Session 02

A Realistic Assessment of AI Adoption Within Treasury During 2024 (I)

The Way We Pay: 2024 & Beyond (I) (G)

Matt Davies, EVP & Director of Treasury Management- Pegasus Bank

Monday, April 15th
11:30am - 12:30pm
Waterway 4

Session Description

The payments system continues to evolve at an unprecedented pace. This presentation will provide attendees with an overview of recent and upcoming developments in the world of payments. Legacy systems, the ACH network and wire transfers, remain “tried and true,” while Zelle® and The Clearing House’s Real Time Payments (RTP®) network have continued to grow. Since July 2023, the Federal Reserve’s much-anticipated FedNowSM instant payments service has launched and is being adopted among banks of all sizes. Attendees will learn more about the current standing and future plans of these various networks, as well as recent development in credit and debit card and mobile payments, as well as fraud and security.

Participants will learn about recent and upcoming developments in the world of payments, including:

continued evolution of the legacy and “faster” payments, including ACH, wire transfer, Zelle®, RTP® and the FedNowSM service
advancements in credit and debit card and mobile payments
fraud and security.

Speaker Information

Matt Davies, CTP, AAP, APRP, is EVP & Director of Treasury Management at Pegasus Bank in Dallas. He has more than 25 years of banking and payments experience. Prior to joining Pegasus in 2020, he spent a combined 19 years at the Federal Reserve Banks of Dallas and Kansas City. In addition to his experience with the Federal Reserve System, Matt also previously served as ACH & Wire Product Manager for Commerce Bank, Kansas City; Product Manager at Chase Paymentech; and SVP & Public Sector Market Manager for Citi. He is a past president and current board member of the Dallas Association for Financial Professionals (DAFP), and serves on the board of directors for the Leadership Division of the Independent Bankers Association of Texas (IBAT). A native of St. Louis, Missouri, Matt graduated from William Jewell College in Liberty, Missouri, with a B.A. in Political Science and History in 1997, and from the Graduate School of Banking at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, in 2013

Don’t Just Set It and Forget it. Investing Public Funds Across Texas: Austin, Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio (I) (G)

Laurel Eagan Kenny, President - Turningpoint Communications
Jenny Kerzman, Assistant Director of Treasury - City Controller's Office, City of Dallas
Vernon Middleton D Lewis, Director & Deputy City Controller - City of Houston, Treasury Department
Debbie Fleming, Deputy Treasurer - City of Austin, Texas
Brett Sekula, Investment Officer - City of San Antonio, Texas

Monday, April 15th
11:30am - 12:30pm
Waterway 5

Session Description

Among their many and diverse responsibilities, governmental and municipal treasury leaders are charged with overseeing investment of their city’s public funds, from tax revenues, bond proceeds, to Federal Funds in accordance with investment policies and PFIA (Public Fund Investment Act). Municipal treasury leaders are expected to maximize interest earned on investments of public funds while keeping the three main goals of any public investment policy: Safety, Liquidity, and Yield. Using the old adage risk vs. return and in this interest-rate rich environment, governmental / municipal treasury leaders should be encouraged / empowered to capitalize on their assets and maximize investments and their returns to the entity and ultimately to the entity’s employees and residents through capital projects and development. Learn from treasury leaders from the top four largest cities in Texas – Houston, San Antonio, Dallas, and Austin – how through close management of public funds, and compliant, yet creative and thoughtful investment approach, they maximize returns to their Cities while also navigating new legislative laws.

