Wired for Treasury

My Life in Treasury: Kemi Bolarin

Kemi Bolarin, Head of Treasury, Europe, GXO Logistics Inc, has a passion for digital transformation. She believes the arrival of APIs, AI, and RPA in treasury will bring renewed power to the role. But there’s a growing need for softer treasury skills too, as she tells TMI.

Having joined global contract logistics firm GXO in July 2021, Bolarin was almost immediately thrown in at the deep end, with the company completing its spin-off from XPO the following month. With that landmark event came a pressing need to create a new treasury team in Europe, and to begin “lifting and shifting” the processes and systems from XPO into GXO, to build a functioning unit from the outset.

With Europe contributing two-thirds of GXO’s $7.9bn annual revenues (2021), the responsibility for overseeing “typical treasury activities” (and accompanying treasury policy development) across 14 countries in the region is a major undertaking. It has seen Bolarin adopt what she refers to as “a hybrid structure”. This enables “optimal balance” between local knowledge and central control, where a number of GXO’s key country operations are given on-the-ground treasury support, with direct oversight from the London-based corporate treasury function. This has two senior treasury managers and a brace of newly recruited treasury analysts, all reporting up to Bolarin.

In a short period, she has created a treasury capable of delivering on the needs of a rapidly expanding business that managed double-digit organic revenue growth in every quarter of 2021, and grew 19% in the fourth quarter. “It’s been a long road to get to where we are today,” she admits. “But now that we have all treasury personnel in place and we are in a steady state, we can start looking ahead and setting new objectives.”

One of the most pressing of these is a treasury transformation project. This will see Bolarin reviewing the suitability of inherited processes and systems for the new GXO operation. It’s a procedure through which she intends to uncover the most appropriate areas for the introduction of new technologies that will be capable of “elevating treasury to the role of strategic business partner”.

The ability to deliver an entire treasury function in double-quick time and then set about transforming it into a cutting-edge operation demands a level of knowledge and experience that comes only with time. With more than 20 years in treasury, and a career progression that indicates a flair for getting things done, it would be safe to say that Bolarin is the right person for the job.

From small acorns

Bolarin took her first role as a contract treasury and insurance analyst with engineering firm Heckett Multiserv in 1997, quickly moving into a treasury accountant opening at Southern Pacific Mortgage Co. She then moved back into engineering with Delta plc, progressing over nine years from Treasury Analyst to Treasury Manager, before taking on the Senior Treasury Manager position at Travelport, a tenure that culminated in her rise to Group Treasury Director. Her next step up was a short spell as Director of Treasury with telecommunications business GTT, setting up a treasury function from scratch, which positioned her perfectly to take on her current GXO role.

Despite her long and continuing service in the treasury profession, Bolarin admits that this was never a planned journey. “Many people I’ve spoken to about their career moves say they fell accidentally into treasury, and that was true for me.” Having started out in accountancy in her native Nigeria, an internship at Anderson Consulting led to qualification as a chartered accountant. As an analyst, she found herself exposed to treasury activities, igniting an interest that soon propelled her into investment banking. Moving to the UK in 1997, that first contract role reinforced her interest in treasury, with her boss at that time encouraging her to take her first serious steps into the profession via Associate Member of the Association of Corporate Treasurers (AMCT) exams. “That was it!” she exclaims. “I passed the exams in 2000, and have never looked back.”

The enduring allure of treasury for Bolarin is the experience often cited in TMI’s My Life in Treasury articles that no two days are ever the same. “It’s the sheer variety that keeps me going,” she reveals. “It can be difficult sometimes but that makes it interesting. I’ve often found myself unexpectedly partnering with CFOs on specific duties; it’s that kind of unpredictability and challenge that really appeals to me.”

That said, the transition from accountant to treasurer presented no difficulty for Bolarin. “Starting in accounting provided a solid base for me. I was often buried in numerical analytical work, but that knowledge, experience, and ease around numbers certainly helped in my conversion to treasury,” she explains. Despite her obvious ability in accounting, she feels that treasury better suits her personality. “I don’t want to just account for what’s happened. I like to take a more forward-looking stance, so in a way, treasury was a profession made in Heaven for me!”

Improving mind

With skills drawn from a varied career path across a diverse set of industries, Bolarin believes her journey to date has been enhanced by many colleagues who have graciously shared their own knowledge and experience with her. “It’s helped me to become highly adaptable, and has honed my ability to turn situations into ‘listen-and-learn’ experiences,” she says.

