Helle Thorning-Schmidt has an extensive background spanning politics, international relations and business. In 2017 she was named as one of the world’s greatest leaders by Fortune magazine.
As leader of Denmark's Social Democrat party for 10 years and Prime Minister from 2011-2015, she steered the country through a difficult financial crisis while reducing child poverty and increasing spending on education. She was the first woman to hold both positions.
Following her term as PM, Helle was the Chief Executive of Save the Children, overseeing the work of 17,000 staff in 120 countries to reach around 50 million children every year in some of the most difficult and challenging contexts. She was deeply engaged in highlighting the humanitarian crises in Yemen and Syria, and the Rohingya refugee crisis.
Ms Thorning-Schmidt remains deeply engaged in these geopolitical issues as a member of several foreign policy think tanks, including the US Council on Foreign Relations, the European Council for Foreign Relations, and the Atlantic Council International Advisory Board. Helle is also a member of the Berggruen 21st Century Council.
In 2017, Helle was a co-chair of the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, and is on the board of the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship. Today Helle uses her deep political and international expertise to advise a range of businesses and not-for-profit groups.
Helle is non-executive Director on a number of Boards – Vestas, one of the world’s leaders in sustainable energy; DJE Holdings, a global communications firm that partners with businesses and organisations to evolve, promote and protect their brands and reputations; Safelane, a global leader in clearing landmines and the explosive remnants of war; Neurons Inc ApS, a leader in combining neuroscience and AI to take the guesswork out of advertising, and VISTA Equity Partners, an American investment firm focused on financing and forwarding software, data and technology-enabled startup businesses. Since 2020 Helle has served as Co-Chair of The Oversight Board, an independent body created to help Meta answer some of the most difficult questions around freedom of expression online; as well as Chairman for the Danish Football Union’s Governance Committee.
Helle has authored a number of books, including her memoirs from a feminist perspective and devotes much of her time to defend and renew progress, free speech, human rights and democracy. As a strong champion of women and girls’ rights throughout her time in government and at Save the Children, she continues to remain passionate about women’s empowerment and trans rights.
Helle was previously a member of the European Parliament. She has a Master’s Degree in Political Science from the University of Copenhagen and a Master’s Degree in European Studies from the College of Europe in Bruges.

Joan Schutte has been VP & Corporate Treasurer at ASML since 2014. He is responsible for Treasury, Corporate Finance and Insurances worldwide. From 2010 – 2014 Joan was Director Treasury for VimpelCom (VEON) where he set up the Treasury function for the HQ in Amsterdam. Before that he worked for 12 years with Sara Lee Corporation in various senior Treasury/Corporate Finance roles in Curaçao, Singapore and Chicago and as Finance Director for the global procurement function in Utrecht. Joan started his career in Treasury in Belgium with CSM and Campbell Soup Company after receiving his MSc in Economics at the University of Amsterdam. Joan served many years as Chairman of the Dutch ACT and as board member of the Singapore ACT.

Steven Gomes is the Assistant Treasurer at Bose Corporation. He manages a team which oversees the company’s global cash liquidity/forecast, foreign exchange risk program, and global investments. He is also part of a team managing the benefit plans. Steven joined Bose Corporation in 2012. He previously worked in Treasury roles at Charles River Associates and The TJX Companies, Inc. Steven is a Certified Treasury Professional and received his MBA from Framingham State University in 2008. He also holds a Bachelor’s degree in International Business from the University of Massachusetts.

Kirsty leads the EMEA & APAC Treasury Operations for General Mills, Inc. (GMI), a global manufacturer and marketer of branded consumer foods sold through retail stores which portfolio includes Cheerios, Betty Crocker & Häagen-Dazs. A Fortune 500 company, GMI is headquartered in Minneapolis, USA and is listed on the NYSE.

Kirsty’s scope covers Cash & liquidity, In-House Banking, Foreign Exchange hedging, SCF & Bank Account management topics. She is also involved in M&A & Treasury optimization initiatives.

Kirsty is based in Nyon, Switzerland. Prior to this role, she worked on Foreign Exchange Hedging topics at EATON, in Switzerland and in India.

