Articles
April 15, 2026
Building a Talent Strategy Today for the Treasury of Tomorrow
# People and Talent
# AI
Former HP treasurer and NeuGroup member Zac Nesper shares questions that unlock corporate treasury’s full value to the enterprise. Today’s focus: treasury talent.
Zac Nesper
Editor’s note: Zac Nesper’s 20 years at HP included stints in FP&A and multiple treasury roles before he served as treasurer for five years. He led HP’s treasury separation into two companies large enough for the Fortune 50, dealt with fallout from the pandemic and helped defeat a hostile takeover attempt by Carl Icahn. This is the third in a series of articles by Zac on managing treasury through a strategic lens. Read his takes on FX risk management and working capital management.
Treasury isn’t just a control function; it’s a strategic lens on the business that is only as good as the people using it. At HP, the vision provided by that lens taught me to expect the unexpected. Events like a hostile takeover attempt and a corporate separation weren’t on my bingo card. My ability to navigate these challenges was the result of deliberate hiring, development and succession planning by leaders who understood that treasury’s strategic value resides in the people delivering it. Today, with AI reshaping workflows, baby boomers retiring and competition for financial talent intensifying, getting treasury talent right has never been more critical. Here are 10 strategic treasury talent questions for CFOs, treasurers and boards.
Team Size, Structure & Organizational Design
1. How large should my treasury team be? Pro tip: The tried-and-true headcount benchmark of one treasury FTE per $1 billion of revenue is a great guideline, but not a rule. It’s about to face its fiercest opponent yet: AI. One major technology company I know operates at roughly two-thirds of that ratio (0.67 treasury FTE per $1 billion of revenue) by concentrating great people in the Bay Area and leveraging technology extensively. At HP, we were at the one-FTE-per-$1 billion benchmark even though deliberate business choices (a captive financing company, factoring, supply chain financing, extensive hedging, a pension plan) required expertise across a broader range of functions than most peers. We could still run below the industry cost benchmark because we invested in strong offshore teams who handled operational complexity at a fraction of onshore cost. Many fast-growing companies fail to scale treasury as revenue grows and wind up at $2–$3 billion of revenue per FTE. The result: an understaffed function that falls behind operationally and loses its strategic seat exactly when it’s needed most. The rule is drifting; lean teams are more common, and AI will accelerate the trend as it eventually becomes the great equalizer. The key question: what’s the ROI on the next team member?
2. How do I know if my treasurer is the right treasurer? Pro tip: I’ll give you one simple test: Do you want the person in the room when major capital allocation decisions are being made? Once there, do they add insight? If your treasurer is excellent at operations but absent from strategic conversations, you have a very good treasury manager, not a treasurer. Evaluate treasurers on five qualities: Can they communicate risk and opportunity in business terms, not jargon? Are they proactive in bringing strategic insights before being asked? Are they building the team below them? Are they driving technology adoption and streamlining operations? And do they have credibility outside finance, with business units, procurement, legal and the board?
Zac Nesper
Developing and Retaining Treasury Talent
3. How do I develop my next treasurer and other key treasury talent from within? Pro tip: World-class treasury organizations produce treasurers who go on to lead elsewhere, and that doesn’t happen by accident. At HP, I hired Andrea Noseda, who was new to treasury, for a capital markets role. Four years later, she became my successor as treasurer. The development path that made that possible included rotating high-potential individuals through the major treasury functions: cash management, FX, debt capital markets, risk. Give them external-facing experience: rating agency presentations, bank group negotiations, board committee presentations. Assign cross-functional projects that connect treasury to FP&A, M&A and business operations. And expose them to high-pressure situations where they can demonstrate judgment.
4. Should I rotate a potential CFO successor through treasury? Pro tip: Maybe; the answer depends almost entirely on the strength of the team below. A business CFO who has run treasury understands capital markets, capital structure, cash forecasting, liquidity planning, rating agency strategy, FX and capital allocation at an instinctive level. However, one who lacks the technical ability to run the function and must learn on the job can destroy a significant amount of value while “training.” If you have a strong team underneath, this rotation can be an absolute winner: The team runs the operation while the CFO candidate absorbs the strategic dimensions and deepens the partnership with the business. If the bench is thin and the candidate lacks the curiosity to go deep on technical topics, you sacrifice treasury’s effectiveness at the altar of executive development.
