Anissa Teemul’s career trajectory to date demonstrates the virtue of amassing as much experience, knowledge and responsibility as early on as possible, and also of embracing the professional aspects of the treasury world.
An AMCT passed with extra plaudits, early involvement with the ACT, including membership of the working group for the Future Leaders in Treasury group for the Middle East, and further study – she is currently studying for an Executive MBA from the London Business School – are all manifestations of her commitment.
“Treasury is my passion,” she says. “I qualified, set myself goals, went to conferences and events, networked and asked how I could become involved. I was persistent as I wanted to learn and benefit from an association of like-minded individuals, and here I am today on the Middle East advisory panel.”
Teemul first encountered treasury when she began working in financial services in her native Trinidad. Just two weeks after graduating from the University of the West Indies in 2005, she joined Caribbean Money Market Brokers, a hedge fund manager, as a client relations officer.
From there, she applied for and secured a position in the treasury team, where she gained her first insights into liquidity management, and where she was given responsibilities including matching the company’s cash inflows and outflows running to millions of dollars each day.
Engaging with financial institutions and the firm’s high-net-worth clients gave her an early opportunity to fine-tune her interpersonal skills.
“I learnt that one of the most important skills required in treasury is negotiation,” she says, “and gained the confidence to interact with high-level clients and financial institutions that would later be of great value in my career.”
After two years, Teemul was recruited by the Royal Bank of Canada in the Caribbean as a liquidity analyst and, in 2008, having moved to Abu Dhabi, she joined the National Central Cooling Company (Tabreed), again as a treasury analyst.
The move turned out to be well-timed. A financial crisis, she notes, is an excellent point at which to secure a new role or seek out additional responsibilities. During the eight years she spent at the company, Teemul handled the majority of core treasury functions within the finance department.
The company had made heavy investments on the capital expenditure front, but was not yet seeing returns. Liquidity was tight and the learning curve steep. The local treasury community was to prove supportive.
Tabreed’s major shareholder, Mubadala Investment Company, wanted fast and accurate reporting, but was also on hand to provide guidance, however. “I had their very experienced treasury team just a phone call away,” she says.
The years spent at Tabreed were formative ones. Teemul witnessed the company go through a full business cycle, with cash at a premium at the outset right through to situations where she needed to find the right investment home for surpluses, with each stage of the cycle yielding useful lessons.
Teemul’s role evolved to take in core treasury disciplines such as risk management, cash and treasury operations. She was exposed to other major departments, and her communication skills would prove key.
Treasury is my passion. I qualified, set myself goals, went to conferences and events
One standout achievement was fixing more than AED 2bn ($545m) of floating-rate liabilities through hedging arrangements, an undertaking that also required her to negotiate with banks on interest-rate swaps, put all documentation in place and take recommendations with their potential outcomes to the board.
“My negotiation skills were put to the test and definitely sharpened,” she says, “as well as my confidence in presenting ideas to executive management. I handled all aspects of the trades from planning to execution to negotiation, including getting board approval.”
Creating strong relationships throughout the company – across its subsidiaries and at all levels – was important, she notes: “I was required to interact and negotiate with them regularly, often on the lifeblood of the business: cash.”
After five years, Teemul was promoted to treasurer in a move that would mark a shift towards more strategic input into the company.
Still in charge of treasury operations and tasks such as making sure suppliers were paid on time, her responsibilities evolved from maintaining daily liquidity to long-term forecasting 18 months out, reporting on the forecasts to the board and investors, and feeding information into the company’s budgets and five-year plans.
She also found time to study for and pass her AMCT Diploma in Treasury Management in 2016 with an outstanding achievement award.
The promotion was significant in that it added a wider remit – and sleepless nights as a result. But it also provided her with a 360-degree view of the treasury operations and the opportunity to look forward and move away from an operational role.
Having that view on all aspects of treasury and cash helped, for instance, when an associate company was restricted from paying a dividend as it needed to hold cash collateral against a forward interest and loan payment. Teemul needed to look for a solution.
“I looked outside our existing relationship banks to negotiate a better facility on improved terms,” she says. A letter of credit covered the debt servicing for the associate company, allowing it to release the dividend at quarter end after all.
“Communication and coordination are key,” she explains, “because people don’t always know what they are working towards or how serious the consequences can be, but a treasurer understands the big picture.”
Teemul also led on a cash management system implementation that would prove pivotal in moving the company from a heavily manual set-up with an emphasis on cheques to a more fit-for-purpose solution.
“I enlisted the help of the major banks in the United Arab Emirates [UAE],” she says, “identifying potential solutions and choosing the best for the company.”
The system streamlined the process, shortening the time to deliver payments as well as easing the workload of those previously involved in manually preparing payments.
Teemul also negotiated a trade finance facility at a crucial time for the business, broadening her links with local banks to secure competitive pricing in the process.
In April 2017, Teemul moved to National Investment Corporation (NIC), a major real estate developer that was in the process of diversifying its interests.
Owned by members of the Abu Dhabi royal family, NIC was behind the development of the first retail mall in Abu Dhabi and since then has begun focusing on residential and leisure property development.