Wolfgang Ratheiser has been Vice President Corporate Finance & Treasury at Porsche AG since the beginning of 2017. Previously, he was responsible for various financial positions for more than fifteen years, including as Corporate Treasurer Asia Pacific / Middle East in Hong Kong and as Finance Director (CFO) for the Automotive Europe Metal Division at Johnson Controls. Before joining Johnson Controls, Ratheiser worked for Henkel in various positions for more than four years, including in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Bangkok and Düsseldorf. Born in Austria, he studied at the Vienna University of Economics and Business at the University of Illinois and completed the General Management Executive Management program at Harvard Business School.

My greatest asset is my logical and analytical mind that enables me to understand large entities without missing the important small details. As a person I am accurate, precise and motivated to succeed in my career in finance related tasks. I am social person and a team player with the ability to make quick decisions under pressure.

Thomas Harr is chief economist and assistant governor at Danmarks Nationalbank. In his role, he manages the economic and monetary policy department. Before joining the central bank in 2021, Harr worked in investment banking, including roles as global head of research at Danske Bank and head of local market research at Standard Chartered in Singapore. He is the co-author of a book published in 2024 titled ‘The Great Inflation Resurgence’.

2011- The LEGO Group
2006-2011 Danske Bank
2000-2006 Statoil

Ferdinand Jahnel is a senior finance executive with broad experience in international corporate finance, global cash management, debt & equity markets, financial and process re-engineering, and risk management. Born in Munich, Germany, he has followed a professional career in Europe and the United States over a period of more than 30 years.Since 2015, Ferdinand is Vice President, Treasurer, for Marsh & McLennan Companies in New York City. He is responsible for global cash management, credit and capital markets activities, and global pensions. In this position he oversees the company’s relationships with its banks, global financial partners, debt investors, and rating agencies.Prior to that Ferdinand served as Vice President, Corporate Treasurer, for Henry Schein, Inc. from 2008 to 2015. He was also Assistant Treasurer at CA Technologies, Inc., International Treasurer at Steelcase, Inc., and worked in various Corporate Finance positions (including export finance, cash management, corporate controlling, and financial services) for the MAN Group.Ferdinand earned a Diploma in Business Administration from the University of Augsburg, Germany, and his M.B.A. cum laude from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. He is a Certified Treasury Professional (CTP), and served as a Board Director for the Association for Financial Professionals (AFP) from 2012 to 2020. In May 2022 he joined the Board of the American Council on Germany (ACG), a nonprofit organization to strengthen German-American relations. He lives in Westport, Connecticut, together with his wife Judy and daughter Ana.

Doug attended Syracuse University and graduated with a B.S. in Finance with a minor in Economics. He spent 8-years at the Fuji Bank Ltd. In NYC as a money markets trader. He attended Fordham University graduating with an MBA in Finance & Accounting. Doug joined the Hertz Corporation in 1998 as Manager, Corporate Finance. In 2000, Doug joined IBM treasury. Doug spent seven years with IBM and held roles in capital markets, risk management & foreign exchange. While with IBM, Doug spent two years in Dublin Ireland on an international assignment in the role of Chief Dealer of IBM’s In-house Bank. In 2007, he joined GE Corporate Treasury as a Managing Director. Doug held various roles over his 7-year career at GE Capital. In 2014, Doug joined Booking Holdings as VP, Treasurer. Doug oversees funding, investments, cash management, insurance, risk management, share repurchase and bank relations. Doug was promoted to SVP in February 2020 and is a member of the senior leadership team. Booking Holdings brands include; Booking.com, priceline.com, KAYAK, Agoda.com, rentalcars.com and Open Table.

Lena Myklebust is Head of Cash Management Infrastructure in Equinor. Cash Management Infrastructure is responsible for the global payment infrastructure in Equinor and managing the core cash management bank relationship. The team is responsible for cash management operations, including bank account openings/closings, KYC and sanction compliance. She started in Equinor in 2007 and has since then held various positions within cash management, payments and capital markets in the Treasury organisation. Lena holds a master’s degree in economics and business administration from the University of Agder in Norway.

Dimitrios Siokis is Group Treasurer at Coca Cola Hellenic. Dimitrios has strong background in Emerging Markets, Corporate Treasury, Risk/Portfolio Management & Structuring after spending 25 years in Buy/Sell side Banking and Advisory roles in UK, Luxembourg and Greece. Dimitrios is a Board Member for Hellenic Association of Treasurers (HAT).

Hans has 20 years of finance experience in the healthcare and banking industry, with the past 9 years in corporate treasury management at AbbVie.

