Celebrating success is what this issue of the Middle East Treasurer is all about. We are proud to bring you the winners and runners-up of the ACT Middle East Deals of the Year Awards 2013, which are now in their fifth year. The winners will receive their awards at the ACT Middle East Annual Conference 2013 (www.treasurers.org/actmiddleeast/annualconference). If you turn to the write-up of the award-winners starting on page 5, I think you will agree with me that they are a pretty impressive bunch. Their daring feats include the largest ever initial public offering in the history of Iraq and the creation of a centralised treasury function with an in-house bank in a family-owned conglomerate. I hope that you are as inspired by their stories as I am.
Sticking with the theme, if it’s inspiration that you’re looking for, I suggest you turn to page 12 for our profile interview with cover star Rachel Pether. Besides working full-time as a financial risk manager for Mubadala GE Capital, she also does some part-time television presenting and manages to juggle both these roles with studying for two qualifications (while fitting in some paddle boarding during her rare spare moments).
In this issue, we also address the important subject of how family-owned businesses in the Middle East can build their own treasury function (see page 16) and we cover the basics of implementing a treasury management system for the first time, on page 30.
This year’s ACT Middle East Annual Conference will focus on the key issues that top the agenda for treasury and finance professionals in the region. These include positioning your treasury within the wider business and staying ahead of the curve with the latest treasury technology. But whatever your organisation’s priorities look like this year, business growth will inevitably be a major concern.
I hope that you enjoy the conference and this issue of the Middle East Treasurer.