5. How should I view compensation in treasury? Pro tip: At HP, one measure I tracked was the return on a treasury FTE. When I started transforming the function, this ran at roughly 30x—a $100K investment had approximately a $3 million return based on projects we could pursue. As we optimized, it settled between 5x and 10x—still extraordinary. Like superstar engineers, the best treasury professionals pay for themselves in spades. I had an FX trader who, simply by asking if a bidder could improve their price, saved the company $2 million in 10 seconds on a single Brazilian real trade. You cannot generate that return from mediocre talent. Treasury skill sets command premium pay in investment banking and asset management; and while corporates won’t match those benchmarks, the value creation that drives the compensation is similar. CFOs should benchmark total compensation—base, bonus, equity, benefits—against both internal peers and the external market and consciously choose how much of a gap is reasonable. Complexity, risk mitigation and value from the undone projects are key indicators of where the sweet spot is located. Also remember that flexibility and meaningful work have become de facto compensation elements that top talent now expects.
AI, Technology & Workforce Transformation
6. How do I prepare treasury for the impact of AI, and how will it change the talent I need? Pro tip: Fully harnessing AI’s value takes system reengineering, not just optimization. Much of treasury’s work depends on regulatory, tax and bank-driven processes; KYC and regulatory reporting aren’t going away. AI will redefine staffing benchmarks: Future teams will likely be 20%–50% smaller. But treasury will lag other finance processes in headcount reduction because so much of the work involves external stakeholders and regulators who move at their own pace. Be relentless in making high-quality treasury data accessible in a company data lake and aggressively deploy AI agents at any manual process. On talent, AI will accelerate the shift from transaction processing to strategic advisory. You need people who are curious about technology and willing to work alongside AI, with data literacy, strategic judgment and the communication skills to translate AI-driven insights into C-suite and board-level narratives.
Succession, Retirement & Workforce Planning
7. How do I handle the impending retirement of one or more of my key treasury people? Pro tip: Retirement risk hits treasury harder than most functions. Specialized knowledge (banking relationships, debt covenant nuances, hedging program history, system configurations) often resides in one or two long-tenured individuals. Identify your single points of failure now, not when key people give notice. Begin knowledge transfer 18–24 months before anticipated retirement. Document tribal knowledge: bank contacts, system workarounds, historical context for current structures. And use the transition to modernize. The replacement doesn’t need to replicate the retiree’s role; they need to fill the role the organization needs going forward.
8. How do I find treasury talent in the marketplace? Pro tip: Network relentlessly. Bankers are invaluable, not only as potential hires but because they know who is good and where they work. Your team should be spending time at industry conferences, not just for content but to stay sharp and to recruit. Look internally: Transfers from FP&A, accounting and business unit finance bring business knowledge, and treasury-specific skills can be taught. Broaden your aperture; a strong quantitative analyst with intellectual curiosity may outperform a treasury specialist who lacks strategic thinking. The best hire I ever made was someone who had never worked a day in treasury. All the great ones came from my network.
Strategic Role & Organizational Positioning
9. Should treasury have a strategic seat at the board, CEO and CFO table? Pro tip: Unequivocally yes. Treasury’s expertise in liquidity, risk management, capital markets and M&A execution is among the most strategically valuable capabilities a company has, yet that expertise often remains untapped. Most treasury organizations have zero involvement in supplier negotiations and often aren’t there when capital structure-defining M&A deliberations occur. The key: Treasurers need to communicate upward in business language, not jargon. Simplify the complex and speak in terms of the P&L and cash flow, from the perspective of an investor. Deliver strategic analysis before being asked as a thought leader rather than a task executor. And measure your value creation. If you can’t quantify treasury’s strategic contribution, don’t be surprised when someone else defines your role for you.
Operating Model & Culture
10. What is the right operating model, and how do I build a culture that attracts top talent? Pro tip: Large organizations are increasingly centralizing (in-house banks, payment factories, payment-on-behalf-of models) because it drives efficiency, visibility and control. AI will accelerate this. The modern model combines a centralized center of excellence for policy, risk and strategic advisory; shared services for transactional work; regional hubs for time zone coverage; and technology to connect the layers. If it’s rule-based, automate it. If it requires judgment, staff it with your best people. Optimize for decision-making speed and strategic contribution, not cost reduction alone. On culture: make the work stimulating, invest in development and celebrate treasury’s impact. That’s the culture that produces leaders who go on to run treasury elsewhere.
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