and outside their companies. Because treasury touches almost every other function, it is important for treasurers to have strong relationships with their internal stakeholders.”
Erin Dewar underscores the importance of staying connected:
“Prioritize tracking and keeping up with your network. As your career develops your network can be very helpful and staying in touch even briefly can be very helpful over time.”
3. Stay Curious and Adapt to Change
A key theme that almost every leader agreed upon was the need to stay current with technology. With technology reshaping treasury, staying adaptable is crucial.
Christina Jewell encourages treasury professionals to embrace AI:
“Do not be afraid to grow with your company, expand your knowledge, learn newthings, and do things like diving into AI instead of fearing it will replace you. Stagnation is what you should fear! The Marine Corp has a saying: Improvise, Adapt, and Overcome. This encourages people to be resourceful and creative when challenged. Despite obstacles, never be deterred from your personal and professional goals.”
Erica Proctor agrees:
“The treasury world is constantly changing along with new technology that it can be hard to keep up. Be willing to learn new things and implement new processes to improve your workflow.”
Raluca Dusa advises:
“A top skill for me is adaptability and being ready to change course very quickly. Identify the few areas that are critical for each company (liquidity, FX etc), have a solid plan on how to manage them including carefully selected technology and be ready to adjust this plan on a very short notice if needed.”
4. Don’t Forget to “Do You”
Personally and professionally, many of these women mentioned the importance of pursuing your passion, both in and outside of work.
For Christina Jewell, you MUST follow your heart (and, keep your eyes peeled for a time machine):
“Invest in what you are passionate about, what makes your soul happy, and in your own continued education. That, and investment advice I’d give my younger self is buy Apple, Microsoft, and Bitcoin as soon as you hear their names!”
Erica Proctor chimed in as well:
“If I could give my younger self advice, I would tell her to travel the world sooner because it is amazing, eye opening, and perspective-changing.”
Maritza Gerde reflects on the importance of following your joy, even if that looks different to what the traditional path to success might look like:
“It will be ok if after graduation you don’t go to work at one of the big accounting firms. It was a risk I took out of college that I was very nervous about, but it ended up being a great decision for me personally. Take a chance on something you feel you will enjoy doing for work daily since it makes life more enjoyable to enjoy what you wake up to do every day.”
The Most Important Skills for the Future, According to Senior Women in Treasury
1. Technical Skills
Echoing the advice that treasury leaders should stay adaptable, a majority of the leaders shared that an imperative skill for the future generation of treasury leaders is technical expertise.
According to Erin Dewar, it’s important to stay abreast of the newest tools:
“Ability to understand technology and its benefits quickly as new solutions continue to present themselves. Also, strong interpersonal skills to help their teams navigate change and buy in.”
For Priti Kartik, it’s all about how to use technology to harness financial data:
“As automation, AI, and real-time analytics transform treasury, future leaders must leverage digital tools, interpret data effectively, and drive innovation.”
Recommended: CrowdStrike’s treasury team’s pathway to digital transformation
Christina Jewell celebrates the fact that the technology treasurers have at their fingertips nowadays has come a long way:
“I remember learning Excel almost 30 years ago and knowing that skill took me into this new generation of experiences. That is really what interested me in Trovata and their AI platform, it is a groundbreaking program for this generation of treasury professionals – just like Excel was all those years ago.”
According to Megan McLaughlan, being tech savvy will help you to stay competitive in the job market:
“Embracing and implementing new tools for automation, cost optimization, and cybersecurity will enhance efficiency and risk management, and set strong Treasury leaders apart.”
2. Relationship Management Skills
As a treasury professional, you’ll have many relationships to manage, two of the most important being your relationship to 1) risk and with 2) banking partners.
For Priti Kartik, being able to handle risk and decision-making will remain critical:
“Treasurers must move beyond cash and liquidity management to shape financial strategy, anticipate market volatility, and lead risk-adjusted decision-making.”
Christina Jewell agrees, and recommends partnering with your bank representative:
“Treasury professionals need to stay abreast of all risk management tools available, and latest on all fraud risks to protect your company from any internal or external attacks. If you need help with fraud tools check with your bank representative. Banks are a great asset for the prevention of fraud and are very happy to share the knowledge!”
For Kimber Davis, leaning on your external relationships can help you stay in the know:
“Treasurers should be closely connected with their banks and other third parties to ensure they are getting the most of those relationships and staying on top of evolving trends.”
3. Strategic and Interpersonal Skills
The next most important skill set mentioned for future treasurers were those that an impactful leader must possess: strategic thinking, communication, and interpersonal skills.
For Erin Dewar, it’s about inspiring others:
“Having strong interpersonal skills fosters effective communication so you can manage stakeholders and improve your ability to influence, lead, and inspire others.”
Priti Kartik adds:
“Treasury leaders must build high-performing teams, foster a culture of continuous learning, and communicate with clarity to influence key stakeholders.”
For Jessica Siu, pairing these skills with hard-skills is the perfect combination:
“Strategic thinking, tech-savviness, and emotional intelligence are all important skills to develop as future Treasurers. The ability to zoom in/out on any topic, explain it well, and think several steps ahead will drive innovation in a dynamic environment. Embrace process optimization and learn how to leverage technology to enhance your team’s performance.”
Laura Loeffler highlights the importance of these skills for teamwork:
“Relationships and communications with both internal and external stakeholders are key to collaborating on and achieving critical initiatives. Build your character and integrity by being a compassionate leader. So much more can be accomplished when there is mutual respect and teamwork amongst colleagues across all hierarchical levels.”
4. Analytical and Observational Skills
Next, if you are in treasury, it is of the utmost importance that you pay attention to detail! Working with numbers and precise data demands it.
According to Christina Jewell it is imperative to:
“Understand your organization, and its unique treasury needs. I believe the most important skill for anyone in treasury is more of a personality trait, and that is to be diligent and adhere to a strict mindfulness of details.”
For Kimber Davis, it’s about being able to see the big picture:
“Get familiar with the underlying operations and complexity of your company. Seeing transactions as singular events is not as significant or impactful as understanding the process from end-to-end. That picture-knowledge is essential for growth and advancement as well.”
Maritza Gerde echoes the importance of seeing the big picture:
“It is important to stay current on market conditions and current events, especially for Global Treasurers, as changes can impact your ability to move cash globally and currency fluctuations could have large cash impacts.”
5. Learning Skills
Last but not least, the one skill that will help you to never run out of the important skills for the future is the ability to learn. For your career longevity, stay continuously curious and make learning new things a habit.
Erica Proctor summed it up nicely:
“The treasury world is constantly changing along with new technology that it can be hard to keep up. Being willing to learn new things and implement new processes to improve your workflow is a huge asset.”
Top Takeaways for Aspiring Treasury Professionals
The collective advice from these women in treasury—ranging from self-advocacy to embracing technology—serves as a guide for the next generation of treasury professionals, no matter their gender!
Their advice boils down to four main takeaways:
- Speak up and advocate for yourself—confidence is crucial for career growth.
- Build relationships and network strategically—mentors and peers can open doors.
- Stay adaptable and embrace technology—the industry is evolving, and those who innovate will lead.
- Develop both technical and leadership skills—successful treasury professionals balance expertise with strategic vision.
As we celebrate International Women’s Day, let’s continue to amplify the voices of women in treasury, support mentorship, and ensure that the path forward is one of opportunity, inclusion, and innovation.
Priti Kartik said it best:
“As a woman in finance, I take pride in breaking barriers, driving impact, and mentoring the next generation—because when we rise, we lift others with us!”
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