Editor's letter
If any executive teams or senior managers had any doubts around just how much they would need to ‘lean in’ to employees’ lives and wellbeing, those doubts have surely been put to bed by the pandemic.
If any team leaders wondered whether they were responsible for individuals’ happiness – beyond providing them with meaningful work – that too is an issue that undoubtedly has been resolved. Mental health, team cohesion and togetherness in a fundamental sense are no longer the soft skills or the nice-to-haves. They are at the core of our concerns about how we operate.
Lockdowns persist in some parts of the world and partial ones are a reality or a possibility in areas where COVID-19 cases have spiked. We are entering a phase that is both confusing and tortuous to navigate – the messy middle act. Some corporates continue to resist the idea of insisting employees congregate at the workplace. Others are introducing shift patterns and splitting teams in the interest of reassembling more familiar working patterns. Probably all of us worry about the fundamental lack of contact between colleagues, clients and customers persisting for too much longer. In work terms, we are fast using up our social capital.
As boards and businesses look at balance sheets, refinancing and restructuring plans, they do so with a growing sense that the businesses that will succeed will be the ones that align to a more values-driven world and that discussion is being articulated loudly and clearly in the ESG debate. In this issue, we bring you a profile of Unilever’s Johanna Hyttinen. Unilever’s leadership on ESG – its pledges to halve its environment footprint in manufacturing by 2030 and its use of new plastics by 2025 – are well publicised. Even in a single company, there is a long way to go. And, as Hyttinen explains, financial instruments that efficiently and consistently reward good stewardship are not yet in place. But substituting debate for action is no longer viable. Turn to page 10 to learn more.
As leaders like Unilever’s CEO Alan Jope are increasingly heard to say: businesses cannot succeed in societies that fail. On page 14, we look at companies that are not just vocal, but are active about their social impact. Writer Christian Doherty talks to treasury professionals about the role that treasurers can play in safeguarding the ‘S’ in ESG.
It has certainly been a busy year for treasurers. That’s definitely the case on the fundraising front – and we shouldn’t forget the great achievements of treasurers on deal execution. In this issue, we bring you the Association of Corporate Treasurers’ (ACT’s) Deals of the Year Awards 2019. Delayed due to the restrictions around COVID-19 and soon to be celebrated at the ACT’s Annual Conference, taking place online, turn to page 24 for our coverage of the best feats and team performances from last year.
Go safely.
thetreasurer@thinkpublishing.co.uk
Follow us on Twitter @thetreasurermag
THIS ISSUE’S CONTRIBUTORS
CHRISTIAN DOHERTY is a writer and editor on a wide range of specialisms including finance, accountancy, regulation, capital markets and management. For this issue, he looks at the businesses putting purpose ahead of profit and talks to treasurers about what that means. His feature appears on page 14
ANDREW LIKIERMAN is professor of management practice and former dean of the London Business School. He has run his own book business and a textile plant in Germany, and is a former head of the UK Government Accountancy Service. His feature on COVID-19 balance sheets is on page 36
STEPHEN EVERETT is managing director, global transaction banking at Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking, with responsibility for payments and cash management solutions. He has worked at Lloyds for six years and prior to that worked at RBS. His article on application programming nterfaces can be found on page 42