He is currently responsible at AbbVie for Treasury Management for the EMEA region at the regional treasury center located in the Netherlands.

Prior AbbVie, he worked as interim finance professional for Randstad (Yacht) and in various finance controlling roles at Rabobank and Abbott Laboratories.

Hans holds a bachelors degree in Business Economics, a pre-masters degree in Managerial Controlling.

Next to that, Hans is a registered Financial Controller and holds a Certificate in Treasury from the Association of Corporate Treasurers.

Part I  – (relevant to treasury/ foreign exchange)

Originally a computer programmer (from NIIT) who became a Chartered Accountant (Indian CPA). Worked with diverse industries like Management audits & investigations, media, manpower services. Joined Travel Corporation India and post-acquisition took a transfer to Treasury. Worked in Business Travel and made a comeback to Treasury + foreign exchange.

Last few years heading Treasury at Thomas Cook India group. The profile is spilt into 3 parts:

Handling end to end treasury for India and Mauritius (TCIM) companies of the group.
Being a treasury support for the rest of the companies spread across 24 countries & 5 continents. Supporting the entities on their funding requirements as well as those relating to cash management, cash flow management and other banking products.
Heading the Foreign Exchange Dealing Room Back Office & Mid Office handling 9 currencies and bank accounts operated out of 8 countries and 4 continents and the transactions therein.

The team – Two heavy weight mentors – Mahesh Iyer, the CEO and Debasis Nandy, the Group CFO. Also I am backed by 2 strong teams as under:

The Dealing Room BO/ MO team which made Thomas Cook India  the ‘highly commendable winner’ of ‘Best SWIFT solution across Asia’ at Adam Smith awards by Treasury Today Asia in 2017

The Treasury team which made Thomas Cook India win the ‘Best Cash Management  India’ award at ASSET awards Hongkong in 2018

Treasury writer & speaker – Have written various articles for Treasury Today Asia magazine on technology, liquidity, mentoring, etc.

Addressed (online) the whole of Asia (plus a few corporates and banks from Europe) in Corporate Treasurer’s conference on Shaping strategies in a volatile environment held Singapore – 2022

Selected as one of the 10-15 judges from Asia for Corporate Treasurer Hong kong’s CT awards 2022 + 2023 + 2024 to recognise the ‘best of the best’ in Asia Pacific region under these categories:

Marquee awards – Best CFO, Best Treasurer, Best consultant, Best Treasury team
House awards – Financial Institutions – Best cash management bank, best Trade Finance bank, best transaction bank
House awards – Service Providers – Best Asset/ Liquidity management service, best credit rating agency, best Digital innovation, best ESG solution, best software provider
Best treasury & finance strategies

Appointed as Chairman of ICT – India Corporate Treasurers’ Club (A joint initiative by TMI, Berkshire & Corporate Treasurers of India) – 2023

Further, re-elected as Chairman of ICT by the advisory Board members – 2024

Inducted into Editorial Board of Corporate Treasurer Hong Kong to represent India – 2024.

Invited as a panelist (speaker) representing India to Eurofinance International conference in Copenhagen 2024

Interviews –

Interviewed & featured by Treasury Today Asia magazine, Singapore – 2018
Interviewed & e-featured by Treasury Management International, Berkshire – 2023
Interviewed & featured by Treasury Today Asia magazine, Singapore – 2023

Part II – (relevant to Health & Fitness & cross country cultures)

An athlete and fitness freak from the age of 12, started as an athlete who broke the state level record in high jump as a young boy and moved between multiple strength and speed sports. Made a come-back in 2024 on the athletic track and field as a sprinter, long jumper and shot putter.

Represented the state of Maharashtra at the 43rd National Masters Athletic championship 2024 (India) in 100 m sprint, long jump, discuss throw and shot put.

A certified Sports Nutritionist from International Fitness Association, Florida, USA (studied in lockdown and passed this certification). Mentor to wannabe fitness freaks. Aspiring to bring about a radicle correction in the approaches of the fitness world – need of the hour.

Author of ‘The boundless powers of superfoods’ an E-Book released across 189 countries in 2018

Speaker at various forums including ‘TEDx’, management colleges, treasury/ CFO summits in India and Hongkong on fitness as well as treasury/ foreign exchange.

Passionate multi-lingual – learnt basics of conversing in German, French, Spanish, Japanese, Chinese mandarin and aspiring to get deeper into these languages.

