My Life in Treasury: Vincenzo Masile

Stay Curious and Avoid the Ivory Tower

Being flexible and open to new possibilities has enabled Vincenzo Masile, Interim Senior Treasury Analyst EMEAR at biotech firm AbbVie, to work across a variety of industries and in several countries for more than 14 years. Here, he talks to TMI about how being an expat has helped him adapt to different business cultures and values and why communication skills are vital to the modern treasurer.

Vincenzo Masile
Interim Senior Treasury Analyst EMEAR, AbbVie

Like many financial professionals working in treasury, Vincenzo Masile began his career outside the corporate treasury space. Originally from Naples, Masile was living in London when Hayes Accountancy found him a role at Archer-Daniels-Midland (ADM), one of the world’s largest food processing and commodities trading companies. The job saw Masile on the move again, this time to Amsterdam to become a credit control manager for ADM’s cocoa division in the Netherlands.

“After five or six years of really getting to know the ADM business, the company was migrating its treasury hub from Hamburg to Rolle in Switzerland,” recalls Masile. “I was given an opportunity to help with that, which is how my treasury journey started.”

Getting into treasury had been an aim of Masile’s while he was still working in the credit team, thanks to his constant interactions with the treasury team as part of his role. In February 2008, he connected with his new treasury colleagues in Hamburg for three weeks and joined them on the move to Rolle, where he stayed until the end of June 2008.

“I loved that experience, it was a full immersion into treasury,” he recalls. “In Switzerland, ADM built up the IHB for Europe, Asia and Africa. I was moving large amounts of funds between different regions to support the business. For example, a purchaser of cocoa beans in the Ivory Coast needed $1m overnight – you have to pay attention to the details in a transaction like that.”

Some 14 years later, Masile has capitalised on that initial experience at ADM to grow his treasury experience, skills, and career accordingly, most recently in a number of high-profile interim roles.

“I enjoy the variety of treasury and cash management tasks, as well as talking to internal and external shareholders, and with our many banking partners – there’s always something going on,” Masile enthuses. “This is even the case with today’s flexible working. I work from home on Wednesdays and Fridays, and the last time I was in my home office, my line manager asked if I could execute a couple of urgent manual payments in Turkish lira. I sent this to our subsidiary in Istanbul using the BNP Paribas Connexis portal. That’s something to pay attention to; you want to get it right the first time.”

Treasurer as business enabler

Masile also works on various treasury projects using the SAP S/4HANA ERP system. Comparing today’s treasury technology with what was available when he first started in the profession, he reflects on the profound advances made.

“I’m very happy that technology can assist the treasury function, it enables us to keep things simple,” continues Masile. “So many companies today are still relying heavily on Excel. That’s not compliant and is subject to error, but some firms don’t want to invest in treasury tools, even in a ‘post-Covid’ world. I’m fortunate to leverage technology for reporting, to work on a TMS, and even leverage BI [business intelligence] power for data analytics. As a treasurer, those tools keep life simple, and I welcome further innovation in that space.”

A treasurer definitely isn’t only as good as their technology, however, they also have to keep up with the evolving nature of the role. Masile is clear on the importance of becoming involved with the business and sharing insights with other stakeholders. “As well as understanding how to do your job as a treasurer, you also have to be a good communicator, to preach the gospel of treasury and educate internally,” he notes.

A first-hand example of this in Masile’s career comes from when he worked at a Dutch healthcare company from 2018 to 2020, mainly in the SSC in Budapest and occasionally at the holding company in Amsterdam. It was an acquisitive business, adding operations such as private clinics and medical labs. The issue was that, while the business development team were piling up deals, they never talked to treasury in advance.

 “Having assessed this situation, I talked to my manager and suggested that we arrange a meeting, at least twice a month, where I would be talking to the business so I can get the flavour of their pipeline,” Masile continues. “I wanted to cover everything from months, amount, currency and the status of the deal. Knowing this information, I could add it to the cash flow forecast. The treasury function should be a business enabler.”

Adapt and add – the treasury skill set

As already noted, Masile’s treasury career has taken him to several countries around Europe and various industries – including publishing and media in London, high-tech in Silicon Valley and, of course, commodities.

“The beauty of my experience is that when I start a new job, I always try to identify what I can apply to the new environment, what fits with that company,” reveals Masile. “You cannot reinvent the wheel overnight, but maybe you can improve cash flow forecasting or suggest to the line manager how a small change can generate better results. In a treasury career, you have the opportunity to cover the spectrum of many types of industries. It’s key to bring your prior experience to each new role and add to your skills along the way.”

In today’s macroeconomic environment, treasurers are being tested across the entire range of their skills, as topics such as the energy crisis, the war in Ukraine, and supply chain bottlenecks generate risks to be managed.

“Among my tasks, I’m currently very busy with sanctions,” Masile notes. “I have to be certain I’m sending cash out to the right place, with FX controls. Nowadays, treasurers should be focused on updating their knowledge, taking courses, being curious and asking questions. You don’t want to face a crisis that suddenly highlights some gaps in your technical skills.”

Of course, the latest generation of treasurers is perhaps experiencing some of these macroeconomic shocks for the first time. Masile is reminded of a scene in the James Bond film Skyfall, in London’s National Portrait Gallery, where Q chides Bond that “age is no guarantee of efficiency”. Bond’s response? “Youth is no guarantee of innovation.”

“I love that scene because it contains an important element of truth,” Masile smiles. “The new generation of treasurers should be full of curiosity and eager to learn because otherwise, it is hard to approach the role with any passion. A sense of urgency is a vital soft skill for treasury, as is being open to taking part in projects and working as a team. Make sure you’re not sitting in an ivory tower.”

A human focus

Much like Bond, Masile regularly pops up in exotic locations, not just for work but also while pursuing his love of travelling. Fresh from a weekend in Budapest and following a trip to Prague’s Prosecco festival, he already has his next trip itinerary in hand.

“In a couple of weeks, I’m off to Alicante for four days to meet friends over there,” Masile says. “Having moved around with work, it’s always nice to be able to revisit somewhere I know and see friends there. I also love to visit museums and galleries, so in London, I’d go to the Tate Modern on the Southbank, or in Amsterdam the Van Gogh Museum and the Rijksmuseum, for example.”

Masile’s curiosity in his day job is something matched in his personal life, where he happily searches out knowledge and relaxation in equal measure, perhaps looking for la dolce vita.

“I like reading philosophy books and photography too, both activities that help feed my curiosity about life,” he comments. “Also, I find it good to walk or jog in the park – it is important to find time to breathe and regenerate your brain cells.”

Looking ahead at what may lie in store for the future of treasury, he is certain that machines will never replace knowledgeable, curious people.

“Despite all this brilliant technology we have assisting us in treasury, the human factor will always be there,” Masile concludes. “It may be more streamlined, perhaps we will need fewer people to work on the day-to-day treasury tasks, but the crucial factor is that the work is done as effectively as possible.”