Monday 29 November saw 230 of the treasury community come together for the ACT Reunion Dinner in London – the first of its kind, born out of the challenging experiences of the last 20 months, and driven by corporate treasurers’ wish to spend time in the physical presence of others. And what a boost to wellbeing it was! That strange realisation that not everyone is the same height in fact (on screen they all seem the same!), and seeing people dressed up to go out (including our auction host, Mark Tweedie, in his ‘trews’), made an impression on us all as something new and in a way exhilarating. The drinks reception was buzzing, and after proceedings were over many people stayed on until late to continue quality conversations. The auction of nine items brought in £2,360, and overall the dinner was a very successful fundraiser for the ACT, which has been hit hard by COVID as Agnes Favillier, President, mentioned in her opening remarks.
The surroundings were beautiful and remarked on by many – the building being that of the Institute of Civil Engineers in fact, but it was the company that was the main thing. We’ve really missed each other! And interestingly, as I reflect over the last months, and also my time at the ACT over the past 5 years, I find one thing fascinating: aside from Policy & Technical and myself, none of our ACT staff have treasury experience; they are experts in other areas. But we all are passionate about the treasury profession, and indeed our treasurers. We feel part of their community, and my team goes above and beyond not only to deliver events such as this dinner, but to provide qualifications, CPD, virtual and physical events internationally, and all-important advocacy – so that the voice of the real economy is heard and noted. And that’s what made the dinner so special: it was brought together by the passion of my team alongside that of our treasurers who said they really wanted this event to happen, and the outcome reflected that passion, energy, care and love. At the ACT it’s not ‘just a job’ for us – it’s much more than that.
The evening also would not have been successful if we did not additionally have the support of our colleagues in financial services/consultancy/legal – to whom we give our thanks. They certainly joined in on the auction bidding too, which was led by Mark, ACT qualified member and our auctioneer supreme! Interspersed with anecdotes, targeting likely suspects who might bid, and generally creating a lively, fast-moving atmosphere, we all wondered if Mark was out for a new career (besides his move to head up FinTech for Citi in EMEA!). Lee Smith, renowned magician, also brought more fun (and mystery) into the evening by visiting tables to demonstrate some mind-boggling card tricks, as well as turning paper into cash (something we all rather like of course…).
In summary, I’d like to quote our President, Agnes Favillier who, when asked about the evening, said: “The ACT Reunion Dinner was a wonderful opportunity to finally network in person again! The ACT has organised amazing (and award-winning!) virtual events during the pandemic, but it was clear we all enjoyed being back together to celebrate the ACT's achievements in the last two years, and show our support to an organisation that is so important to its members and to the broader finance community.”