While this kind of development is a familiar feature in Dubai, they are a new part of the landscape in Abu Dhabi.
NIC’s new venture is a premium seafront development with one major project just finished – Marina Sunset Bay comprises 67 luxury villas – and another just about to complete: the Fairmont Marina Hotel & Resort and Fairmont Residences, due to commence early in 2019.
The new direction and move into the growth period brings opportunities for Teemul to further the strategic aspect of her role and develop her skills. “I wanted to close the technical gap in my skill base, as I hadn’t had much experience in corporate finance and funding.”
The new phase will move the company from a cash-rich, virtually debt-free balance sheet to a more leveraged one. Teemul’s responsibilities include a funding strategy, managing bank relationships, working with the CFO on funding for new projects and formulating a risk management strategy, including hedging an extension to the Marina Mall and the Marina Walk in Abu Dhabi, requiring around AED 2bn.
NIC’s first major debt of AED 1.4bn ($380m) was secured for the Fairmont development and luxury villas a few years ago, during the construction period, and loans now require reporting on covenants and have begun to come up for repayment.
She explains: “NIC is my opportunity to co-lead on the funding with these two iconic projects in Abu Dhabi. The company is growing, with projects being handed over and about to start up. Cash management now needs to have even more emphasis with longer periods of forecasting.
“Now the company is growing,” she adds, “it needs qualified professional treasury managers who can really manage the cash, floating-rate liabilities and the banking relationships. The business is very localised, just in this premium seafront area of Abu Dhabi.
“So what you do is keep very close relationships with your local banks, as they really know the market.”
As is typical on these kinds of projects, there have been occasional delays, but banks have proved flexible when it comes to timings and ready to wait for the asset to begin generating revenues, she says.
Throughout all this, Teemul has stayed closely involved with the ACT as well as remaining committed to continuing her professional development.
Her AMCT has been fundamental to her development as a treasury professional and she recommends the qualification for its close relationship to day-to-day treasury work: “You can execute what you’re learning in the most hands-on sense.”
She also sees the ACT’s qualifications steadily gaining ground in the Middle East. “It is definitely something we look for in hiring,” she says, “and I can see more treasury roles being advertised in the UAE asking for ACT certificates now.
“When I first joined, treasury operations were handled by the finance team, but now with greater shareholder commitments, financing requirements and rising interest rates, more sophistication is needed to manage treasury and I think people realise the function should be handled by a qualified team.”
The changing economic environment is likely to test her skills further. Rising interest rates and the stronger dollar are starting to exert pressure on the trading environment at a time when Abu Dhabi is positioning itself as a tourist destination.
“We have been living in a low interest-rate environment for the past 10 years,” she notes, “and to some degree those needing capital have been spoilt. Projects requiring capital have to now be re-evaluated along with the interest-rate risk on these projects and their feasibility given higher cost of debt.”
Teemul need have no concerns that companies such as NIC will have less need for skilled treasury professionals any time soon.
The ACT provides everything for someone who is serious about a career in treasury. You can study for a certificate in treasury or become a proper qualified treasurer if this is your career choice.
There is training for your team in all areas of treasury, networking with those who speak your language, the publications, updates.
It’s all there with one professional body and you can become as involved as you want to be.
The adrenaline I feel when I am negotiating and need to close a transaction such as an interest-rate swap. Rates will be moving and I will have banks on different lines trying to get the best rate. Then finally there will be the satisfaction of closing the deal on time within the set limits.
I love interacting with people and one of my greatest strengths is good communication skills. I enjoy having to work with various departments and external parties, depending on the needs of the job.
Working in the UAE for the past 10 years, I’ve had amazing opportunities and access to fantastic networks. However, I’ve also faced challenges my female counterparts in other parts of the world don’t have to combat.
The UAE government is leading the Gulf Cooperation Council region in promoting women in business.
It has recognised the need for women to enter the workforce, publishing a gender-balance guide outlining objectives to reduce gender inequality and enhance the UAE’s ranking in global competitiveness for gender equality, focusing on government sectors only.
I hope to see these policies extend into the private sector to afford equality and fair working conditions to every woman in the region. The empirical data quantifying the financial benefit of a diverse workforce is overwhelming.
However, to tap into this opportunity, the private sector needs to align with government policy. It’s not groundbreaking or pioneering, but merely catching up with the rest of the developed world.
2017-present Treasury analyst, National Investment Corporation
2014-2017 Treasurer, National Central Cooling Company (Tabreed)
2009-2014 Treasury analyst, National Central Cooling Company (Tabreed)
2007-2008 Liquidity analyst, RBC Royal Bank Caribbean
2006-2007 Liquidity management officer, Caribbean Money Market Brokers Ltd
London Business School Executive EMBA (2018-2019)
AMCT (2016)
University of the West Indies Bsc Management and Finance (2005)
Liz Loxton is the editor of The Treasurer
This article was taken from the October/November 2018 issue of The Treasurer magazine. For more great insights, log in to view the full issue or sign up for eAffiliate membership