My Life in Treasury: Gavin Jones, AVON Cosmetics

An Interview with Gavin Jones, EMEA Treasurer, Avon Cosmetics Limited

This month, Helen Sanders, Editor, talks to Gavin Jones who recently joined global beauty company Avon after nearly a decade with Royal Ahold NV. Gavin was a winner of the TMI Award for Excellence and Innovation in Cash Investment in the 2013 Awards.

How did you first get into treasury, and what attracted you to the profession?

My introduction to treasury was partly accidental, partly deliberate. Having studied business studies at university, I was working in finance for a glass manufacturer, Solaglas (now Glassolutions, part of the Saint-Gobain Group). This included monitoring budgets and accounting for machinery sourcing from Europe, particularly Italy. To do this, we needed to translate the ITL value into GBP, which was based on information provided by group treasury. I found my interactions with treasury interesting, so while I finished my degree on a part-time basis, I took a module in treasury management. From the first lecture, which was on the subject of interest rate swaps, I knew that this was an area of finance in which I wanted to be involved.

At around the same time, an opportunity arose at Volvo Trucks in the UK in a subsidiary treasury function. As Scandinavian businesses have a reputation for leading the field in treasury management, this was a great opportunity to develop my skills and knowledge of best-in-class treasury techniques at the start of my treasury career.

Download our Free Treasury App for mobile and tablet to read articles – no log in required.

Download Version Download Version