Treasury is a profession where the junior ranks will sometimes work alongside the most senior, including the CFO, she says. It develops in the individual the capacity “to think on your feet”, where readiness to take on any situation is a prized trait. But it also presents an opportunity to learn how to be an effective communicator at all levels. “Treasury is increasingly a ‘people profession’, and I’ve learnt to develop strong communication skills as my career has progressed, leveraging every experience that my peers and leaders bring to the table,” she comments.

These are the kind of transferable skills that are much in demand in any role with senior responsibilities. But for Bolarin, there is a specific quality that all treasurers have – and once again this is borne out by the conversations TMI has for these articles – and that is natural curiosity. “I’m an inquisitive person. The urge to probe situations to find out what’s happening drives me to find ways of improving both processes and myself,” she explains.

That constant pursuit of improvement finds Bolarin seeking new ways to enhance her capacity for strategic thinking. It drives her desire to be a better business partner, leveraging her treasury acumen as she works and communicates with the ever-broadening range of stakeholders to which she is exposed.

Even though she feels she has occasionally missed growth opportunities, Bolarin’s mindset is focused on taking the positives from any situation. “I also practice what I refer to as ‘the full state of preparedness’, so my collected experience helps me to think ahead,” she explains.

Driving change

In several of her roles Bolarin has been directly involved in changing how treasury operates, and nowhere is this more evident than in her passion for the intelligent deployment of technology. She understands that the shift towards digital treasury often goes hand in hand with a change in outlook, not least from senior management.

“You can have the ideas but if you don’t have access to the purse strings, or influence over those that hold them, you’re going nowhere,” she notes. Gaining the green light for a transformation is therefore as much about persuasiveness as it is about technical know-how and creativity. Of course, this is a skill that she has worked on over the years, but it certainly helps having a leadership team readily supportive of Bolarin’s plans for GXO’s treasury.

Indeed, looking for converts in the business has not been too difficult. GXO uses ML, data science and predictive analytics as a key part of its core logistics and supply chain offerings. The business already recognises the value that such tools can bring. With Bolarin’s professional interest in digital transformation, she fully buys into the idea that new technologies, including APIs, AI/ML and RPA, are the way to transform the role of the treasurer, and has won the support of the business leadership “to simplify, automate and improve”.

It has not always been this way, but the manner in which Bolarin has handled stakeholder buy-in throughout her career is skilful. First, while she says that continuous improvement is very much a way of life for her, she is at pains to point out that she does not advocate change for the sake of it. “I’m passionate about efficiency and adding value, and I’m constantly looking for ways to deliver, but it has to be the right move at the right time, with the right people.” Sometimes, though, this still requires a calculated approach to a project.

As a case in point, without the necessary level of influence to achieve executive sponsorship in a previous role, Bolarin knew her ideas for rationalisation would have to remain temporarily on hold. Following a leadership change, a CFO with a sympathetic viewpoint came on board. This enabled her to seize the moment, presenting the benefits of moving ahead with her plans to a fresh pair of ears.

“I have not always deliberately sought transformations, but I always have a list of things that can and should be improved,” she explains. “By being in a constant state of preparedness, when the opportunity presents itself, I know what to do.”

With GXO’s treasury ready to be elevated to a place where technology is a key part of its ecosystem, it’s easy to see how Bolarin has prepared the ground, building a solid business case for her “Next Gen Treasury” vision.

For example, a significant percentage of time spent on daily operations is currently absorbed by manual data compilation and other non-value-adding tasks. But this will soon change. “We’re fortunate that technology has evolved to such an extent that it will help us become smarter and more efficient,” she continues. “I intend to engage technology to free us up to do what we as treasurers are put on Earth to do, which is to do the thinking.” GXO’s management agrees.

Cashflow forecasting is the initial focus of Bolarin’s long-term plan. With greater pressure to provide treasury services within strict time constraints, she knows that the capacity to deliver real-time insights will boost treasury decision-making. At no time was this more evident than during the worst moments of the pandemic. “We all know that treasuries with the best real-time solutions were able to navigate recent stormy waters far better than anyone else. We also all know as treasurers that we need to be more resilient. Embracing the brave new world of technology is a big part of achieving that, and it’s my role now to assess the available technologies. It’s why we’re now taking a phased-delivery approach.”

