Career Adventuring in Treasury: A What’s Neu Conversation
# People and Talent
A new What’s Neu video with Summa Simmons of Victoria’s Secret on building a people-first treasury career across industries.
Justin Jones
One thing I’ve noticed in my time at NeuGroup, across many meetings with treasury staff at all levels, in companies of all sizes and sectors, is how the careers of our members often follow anything but a straight line. Of course, some set out to become treasurers, but many stumble into the discipline through rotations, unexpected opportunities or leaders who recognize potential before they see it in themselves.
In the latest episode of the What’s Neu (pronounced “noy”) video series, I talk with Summa Simmons, an Associate Vice President in Global Treasury at Victoria’s Secret. Her path to treasury includes the unforeseen turns that lead many professionals to this corner of finance organizations. She is a self-described “career adventurer” with experience across financial services, healthcare and retail who brings a people-first, curiosity-driven lens to treasury.
Summa began her career in accounting: structured, rules-based, predictable. But a leader saw something that numbers alone couldn’t reveal: the ability to pair subject-matter proficiency with emotional intelligence.
“Treasury found me through a leader who saw how I balanced technical skills with people-savviness,” she says. “That blend of numbers and nuance is what pulled me in and kept me here.”
What stands out across our conversation is how much of her approach centers on people—how teams make decisions, how relationships shape outcomes and how curiosity keeps the work from ever feeling static.
People are also key to effective benchmarking, which Summa says is essential—a “million-dollar” resource—because it helps her compare approaches, test assumptions and bring fresh ideas back to her team. NeuGroup plays a vital role in the process.
“One of my sustainable strategies is to find the ‘me’ at peer companies: the person who understands the nuance of what I’m navigating, even if the organization or the industry looks different,” she says in the video. “NeuGroup makes that possible. It’s not just the connection, it’s the access.”
We end our exchange on a lighter note, discussing Summa’s favorite food cities in America. As a proud New Yorker, well-travelled across the country, she puts NYC at the top of her list. (You’ll have to watch the video for her other picks.) Of the Big Apple food scene, she says, “You can get just about anything, authentically, at every price point,” a reminder that her love of discovery—and numbers—extends well beyond the office.