Best practices for safeguarding public funds in current climate
Best practices for investing public funds in accordance with investment policy and PFIA economic environment
Considerations for re-drafting investment policies

Speaker Information

Laurel Egan Kenny, MBA, MSCM, CFMP, Cert. Executive and Cert. Performance Leader; President and CEO is president of Turningpoint Communications. Laurel founded Turningpoint after building and leading marketing and sales enablement teams for State Street Corporation and Santander Bank organizations. Laurel brings her treasury management strategy, business development best practices, marketing communications and thought leadership to her clients. Laurel trains teams of commercial bankers on the role of treasury in organizations, as well as how to sell themselves, sell solutions to client challenges and to quantify value propositions - so they can differentiate and deepen client relationships. She also works with banks to successfully transition and retain high valued clients and their assets through Treasury Management portal conversions and bank acquisitions - and coaches Treasury management teams and team members to maximize their potential and performance. An industry champion, Laurel presents nationally on treasury management, marketing and business development best practices. Laurel earned MBA, MSCM, BA degrees from Simmons University, Boston, MA; and two executive leadership certifications from Cornell University, New York. Laurel is a 23-time award winning AFP regional officer and leads membership, marketing, programming, sponsorship efforts for 9 regional AFP organizations across the country.

Jenny Kerzman is the Assistant Director of Treasury in the City Controller’s Office for the City of Dallas. She joined the City of Dallas in 2021 and is responsible for overseeing the areas of cash management and banking services, the administration of the City’s $3.5 billion investment portfolio, and the $5 billion debt management program. Kerzman started her government career with the City of Arlington and served as the Assistant City Treasurer for the City of Fort Worth for over 10 years. In addition to her municipality experience, she has worked for multiple private companies including Crescent Real Estate Equities, CEC Entertainment, and Bimbo Bakeries USA. She is a graduate of Texas Wesleyan University and a Certified Treasury Professional (CTP) since 1999. As a treasury professional of over 25 years, she was selected by the Association for Financial Professionals (AFP) to participate in the 2001 CCM Item Writers Task Force and the 2004 Test Development Committee. She has been a member of several organizations, including the Fort Worth Association for Financial Professionals (FWAFP) serving in different board positions, including President and Treasurer. A long-time supporter of Texpo, she served as Chairman of the 2011 Texpo, and Treasurer in 2021. Last year, she was a member of the Texpo 2022 Education Committee and served as moderator for the Government Roundtable. She is currently serving in the Executive Board of the TX Women in Public Finance (WPF) and is a member of the Advisory Board of Saint Andrew’s Catholic School. In her spare time, Kerzman is a proud Aggie Mom and is currently serving as Treasurer of the Fort Worth/Tarrant County Aggie Moms’ Club

Vernon Lewis is a native Houston, Texas resident who serve as the Director & Deputy Controller for the City of Houston – Treasury Department who is in charge in helping to oversee the city’s $14 billion debt portfolio and $6 billion investment portfolio, and entire depository banking system. Mr. Lewis is experienced in the financial and accounting sector with an emphasis in Debt and Investment in Treasury. During his tender with the city, Mr. Lewis serves as the youngest member of the Board of Directors for the Association of Public Treasures of the US & Canada and Houston Christian University – Dunham College of Business. He also serves on the Investment Task Force for the Association for Financial Counseling & Planning Education and Committee. Mr. Lewis has received a graduate certification in Financial Management from Cornell University and an MBA (Master’s in Business Administration) from Houston Christian University. He also completed extensive series of courses and exams centering on fixed income investment, financial accounting, and management principles to receive several licenses in ACPFIM (Advanced Certified Public Fund Investment Manager), CPFIM (Certified Public Funds Investment Manager), FMVA (Financial Model Valuation Analyst), and CPM (Certified Public Manager). Mr. Lewis serve as the implementor and designer for the City of Houston ESG (Environment, Social, and Governance) Investment Initiative. Due to his many academic and career achievements, Mr. Lewis was honored The Bond Buyer Magazine Rising Star.

