From the Trading Desk to Treasury: Alex Doane on Leading with Curiosity
What happens when a curious kid glued to CNBC grows up to run treasury strategy at one of the nation’s top insurance companies? In this episode, Alex Doane of Lincoln Financial shares how a career that began on a trading desk evolved into leading cash management and bank partnerships across a highly complex financial ecosystem. From navigating leadership transitions to simplifying cash stories across dozens of legal entities, Alex opens up about how curiosity, storytelling, and strategic communication shape his day-to-day—and why empowering his team to struggle through tough questions is one of his favorite parts of the job.
Episode Highlights
- Curiosity is the real power skill: Whether you’re managing $50 or $50 million, intellectual curiosity—paired with the drive to find answers—is what sets standout finance professionals apart.
- Managing up and across is just as strategic as managing down: Building internal credibility and strong banking relationships both require empathy, clear communication, and understanding what motivates your stakeholders.
- Don’t just report the cash—tell the story: Simplifying complex, cross-entity cash operations into a compelling narrative builds trust, boosts decision-making, and positions treasury as a strategic partner.
- Leadership begins with listening: Moving from IC to people leader requires humility, patience, and resisting the urge to make sweeping changes before fully understanding the team and the work.
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Show Notes / Resources
Read the full transcript.
Learn more about Trovata at https://trovata.io.
About Fintech Corner
A podcast for fintech lovers that starts conversations between bankers, financial technology innovators, and their clients to evolve finance and treasury for the 21st century. For decades, there has been a gap between the technology that banks can offer and what corporate clients need for modern cash flow management and analysis. We’ll cover emerging trends to help bridge this gap, technologies that can reshape the roles of treasury & finance, and the in’s and out’s of API bank connections & open banking.
Alex Doane
AVP, Cash and Bank Relationship Management, Lincoln Financial
Alexander Doane is AVP, Cash and Bank Relationship Management at Lincoln Financial, where he leads strategy for managing cash across the company’s complex bank account and legal entity structure, and oversees enterprise relationships and operations with financial institution partners. Previously, he spent 2 years in Lincoln’s Treasury team focused on debt and equity capital markets, and 7 years at PNC Bank in interest rate derivative sales. He holds a BS in Business Administration with specializations in Finance, Accounting, and Business Economics from The Ohio State University, and an MBA from Temple University’s Fox School of Business. He is a CFA Charterholder and member of the CFA Institute. Alex lives in Malvern, PA with his wife Catherine and their two young daughters.
Rida Khan
Head of Marketing, Trovata
Rida leads the Marketing team at Trovata, driving demand and brand awareness in the US. Previously at Rybbon (acquired by Blackhawk Network) and Geospark Analytics (now Seerist), she has focused her career on delivering data-driven results at high-growth start-ups. Rida holds a B.S. in Economics and a B.A. in International Relations from Virginia Commonwealth University. Currently residing in Washington, DC, she enjoys experimenting with new recipes and walking her dog through the nation’s capital.
