A Career Shaped by Innovation

Embracing innovation has been at the heart of James Leather’s career in corporate treasury – and it is now central to the mission of his growing treasury consultancy, Corium. In a recent podcast, he talked to TMI about his passion for the treasury profession and highlighted some recent advances that have particularly impressed him.

Eleanor Hill, Editor, TMI (EH): Tell us a little bit about yourself and the ways in which treasury innovation has shaped your career path to date?

JL: I have worked in corporate treasury since the early 2000s, when I joined BAT in its Amsterdam office – the former head office of Rothmans and a key treasury hub for the group. From the moment I joined, innovation was a core theme, as I quickly found myself part of a project whose purpose was to replace the four systems that ran treasury there with one, namely SAP, underpinned by host-to-host connections with the banks.

This had dramatic effects on everything – from the timing of when we worked, to controls, and productivity. I was asked at the time whether I wanted to stick with general finance, or to focus on treasury. For me, the choice was easy. I was inspired by the people around me and their passion for this subject area that was forward looking and converged around the financial markets, technology and the business.

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