Debbie Fleming, CPA, CTP serves as Deputy Treasurer in hometown Austin Texas. She has an extensive 35+ year investment management career in public funds investment management, economics, and compliance. The career path began at the Texas Treasury investing multiple State funds and working on innovative programs as the State initiated the Texpool local government investment pool. Followed by 10 years as a successful SEC registered investment advisory firm for public funds as CFO. She also served seven years as Treasurer of Austin ISD, managing investments, debt and implementing several innovative programs. As her only child graduated, she moved to the Texas Department of Transportation, managing all investment portfolios, and the State Infrastructure Bank. Her dream job appeared at the City of Austin in 2020, and currently manages all investment portfolios and is an elected member of the City’s Deferred Compensation Committee.

Brett Sekula has over a decade of experience in the investment industry. He joined the City of San Antonio in 2019 in his current role as the Investment Officer. He is responsible for the management of the City’s $3.0 billion investment portfolio, as well as its treasury and cash management operations. Prior to his current role, Brett worked at USAA in the Investment Management division, where he specialized in fixed income analysis and trading. Brett holds a B.B.A. in Finance from UTSA.

Is NOW the Right Time for In-House Bank? (I)

Victor Grado, Vice President and Assistant Treasurer - Kyndryl
Shemley Gordon, Managing Director - Citibank
Kelvin Ang, Director, Client Advisory - Citibank

Monday, April 15th
11:30am - 12:30pm
Waterway 6

Session Description

The In-House Bank (IHB) is considered a corporate treasury best practice by many companies in international treasury management but yet only 20%-30% of the Treasury world actually get there. Treasurers often ask about the drivers for making the decision, costs vs benefits, and key considerations of an IHB. Indeed, charting the course of an IHB is also not all about treasury. There are upstream and downstream considerations, such as procure-to-pay, order-to-cash, transfer pricing, procurement and other areas that are directly impacted by establishing an IHB. Partnerships with internal experts from Tax and Accounting has to come together with external partners such as banks and technology providers to design an optimal IHB structure so as to realize and unleash its full potential. In this panel discussion with experienced treasury leaders, learn about their IHB journey and key drivers or decision criteria e.g. trading model complexity, extent of global footprint, resource constraints etc. in pursing an IHB as well as the critical success factors for implementation. They will also provide practical tips on some common pitfalls to avoid in implementing an IHB.

In this panel discussion with experienced treasury leaders, learn about their IHB journey and key drivers or decision criteria e.g. trading model complexity, extent of global footprint, resource constraints etc. in pursing an IHB as well as the critical success factors for implementation. They will also provide practical tips on some common pitfalls to avoid in implementing an IHB.

Speaker Information

Victor Grado is Vice President and Assistant Treasurer at Kyndryl, a role he has held since the company’s founding in 2021 as it spun out from IBM, becoming the world’s largest provider of IT infrastructure services. In this role, Mr. Grado is responsible for global Treasury Operations, building and sustaining a robust infrastructure to manage the firm’s world wide liquidity including three regional Treasury centers, In House Bank and currency management, cash forecasting, and working capital management. Prior to Kyndryl , Mr. Grado was Assistant Treasurer at Hewlett Packard Enterprise, where he led the global Treasury organization through a Treasury transformation, TMS implementation, and multiple business spin offs. Before this, Mr. Grado developed his Treasury experience over a 15 year career at General Electric, where he held multiple Treasury leadership roles including Latin America Treasurer and Global Treasurer for the GE Capital Commercial Real Estate business. Mr. Grado holds a Master of Science degree in Economics from the University of Texas at Austin and a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from MIT.

Shemley Gordon is a Managing Director and the North America Head of the TTS Cash Solutions Sales Team within the Commercial Bank, leading a team of salespeople in the selling of Treasury and Trade Solutions (TTS) products to our clients. Previously Shemley was a Global Solution Sales Manager covering TTS Sales, specializing in advising Corporates in the Chemical sector who are parented in North America. Shemley joined Citi in 2005 where he has had roles in the Client Delivery division, acted as a UK product manager for Liquidity and Investments, with the majority of his time spent as an EMEA Cash Management Sales Specialist.

