A global symbol of excellence, the Certified Treasury Professional (CTP) designation sets the standard in the treasury profession. Earning the CTP signifies you have demonstrated the knowledge and skills required to effectively execute critical functions related to corporate liquidity, and capital and risk management.

AFP recently caught up with Pulat Yunusmetov, CTP, treasury manager at Danone, to discuss his decision to earn the CTP, and how it has affected his life and career journey.

AFP: How did you get your start in treasury?

Yunusmetov: After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in Business Management, I was offered a regional treasury analyst role to cover Easter European countries for a Swiss international company. From there on, I have stayed in treasury industry. While I had no idea about treasury overall prior to this role, I was always interest in the finance industry. I always wanted to work in the bank and ended up working with them, which I found much more interesting.

AFP: What are two or three core aspects of your day-to-day job?

Yunusmetov: In my current role at Danone, I am responsible for foreign currency executions (front office), which takes up less than half of my time. The main activity is to engage with external banks and internally alignment on the exposures prior to executing them on the FX platform with onboarded banks.

Other than that, I always work on treasury improvement projects such as automations, digitalization and others. A few of the main projects implemented in the last two years was centralization of the FX executions for the local countries out of regional office in Singapore. Another project with the biggest impact is an implementation of the Treasury Management System for the region, where activities such as cash management and forecasting were automated. Due to good results and efficient delivery of these projects, it landed me with a Rising Start of Adam Smith Asia award in 2020. These projects were also well recognized in the industry and were nominated for many awards across the years.

AFP: What is something that you would like to do in the future in treasury?

Yunusmetov: I would like to lead a team of junior treasury members to become the best in class, who can keep transforming treasuries within their companies.

AFP: Are there certain skills or training that help you in what you do now?

Yunusmetov: There were several factors and skills that helped me to be where I am today. Knowledge of the financial markets, institutions and business in general is a key to becoming a successful treasurer. In treasury, we do not just work with one stakeholder such as banks, but we also engage with internal stakeholders from different departments such as finance, accounting, and Mergers and Acquisitions. Understanding the functions and business overall helps drive success in treasury function.

Also, inspiration and mentorship from my current and previous managers helped in my growth.

AFP: What skills are most important to you to add over the next couple of years?

Yunusmetov: Within next few years I would like to work on my leadership skills so that I can be a mentor to junior treasury community members. People management skills are critical for becoming a treasury leader, which is why gaining exposure with team management would be a natural next step. 

AFP: What is the most critical treasury issue you are facing today?

Yunusmetov: There are not necessarily issues, but tasks to be resolved. Working with the different teams require treasury members to understand the processes within those departments. Cultural differences are another challenge that regional treasury usually faces since we must get the buy-in from local team members and facing different cultures can sometimes be difficult.

AFP: Can you share your approach to this issue?

Yunusmetov: Having good stakeholder management skills is a critical aspect of treasury, as we do not just work within one part but several parts of the organization. In addition, having project management skills and transparent communication is key to have your stakeholders to support the treasury initiatives, organization and projects.

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AFP: Why did you decide to earn the CTP?

After a few years in treasury, I decided to earn this accreditation, as it shows not only within my organization but also within external wider community that I have the skillset that is required to be a treasury professional.

AFP: How has the CTP credential impacted your life/career?

Yunusmetov: The CTP accreditation gave a credit within the internal and external communities and was a confirmation that I do have what it takes to be a certified treasury professional.

AFP: Would you recommend the CTP to others? Why?

Yunusmetov: Yes, definitely. It is a good accreditation to have if someone is looking to grow within treasury. It is not just a test, but also teaches a lot of aspects of treasury and broader finance overall. The entire curriculum provides an in-depth understanding of treasury but also a broader picture of treasury within the organizations overall. 

Learn more about the Certified Treasury Professional (CTP) designation.