My Life in Treasury: Patricia Greenfield, AstraZeneca plc

Patricia Greenfield, Head of Treasury Operations, AstraZeneca plc

This month, Patricia Greenfield, Head of Treasury Operations at AstraZeneca plc talks to Helen Sanders, Editor, and shares her experiences derived from a treasury career that has extended over forty years.

Tell us about your current role at AstraZeneca

Our group treasurer role is currently split between two positions: Keith Darlington, who heads up treasury strategy, such as funding, capital markets etc. and myself, as head of treasury operations. I look after issues such as cash concentration, FX, investment, intercompany funding and act as the main business partner for bank-related issues.

What was your first treasury role and what attracted you to treasury?

I joined Unilever in 1974 in a junior position, as part of my training in general finance and administration. At that time, the concept of a treasury function had not yet evolved. The department I worked for was a back-office function responsible for cash, banking and FX, in which I was involved in activities such as bank account reconciliation. I found this environment very motivating, as unlike most office roles that were generally task-based, I was gaining exposure to far wider horizons. Within a few months, I had been promoted and invited to join the Cash & Banking team, which was effectively a dealing room. This was quite an intriguing place in which to work, as few people knew what we did! In addition to my cash and banking role, I became involved in an FX project, and so gradually developed my role and expertise in what would now be termed treasury.

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