Kelvin Ang is the New York based Principal for Citi’s treasury advisory engagements. He joined Citi in April 2015 with extensive corporate experience, having been based in Asia, the US, and the Middle East in positions managing regional treasury centers, in-house banking, investments, financing, cash management bank selection, FX and interest rate risk management, supply chain financing, and financial control. Kelvin spent 7 years at Caterpillar (CAT), most recently at its US HQ as Corporate Treasury Manager and, prior to that, in Singapore as Regional Treasury Manager. His responsibilities at CAT have spanned managing Asia FX exposures; regional treasury operations in Singapore, China and India; In House Banking in Europe Africa Middle East (EAME); and, implementing supply chain financing programs in China and India. Prior to that he was at UPS regional treasury in Singapore, responsible for treasury operations processes spanning 19 Asia Pacific countries and managing several bank rationalization projects. He has also worked for a Singapore-headquartered local large corporate in M&A Corporate Finance and as Financial Controller for the Middle-East. A native of Singapore, Kelvin holds an accounting degree from the Nanyang Technological University of Singapore, and is a Singapore Chartered Accountant as well as a Chartered Financial Analyst.

Mastering Treasury Analytics: How to Unlock Deeper Intelligence with AI for Actionable Insights (I) (E)

Cybersecurity in Finance and Unclaimed Property (B)

Madhu Maganti, Partner - Baker Tilly
Robert Tucci, Principal - Baker Tilly
Jim Weigand, Director - Baker Tilly

Monday, April 15th
11:30am - 12:30pm
Waterway 8

Session Description

Today organizations manage ever-expanding priorities in a disruptive risk environment. This session addresses key areas company’s fact in the area of data security relating to risk, governance and compliance considerations within the context of a company’s industry, operations and culture. In addition, this session will address the unique aspects of date security and privacy concerns relating to unclaimed property, including best practices to safeguard your company’s sensitive data.

Understand methods utilized by “bad actors” to infiltrate your organization’s date security systems
Learn about best practices & ideas to implement to protect your company’s sensitive information
Understand the unique challenges and safeguards for data security protocols relating to unclaimed property compliance and audit defense

Technology Track Sponsored by HighRadius

Speaker Information

Madhu Maganti is a cybersecurity/IT advisory leader with more than 20 years of comprehensive experience leading high-performance teams with a proven track record of continuous improvement toward objectives. He is highly knowledgeable in both technical and business principles and processes. Known for hands-on leadership style, Madhu is able to instill a sense of teamwork and commitment while maintaining a reputation of integrity, dependability and a strong work ethic. In addition, he is a thought leader, having spoken at multiple conferences and authored articles for leading publications. Madhu specializes in cybersecurity risk assessments, enterprise risk management, regulatory compliance, Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) compliance and system and organization controls (SOC) reporting.

Robert Tucci is a principal with Baker Tilly’s unclaimed property practice. He has extensive experience in unclaimed property consulting, specializing in the performance of comprehensive diagnostic reviews and multistate audit defense. He has more than 24 years of experience in state and local tax and unclaimed property consulting. Robert has represented numerous Fortune 500 clients in the defense of unclaimed property audits, the performance of comprehensive diagnostic reviews and the development and implementation of unclaimed property policies and procedures. Robert is recognized as an authority in unclaimed property issues with both public and private clients of various sizes in numerous industries including retail, healthcare, manufacturing, financial services and energy

Jim Weigand has over 21 years of experience in unclaimed property consulting, including audit defense, comprehensive diagnostic reviews, quantitative analysis, exposure remediation and various voluntary settlement procedures. Additionally, Jim has assisted Fortune 500 and middle market companies across many industries with the performance of comprehensive diagnostic reviews, audit defense, identification of process improvement techniques and the development of unclaimed property policies and procedures, including manufacturing, oil and gas exploration, energy production (e.g., mining, transportation, refining, etc.), insurance, healthcare, financial, retail, technology (e.g., telecommunications, internet service providers, etc.), transportation and entertainment industries, as well supply-chain logistics companies, Jim has been a speaker for holder education seminars sponsored by various professional groups, including Unclaimed Property Professionals Organization, American Payroll Association, Association for Financial Professionals, National Association of Land and Title Analysts and Strafford Publications.

