Welcome to our first issue of 2018. It is the time of year when we celebrate the highest achievers in the profession and raise a glass or two to the winners at The Treasurer’s Deals of the Year Awards ceremony. As ever, we focus on the fundraising achievements of corporates large and small in our deals categories. In our team categories, we applaud the contributions treasurers make and the strategic support they provide to their organisations. To reflect the wider interest we are seeing for financing that supports corporates’ environmental programmes, we have introduced a Green Finance award. Turn to page 23 to read about our winner. Our Emerging Treasurer award is now in its second year and the judges have been encouraged to see more corporates taking up the opportunity to promote the younger professionals among their ranks. It has been heartening as well to see the breadth of entries – both in terms of the scope and ingenuity of treasury achievement and the geographical spread, with entries reflecting activity across Africa, the Middle East and Europe. We’ve widened one of our team awards to include a greater geographical spread: what was once European Team of the Year has become the EMEA Team of the Year. And you can also read about the winners of our Middle East Treasury Awards in this issue, celebrated at a gala dinner and ceremony that took place in November in Dubai. Congratulations to all our winners and runners-up. We’ve stayed with the theme of dealmaking elsewhere in this issue. On page 14, we look at two previous award winners in a piece on what top-fl ight fundraising brings in terms of reinforcing expertise within treasury teams and providing recognition within the wider organisations and beyond. And in our profi le interview for this issue, Tom Greene, group treasurer at pharmaceuticals company Shire, looks back at the experience of raising $12.1bn in a bond issuance and $18bn in a bridging loan to support Shire’s 2016 acquisition of rival Baxalta. Elsewhere in this issue, we keep our usual weather eye on technical matters, in particular the impact on treasurers ushered in by international accounting standards IFRS 9 and IFRS 16. On page 46, you’ll find a new regular feature, After hours, where Shell’s Frances Hinden talks about the finer points of bridge playing. We will be running After hours in coming editions, and we invite more treasurers who have interesting pursuits out of work to get in touch. I hope you enjoy the issue. -Liz Loxton, Editor
