| 13-04-2021 | by treasuryXL | Kendra Keydeniers

Without a doubt you have seen the giant container ship ‘Ever Given’ blocking the Suez canal from March 23 till March 29, 2021. One week later we were very close to an unprecedented oil spill by a rudderless cargo ship, nevertheless this story got a happy ending. Boskalis, the leading global dredging and offshore contractor and maritime services provider, saved the world twice in nine days.

Back in 2019 we interviewed the Cash & Currency Manager at Boskalis, Steven de Klein. We took this momentum to look back and see when his career in treasury started and why he decided to start with the Register Treasurer program.

Steven de Klein decided to take a deeper dive into the world of treasury and started the Register Treasurer (RT) program in 2014. He graduated as RT  in 2017. Before moving into treasury, he studied Business Economics in Nijmegen.

His first experience in treasury was a good one, “The field of treasury is much greater than most people expect” said Steven.

With its roots in the Netherlands, Boskalis has over 100 years’ experience in hydraulic engineering, coastal protection and land reclamation. The head office is located in Papendrecht and they have an extensive network of branches around the world. They operate in 90 countries and across six continents, with a versatile fleet of more than 900 vessels and floating equipment. Shares in the company have been listed on Euronext Amsterdam since 1971.

We asked Steven 4 questions about the RT program:

1. What for you was the main reason to start a career in treasury?

   During my final year at the Radboud University in Nijmegen where I studied Business Economics, I started at a small advisory firm specialized in (corporate) financing. That was my first experience in treasury and it suited me well. Soon afterwards I joined a development & construction company that showed me that treasury was more than just financing and before you know it, you are a ‘treasurer’.

2. Why did you start with the RT program?

   After working within the same company for a few years I noticed that my learning curve was leveling out. I started to investigate what treasury courses and programs where available and found that the RT program is without any doubt the best and most comprehensive treasury course available in The Netherlands.

3. How did the education help you in your career?

   Not only did I gain a lot of new knowledge about treasury, but also about related topics such as macro-economics, fiscal law and (hedge) accounting. This helps to connect the dots a lot better when you’re back at your daily job. It also brought me a new network of people, good memories and I even think my current job at Royal Boskalis Westminster NV.

4. Are you still in touch with your peers?

   Absolutely, during the 2-year program you built a strong relationship with your peers, since you do spend almost a full day per week with them. This is also one of the bigger benefits of the RT program in comparison to at-home studies.

We have more RT stories to share with you, here are the stories of Bouke, Michel, Jarno, Mathieu and Richard.

The post-graduate Executive Treasury Management & Corporate Finance programme combines two finance disciplines: Treasury Management and Corporate Finance. These disciplines largely overlap and are inextricably connected.

After a successful completion of all required modules, the title of Registered Treasurer (RT) is conferred by the Registered Treasurer foundation.

Kendra Keydeniers

Director, Community & Partners treasuryXL

| 15-10-2019 | by treasuryXL | Kendra Keydeniers

Each year a new class starts with the two year RT program at the Vrije Universiteit (VU). That means that every year we can welcome new Register Treasurer (RT) graduates into the World of Treasury.
On October 3, 2019, the VU was proud to announce that they honored 7 new Register Treasurer graduates.

The post-graduate Executive Treasury Management & Corporate Finance programme at the VU has now been running for more than 20 years. The graduated RT’s of 2019 were part of the 21^st class.

The RT programme and its benefits

The programme consists of 6 modules. Treasury (Financial) Risk Management and International Cash Management are traditional treasury disciplines. Corporate Finance is part of the Corporate Financial Management and Capital Markets and Funding module. The embedding of the treasury and corporate finance function in corporate organizations is discussed in the Treasury Organization module. An overview of relevant aspects in financial law and fiscal law is given in the Financial and Fiscal Law and Regulations module.

Each module is concluded with an exam. All modules are organized in such a way to allow for sufficient preparation time for assignments and exams.

5 key main benefits of the programme:

1. Broad perspective on the corporate treasury and finance disciplines
2. Master level and state of the art
3. Interactive sessions
4. Useful career development opportunities in a different setting
5. Get connected to the treasury community

A career boost for the RT graduates

The main objective of the programme is to teach high-level courses that boost participants’ professional skills, knowledge and expertise in Treasury Management and Corporate Finance. Graduates of the RT programme recognize opportunities for exciting developments, are able to think out of the box and contribute to in-depth discussions with senior management and board members, which will lead to new career development opportunities and boosts job satisfaction.