Mack Makode is Vice President and Treasurer for Under Armour. Mr. Makode was appointed to his current position in April 2018. As Treasurer, Mr. Makode is responsible for capital markets, FX and interest rate risk management, working capital optimization, cash forecasting and treasury operations.

Prior to joining Under Armour, Mr. Makode worked at Mylan for almost 3 years as Vice President and Asst. Treasurer, and General Electric (GE) for almost 10 years, holding progressive leadership positions including Treasurer of two GE Businesses (combined assets ~$70B) with promotion to Asst. Treasurer of GE’s largest operating units (Industrial businesses) with $250+B assets in >130 countries. In these roles, Mr. Makode was responsible for FX, interest rate and commodity hedging strategies and hedge accounting, liquidity analysis and management, traditional and alternate funding, cash flow and working capital management, M&A evaluation and integration, and cash and bank account management.

Mr. Makode received his Ph. D. in Structural Engineering from The Johns Hopkins University and MBA in Finance and Marketing from The Wharton Business School. Mr. Makode was a professional badminton player early in his career.

Mr. Makode lives in Clarkesville, MD with his wife and has two sons.

James is responsible for treasury, risk management and insurance at Pearson, the world’s leading learning company, including management of the group’s debt portfolio, interest rate swap hedging portfolio and foreign exchange risks.

Throughout his career, James developed extensive experience in capital markets redemptions, bond issuance including an ESG-linked bond that got recognised as deal of the year by the Association of Corporate Treasurers, FX risk management strategy, financing and derivatives portfolio management, acquisition, working capital initiatives, and has designed many treasury policies and strategies.
Previously he worked for Rentokil, Associated British Ports and Sky. He holds a Masters Degree in Economics from the University of St Andrews.

Claudia Olsson, appointed Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum, is an innovation leader and speaker in the field of digital transformation. She is the founder and CEO of Stellar Capacity, a global education company specialising in digital upskilling and leadership that prepares leaders for a future where humans become more digital and digital becomes more human. Her work focuses on the impact of new technologies on citizens, society and global markets.

Ana is the Treasurer at Remote, a company dedicated to eliminating barriers to international hiring, enabling great companies to work with exceptional talent worldwide. Her career journey includes roles as a Banking Regulator and various positions in Cash Management, ultimately leading her to establish an innovative treasury function from the ground up at Remote. Ana thrives on innovation, efficiency, and creativity, while balancing with the smooth and standard aspects of corporate treasury. As a forward-thinker, she continuously explores cash and risk management alternatives and automations, with a special enthusiasm for AI solutions. Ana is a mother of two toddlers with a keen focus on nurturing high-performance finance distributed teams.

Winny Li is currently the Group Treasurer at PPD, part of Thermo Fisher Scientific having graduated from the University of Cambridge with an MPhil Distinction in Management Studies. She started her finance career with professional accountancy firms, including Arthur Andersen and Deloitte, where she completed her ACA training. This provided valuable experience, leading Winny to working for the Global Media Enterprise, Viacom, where she travelled extensively, accumulating further expertise whilst working in different business environments and cultural settings. 18/19 years ago, Winny joined the fast-growing pharmaceuticals company PPD, where she contributed to the significant growth and change of the company, including Merger & Acquisition, de-listing, number of rounds of re Financing, IPO and many key milestones. With the passion in Treasury, Winny took on further professional training with ACT almost 15 years ago and helped PPD set up its current Treasury function. PPD is now a leading global contract research organization providing comprehensive, integrated drug development, laboratory and life cycle management services. In a past interview, Winny was described as ‘having a willingness to up sticks and move to where the action is, plus a strong commitment to the treasury discipline, Winny Li’s career has all the hallmarks of the exemplary 21st-century treasurer.’

Florence Tresarrieu Global SVP, Investor Relations and Treasury. Florence is Global Senior Vice President, in charge of Investor Relations and Treasury. She joined Pernod Ricard in January 2019 as Group Treasurer and was appointed to her current role in November 2021.Before joining Pernod Ricard, Florence was Managing Director at Barclays in charge of financing advisory for French and Belux corporates. Florence has spent 18 years in Investment Banking, with JP Morgan then Barclays where she held several positions from trading to advisory across London, Singapore and Paris. A Belgian national, she is a graduate of EM Lyon (France).

A 40-year career with The Economist embracing numerous senior roles, most recently focusing on the United States.