Building Treasury Resilience – Are You Ready? (I) (G)

Kevin McKeever, Regional Head – Treasury Solutions Group - HSBC Bank
Blake Lovelace VP, Corporate Finance & Treasurer - Helmerich & Payne
Lisa Frazer, CTP Director, Global Treasury Operations - ChampionX Corporation

Monday, April 15th
11:30am - 12:30pm
Montgomery C

Session Description

A Resilient Treasury department is one that can maintain stable operations amid internal / external disruptions and risk events, and recover from setbacks without suffering a material impact on the company’s financial objectives. This session explores the strategic drivers for Treasury to consider when building resilience within Treasury, followed by an engaging panel discussion to explore various approaches in building a Resilient Treasury.

Learn from real-life examples about the various approaches in building resilience within Treasury
Gain a deeper understanding of the strategic drivers and considerations supporting resilient treasury objectives
Learn how other companies have approached building a resilient foundation for managing risk and treasury operations.

Speaker Information

Kevin McKeever is the North America Head of Treasury Solutions Group for HSBC’s Global Payments Solutions. Based in New York, Kevin consults global companies on domestic and international payment solutions and provides training and advisory into current market trends across global liquidity and cash management. With over 35 years of banking experience across relationship management and cash management –19 of those with HSBC, Kevin has also led various sales teams covering a variety of industry sectors. Prior to that, he worked for ABN AMRO, which included a 6-year stint in Europe covering U.K. and Irish companies and developed regional cash management solutions for global companies. Kevin holds a MBA from the University of Warwick in the U.K., and is a Certified Treasury Professional under the Association for Financial Professionals (AFP).

Blake Lovelace oversees H&P’s corporate finance, treasury, corporate planning and regional office and segment level financial and business management activities including budgeting, capital structure & capital return planning, quarterly guidance for Wall Street and cash & working capital management. Blake is also heavily involved with H&P’s mergers & acquisitions and corporate strategy activities. Prior to joining H&P in 2011, Blake served as a hedge fund analyst with Scout Capital Partners in New York and Palo Alto, CA and Breeden Capital Management in Greenwich, CT. Earlier in his career, Blake served as an Associate with Pacific Equity Partners in Sydney, Australia. Pacific Equity Partners is the former Australian affiliate of Bain Capital and the largest private equity firm in Australasia. Blake began his career in the Investment Banking Group at Merrill Lynch in New York and London. Blake earned a BS, magna cum laude, in Business Administration and Accounting from Washington & Lee University and an MBA in Strategic Management from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Blake and his wife Amanda live a very active life outside of the office as they try to keep up with their 10-year-old daughter Allie. The family enjoys traveling, skiing, hiking and attending Pearl Jam concerts together. Blake is passionate about mentoring youth and serves on the board of City Year Tulsa.

Lisa Frazer is the Director of Global Treasury Operations at ChampionX Corporation, headquartered in The Woodlands and has been with the company for six years. ChampionX is a global leader in oilfield technology solutions, chemistry programs and services, drilling technologies, artificial lift solutions, and automation technologies for the oil and gas industry. Prior to joining ChampionX Corp., Lisa was Manager of Treasury Operations at Chicago, Bridge & Iron (CB&I) for 5 years, also a global organization headquartered in The Woodlands. Prior to CB&I Lisa was Corporate Senior Treasury Manager at Waste Management for approximately 10 years. Lisa currently manages global cash balances including repatriation and most efficient use of excess funds; short-term investments; global banking relationships including all treasury services offered by our bank group. While at CB&I, Lisa managed the Global Trade Finance portfolio (approximately $5.2B), mergers/acquisitions and divestitures, trade credit and global cash management processes. Lisa earned a bachelor’s degree from University of Denver – Daniels Business College and has also earned her CTP certification.

