Tadd Fowler’s deep engagement in treasury activities, a masterful team and helpful peers got him up to speed.
Tadd Fowler wears two big hats at Procter & Gamble, the world’s largest consumer goods company. He’s head of global tax operations—a natural fit for a former PwC tax partner—and also took on the treasurer role in 2021. In a Strategic Finance Lab podcast you can listen to on Apple and Spotify, he explains how an accountant steeped in the world of tax “got very comfortable very quickly” also running treasury at a multinational that sells products in 180 countries.
- He gives lots of credit to P&G treasury team members whose mastery of areas including capital markets, insurance and pensions helped him learn the nuances of bond deals, cross-currency swaps and how to manage banking relationships. He also praises peers and peer groups for his quick education in treasury.
- His deep commitment to learning, as well as knowing what questions to ask, also played a crucial role. “When opportunities presented themselves, I tried to be very engaged in things that normally someone at my level might not be engaged in. I just tried to take advantage of it and learn from it,” he said.
One person running both tax and treasury is not typical among current NeuGroup member companies. But it may become more common as corporations break down silos and seek one leader capable of steering two groups that often must work together closely but whose collaboration isn’t always smooth.
In his conversation with NeuGroup Insights editor Antony Michels, Mr. Fowler explains some of the advantages he sees in having the two functions under one leader. “The ability to have somebody that is familiar with both the tax and treasury implications of decisions ensures that you get to potential solutions on a quicker basis. And I think it ensures that we can quickly prioritize if there is a conflict, which priority is going to win the day.”
- Mr. Fowler is proud of the relationship that has developed between the tax and treasury teams at P&G. “There’s a lot of trust,” he said. “That took a while to build, but there’s a lot of trust and there’s a lot of respect for the mastery each of us brings. And I think the ability for people to learn a little bit about those other technical disciplines is exciting.”