Take a dive into RT career stories from graduates

The VU has been delivering RT graduates successfully for a few decades. That means that there are hundreds of graduates working, most of them in corporate treasury. How do their careers look like after they graduated? treasuryXL asked some of the RT graduates about their career development and their thoughts about the RT programme. Check it out:

• Steven de Klein, Cash & Currency Manager at Royal Boskalis Westminster NV
• Jarno Timmerman, Director Treasury EMEA at Nike
• Michel van Baardwijk, Treasurer at Vestia
• Richard Blokland, Corporate Treasurer at NewCold
• Mathieu Ummelen, Treasury and Corporate Finance interim professional

Graduated as a RT and ready for a new treasury challenge?

Being a RT opens doors to new challenges more easily. Are you looking for an interim or a permanent position? Do you want to work in a small business or rather prefer a big corporation? If you want to make a switch in your career and you are open for a new adventure than I would highly recommend to contact our partner Treasurer Search. Treasurer Search is a successful treasury recruitment company, founded 10 years ago with consultants that have experience in treasury recruitment up to 20 years.

Do you have any questions about the RT programme? Are you a RT who want to share your career development via an interview? Or do you have any other related questions or remarks about the RT topic? You can contact me directly via:

Kendra Keydeniers
Community & Partner Manager at treasuryXL

| 15-08-2019 | by treasuryXL | Kendra Keydeniers

Bouke Weijmans graduated as Register Treasurer (RT) in 2014. Bouke has a strong interest in process optimization and building treasury departments from the start. He currently works at Aalberts Industries as a Cash and Treasury Manager.

Aalberts Industries is a Dutch manufacturer that engineers mission-critical technologies for ground-breaking industries and everyday life.

We asked him 7 questions about the RT program:

1. What was your main reason to start a career in treasury?

   Actually I rolled into the field of treasury when working at Flow Traders. During my study business administration at the VU I always believed I would develop my self in the field of process optimization. About 6 months after I joined Flow Traders the person in charge of treasury left the company and I was asked to pick up the role.

2. Why did you start with the RT program?

   Eager to learn more about my new role in treasury I started looking for opportunities to develop myself. As a former VU student I found following classes of the RT program was the best way for me to do this.

3. What are key words that you would use to describe the program?

   The program is small scaled and interactive, which allows active discussion between teachers and students touching issues treasurers run in during their day to day work.

4. Which topics covered were most interesting?

   I was still a little green in the world of treasury when I started. Therefore, the topics about treasury, cash management and corporate finance where really useful.

5. What surprising elements did the program hold that you did not expect?

   I liked the fact you also get schooled in the field of fiscal law. It gave me a better understanding how transfer pricing works and what implications this can have for a company.

6. Are you still in touch with your peers?

   I’m not in active WhatsApp groups, however the world of treasury is quite small and you run into each other from time to time. It’s always nice to catch up at such occasions.

7. Did following the program influence your relation with your family, friends and/or colleagues?

   Following and preparing classes takes some time and planning which means sometimes you have to say no to social events. This can be difficult from time to time but no permanent harm has been done.

We have more RT stories to share with you. Read the RT story of Michel, Jarno, Mathieu and Richard and/or read more info about the RT program here.

The post-graduate Executive Treasury Management & Corporate Finance programme combines two finance disciplines: Treasury Management and Corporate Finance. These disciplines largely overlap and are inextricably connected.

After a successful completion of all required modules, the title of Registered Treasurer (RT) is conferred by the Registered Treasurer foundation.

As of last year the Register Treasurer (RT) program at the University of Amsterdam is taught in English. This is an important change as the program used to be in Dutch.

The course will start on 1 September 2019. Why wait? Apply today!

| 15-07-2019 | by treasuryXL | Kendra Keydeniers

Best example of a great career in treasury (before and) after graduating from the RT program is the one of Jarno Timmerman. This is his Register Treasurer Story:

Professional athlete in The Premier League of volleyball, Jarno decided to further expand his passion for and knowledge about treasury by participating in the RT program of 2007.

Starting as Treasury Manager at Nike, following by a role as Manager Group Treasury at KLM/Air France and winning the award of being Asia’s Best Treasurer by The Corporate Treasurer Awards working at AkzoNobel – you can say that Jarno is an outstanding treasurer who must be passionate about his work.