CTP – Session 2 – Mastering CTP (ETM7) Materials (B)

Dubos Masson, Ph.D, CTP, CertICM, President, The Treasury Academy
Raymond Vines, CTP - Part Time Treasurer, Treasury Consultant, Trainer - Turningpoint Communications

Monday, April 15th
11:30am - 12:30pm
Montgomery A&B

Session Description

Chapter 5: Money Markets
Chapter 6: Capital Markets
Demonstration of Canvas Website for course

Speaker Information

D.J. Masson, Ph.D., is President of The Treasury Academy, a training and consulting firm specializing in treasury management, international finance, business forecasting, and risk management. Over the past 25 years, D.J. has provided business and financial consulting and training services to a wide variety of corporations, financial institutions, and not-for-profit organizations in the U.S., Canada, and abroad. He is currently an Associate Clinical Professor of Finance at Indiana University’s Kelly School of Business and is a trainer and curriculum developer for programs with Association for Financial Professionals (AFP), GT News and Association of Corporate Treasurers (ACT) in the U.K, and Citibank’s Global Transactions Services unit. D.J. has extensive experience in developing curriculum for a wide range of teaching and training environments, both residential and on-line. He has developed classes and taught at all levels of higher education: undergraduate, MBA, Executive MBA, and in-house, custom-designed courses. D.J. has worked with professional associations to develop workshop, training materials, and certification programs in the areas of Treasury Management, Credit Management, Global Cash Management, Financial Forecasting, Commercial Banking, and Risk Management. D. J.’s educational background includes a B.A. in Business from the University of New Orleans and an MBA and Ph.D. in Finance from Indiana University. D.J. earned his Certified Cash Manager (CCM/CTP) credential in 1988. D.J. also earned the Cert ICM, an international cash management certification, from the Association of Corporate Treasurers (ACT) in the UK in 1999.

Ray Vines brings 30 years of corporate treasury experience (and honesty) to bear for Turningpoint Communications’ treasury management sales trainees, customers, customers’ clients and other key constituents as the “voice of the client” for programs, documentation and high-touch client experiences. Ray is also an instructor for the Association for Financial Professionals’ (AFP) Certified Treasury Professional (CTP), Treasury Learning System instructor-led courses, educating hundreds of prospective CTP candidates each spring and fall for Rice University and the University of Texas. Formerly, Ray served as Director of Treasury for Dean Foods in Dallas for seven years, where he was responsible for leading treasury operations and his team, managing internal and external relationships and continuous process improvement. Prior to Dean Foods, Ray spent 20 years at RadioShack as Director of Treasury Operations. Ray is an active participant in enhancing the role of treasury management as an industry and career through his participation on industry roundtables and his leadership of the Dallas AFP, including his role as past president of the . Ray co-chaired the award-winning TEXPO conference in Dallas in 2018, leading all technological, marketing and communications aspects of the conference and is a key member of the content team for #DallasTEXPO2023. Ray holds a B.S. in Finance and MS in Accounting from the University of Texas and is a Certified Treasury Professional (CTP). Ray is also a WSET Level 3 Advanced (Wine & Spirits Education Trust) Wine and Spirits Certified instructor, and customizes courses in wine/spirits etiquette for financial audiences and executives.

A Realistic Assessment of AI Adoption Within Treasury During 2024 (I)

The Way We Pay: 2024 & Beyond (I) (G)

Don’t Just Set It and Forget it. Investing Public Funds Across Texas: Austin, Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio (I) (G)

Is NOW the Right Time for In-House Bank? (I)

Mastering Treasury Analytics: How to Unlock Deeper Intelligence with AI for Actionable Insights (I) (E)

Cybersecurity in Finance and Unclaimed Property (B)

Building Treasury Resilience – Are You Ready? (I) (G)

CTP – Session 2 – Mastering CTP (ETM7) Materials (B)

Coming Soon!