Developing sustainability

Securing the future is another pressing matter for the global business community. As with most businesses, GXO has a well-defined set of ESG goals to help bring about positive change. It has achieved an AA ESG rating from MSCI, ranking it as a ‘leader’. Even though its treasury function has not long been formed, it too now has sustainability firmly on its radar, says Bolarin.

“In the middle of everything else we need to do, it’s another steep learning curve,” she admits. But naturally she sees the opportunity that taking this path offers, and is “looking forward to establishing an ESG-centric treasury”. Collaborating with many other parts of the business will be a way of extending treasury’s role as an influencer within the organisation, as it plays a key part in “driving positive behavioural changes”.

On a personal level, Bolarin knows that she now needs to “formulate the right questions” to ask GXO’s supply partners. It will be necessary to ensure, for example, that they can meet the expected criteria. And, of course, there will be lessons to learn on how best to incorporate ESG KPIs into treasury’s credit facilities. “There are some valuable resources available to us as treasurers, such as TMI, so I need to allocate the time to build on my knowledge, learning from those who are already far advanced in their journey. I’ll be bringing that into GXO.”

Sharing knowledge

The need to exchange knowledge and help others within treasury resonates across all levels of seniority. One of the key mechanisms for achieving this is mentoring. With her operational and technical skills finely honed (and under a regime of constant refinement), Bolarin has now sought out senior executives within GXO as a way of accessing different commercial perspectives. It’s an informal mentoring arrangement that she sees as part of the development of her strategic thinking. “It’s about being able to observe and discuss how and where the future of the business is being determined,” she explains.

“Mentoring is a wonderful opportunity to help others gain critical skills and navigate through the challenges of the workplace. It can also act as a sounding board when someone is at a crossroads in their career,” she notes. Having had a number of mentors in her career, she believes that most proved “quite adequate”.

But as her career advanced, in reflective moments, she began to see that having the support of a mentor was not always enough. “It took me a while to realise what the missing piece of the puzzle was; I needed someone to sponsor me in my progress,” says Bolarin. While the role of the mentor is clearly important in terms of career advancement, she now knows that adding a sponsor – an individual with real influence – into the mix can present opportunities and “act as an advocate on your career journey,” she explains. “Sponsorship can open more career doors than you ever thought possible.”

For some, approaching a potential mentor or sponsor may not be a comfortable experience. “I wish I’d been bolder earlier in my career,” admits Bolarin. “But now I know that many people who are higher up are more than happy to share their experiences with those making their way in their chosen career.”

Occasionally, mentorship may be offered, but Bolarin cautions that such offers may be more about fulfilling the mentor’s own agenda. “You need to be very mature about what you want. Ask yourself what the potential mentor has that you aspire to. If the answer is nothing, then it will never work. Seeking a mentor should be driven by knowing what you want, and what the next step towards that looks like.” The key to a successful mentor or sponsor relationship, she adds, is to be “intentional about one’s career”, and to “create the opportunity with people who have the skills you need”. It’s also being aware that a particular mentor may only be able to take you to the next level.

Finding the right person therefore typically comes only with career focus. In her formative professional years, Bolarin never had a career plan. One job led to another, with promotions offered, yet the moves were unstructured. Once she knew what she wanted, that structure fell into place. “It doesn’t need to be formalised, it’s just having the perspective ahead of your career that shows you what exactly you are looking for, where you need to be, and how to get there.”

Having a goal, a game plan, and access to supportive individuals, is clearly as applicable to treasury as it is to almost every other walk of life, and Bolarin responds accordingly. Her willingness to help others achieve their best extends beyond the workplace. It sees her delivering messages of encouragement through schools and community programmes, supporting young female potential leaders, particularly in underserved communities. She is, for example, Dean of the Career Nuggets Academy, a career support hub for undergraduates, graduates, experienced professionals, and leaders from ethnic minority communities.

In treasury, building a network of professional contacts is afforded extra value, she believes, because it is a relatively small community. “It’s important to learn to tell your own story well, and to get out there, because you never know who you will meet next.”

For Bolarin, treasury is the exciting, forward-looking profession that she was seeking. It offers her a perfect blend of the technical, the technological, and the human. And while she says it may sometimes be “a brain-teaser”, she acknowledges that “if that’s how you’re wired, you can’t go wrong”. And indeed she has not.