Second Life

It wasn't too long ago that being named treasurer was pretty much the end of the road. After all, it's never been too hard to find treasurers who appear to have reached a dead end. They're still contributing to their companies and making nice incomes, but they aren't in the running for executive positions. Instead, they are frequently pegged as experts in foreign exchange, financings, banking products, and so on, and the executive team prefers that they stay focused on these somewhat exotic functions.

What a difference a credit crisis makes. Today, almost daily, companies announce the hiring of treasurers many with nontraditional resumes. Such was the case with Norma Corio, the former head of JPMorgan's restructuring group, who this past August accepted the invitation of JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon to take on the role of treasurer. Corio's selection, in her own assessment, was an indication that JPMorgan wanted a dealmaker as treasurer. "This firm should always be focused on funding and capital-raising," she told The Wall Street Journal.

Despite appearances, 2008 may turn out to be a very good year in which to have been treasurer. The tighter credit markets have hammered home to many CEOs the value of strong treasurers and the skills they can offer in helping companies to obtain the financing they need, says Russell Boyle, head of the U.S. financial officers practice with Egon Zehnder International, Inc., a global search firm.

The increasing complexity of the financial markets also has brought the spotlight back to treasury, says Paul Forster, chief executive officer with Indeed.com, an online job search site that closely monitors the supply and demand of finance professionals and the skills they wield.

While Forster foresees a move back to the basic financial instruments, the more complicated ones are here to stay. As a result, having first knowledge of them as well as risks they pose remains a prerequisite for any Treasurer. Still, in light of the economic crisis, the knowledge most valued by company leadership at the moment is how to keep cash flowing through their companies.

All eyes fall on the treasurer. Perhaps, unlike at any time in their careers, treasurers are today their company's point person on the front lines of the credit crisis.

"It turns out that if you have to raise $50 billion, not everyone in the finance organization need to be involved," Citigroup CFO Gary Crittenden recently told Business Finance. "The treasurer has to be involved, and a few people on their team."