Jarno returned to Nike in January 2018 and started as Director Treasury EMEA, surrounded with top athletes from around the world. Being a former professional athlete himself, working for Nike is feeling at home. Nike and Jarno is an obvious match.

Why did you start with the RT program?

I started the program because I felt it would elevate me as a treasury professional. I studied economics also at the VU, already positioning myself for treasury. I did that by taking classes like Corporate Finance for example and the RT felt as a natural next step to improve my treasury knowledge.

How did the education help you in your career?

After the completion of the RT it definitely helped me in my career. Besides being a more rounded treasury professional also to the outside world it allowed me to distinguish myself and definitely help me in my career to get a promoted role in a new company for example.

Therefore, I can for sure recommend every Treasury professional to consider participating the RT program. It will be an investment you need to put in, primarily in time at the expense of your social life for a while, but it will pay off.

Which topics covered were most interesting?

The program is a strong combination of die-hard deep dives in treasury subjects like cash management and derivatives, but it also brings a nice introduction to overlapping subjects like tax and legal which allows to have a better understanding of those topics as well.

The program also brings the right balance between theory and practice. Therefore, the second strong element of the program is the ‘mandatory physical presence’ to the classes and sessions. This gives a nice discipline, rhythm and momentum to keep track of the subjects, challenges and tasks at hand.

Are you still in touch with your peers?

Maybe even more important is that the journey you undergo with a group of similar treasury professionals, providing synergies, keeping you motivated and allows you to build up an important network that will last throughout your career. Although I finished the program more than 10 years ago, I still keep contact with many treasury professionals from my year.

So in short, the RT program is about knowledge & network and will definitely elevate your career as treasury professional!

More stories please! Read the RT story of Mathieu and Richard and/or read more info about the RT program here.

The post-graduate Executive Treasury Management & Corporate Finance programme combines two finance disciplines: Treasury Management and Corporate Finance. These disciplines largely overlap and are inextricably connected.

After a successful completion of all required modules, the title of Registered Treasurer (RT) is conferred by the Registered Treasurer foundation.

The course will start on 1 September 2019. Why wait? Apply today!

| 01-07-2019 | by treasuryXL | Kendra Keydeniers

I am taking you back to our recent post about the Treasury Management and Corporate Finance program at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. We mentioned to share some Register Treasurer (RT) graduate profiles to give you a better insight of treasurer types that are “RT material”. Let’s kick off with the first interview with Mathieu Ummelen.

Mathieu Ummelen is a Treasury and Corporate Finance interim professional who successfully graduated as a RT. We asked him the following questions regarding his ‘world of treasury’ experience:

What was your main reason to start a career in treasury?

My interest in financial markets started when the stock markets crashed in October 1987. As a 15-year-old boy, I was stunned how companies could be worth 20% less overnight. I wanted to know more about that, resulting in a study of business economics at Tilburg University.

I found courses such as corporate finance, treasury management and derivatives the most interesting, so that after my studies I started looking for a position in treasury and I found that as a trainee at FMO. On my first working day I had to analyse the cash position, and when I was allowed to place the excess cash (USD 2 million) on an overnight deposit, I definitely devoted to the profession and I still am.

Why did you start with the RT program?

After a year in the traineeship program, I was asked by the treasurer to quit the program early and join the treasury department. Although I received a great training-on-the-job there, I was also happy to be given te opportunity to follow the post-doctoral Treasury Management course. In the first instance my goal was to gain more specific knowledge about treasury, for example, the legal and fiscal aspects of treasury were not part of the curriculum at the university. But shortly after the start of the course I realized that the interaction with fellow students and building a network of peers were (at least) just as valuable.

Are you still in touch with your peers?

The weekly contact with a group of peers who are in the same phase of their career was one of the most positive aspects of the Treasury Management program for me. It was an ideal way to quickly build a network of peers, and I probably learned more from them than from the theoretical part of the program. The contact has been somewhat diluted over the years, but I still have contact with some.

Did following the program influence your relation with your family, friends and/or colleagues?

Taking the course takes quite a lot of time, not only the number of hours of lecture and travel time, but of course also preparation and studying for the exams. Fortunately, I started the course a year and a half after my graduation, so I was still used to studying. Also, we had no children yet and my wife was also following a course, that made it easier for me to study in the evening or at the weekend than for some fellow students. So, if you are considering to follow the program, my advice would be to do it as soon as you can!

Become a Register Treasurer yourself and apply for the course that will start on 1 September 2019!

More info here

More stories please! Read the RT story of Richard.