The World Cup has always been full of surprises.
Every tournament, commentators, fans, and pundits make the same prediction mistake: they place too much emphasis on reputation. A traditional football powerhouse such as the Netherlands immediately attracts attention. The country has a rich football history, internationally recognised players, and a strong reputation for producing talented teams. On paper, backing the Netherlands often feels like the safe choice.
Yet recent World Cups have repeatedly demonstrated that reputation alone does not guarantee success.
Over the past several tournaments, Japan has consistently demonstrated qualities that make them exceptionally difficult opponents: discipline, organisation, technical excellence, relentless execution, and an ability to perform under pressure. Time and again, supposedly stronger teams have discovered that reputation alone is not enough.
I have seen something remarkably similar happen in treasury recruitment.
When companies start searching for treasury professionals, there is often a natural tendency to focus on the most obvious candidates. Hiring managers are drawn towards treasurers from large multinationals, consultants from globally recognised firms, professionals with impressive job titles, or candidates who simply interview exceptionally well.
In many cases, these candidates are indeed excellent choices. Large organisations often provide outstanding training and exposure to complex treasury environments. However, the strongest CV is not always the strongest fit.
Over the years, we have introduced treasury professionals from some of the world’s largest corporations, but we have also placed candidates from organisations that few people outside their industry would recognise. One of the most important lessons we have learned is that treasury success rarely depends on the logo printed on someone’s business card.
The professionals who consistently deliver results often possess qualities that are much harder to identify from a CV alone.
Technical expertise is, of course, essential. Yet once a certain level of technical competence has been established, other factors frequently determine success, including:
- Problem-solving ability
- Stakeholder management skills
- Adaptability
- Attention to detail
- Resilience under pressure
- Cultural fit
- The ability to execute and deliver results
These characteristics rarely stand out immediately during a first screening process.
A treasury professional may have spent twenty years working for a Fortune 500 company and still struggle in a fast-moving transformation environment where ambiguity, rapid decision-making, and change management are critical. Conversely, a candidate from a relatively unknown organisation may quickly become the individual who earns trust, solves problems, and drives projects forward.
We regularly see situations where clients interview several technically qualified candidates for the same role. Surprisingly often, the individual with the most impressive CV is not the person who ultimately receives the offer. Some of the most successful placements we have made were candidates who, at first glance, were not considered the obvious choice.
The parallel with football is hard to ignore. Reputation may influence expectations, but it does not determine outcomes. In both football and treasury, success ultimately depends on execution, adaptability, teamwork, and the ability to deliver results under pressure.
One of the biggest challenges in treasury hiring is separating profile from performance. It requires looking beyond where someone has worked and focusing instead on what they have actually achieved. It means looking beyond confidence to understand genuine capability, and looking beyond reputation to assess whether a candidate truly fits the challenge at hand.
Finding the right treasury professional is rarely as straightforward as selecting the strongest CV.
The objective is not simply to identify the most famous candidate or the person with the most recognisable employer on their CV. The objective is to find the professional who is most likely to succeed in a specific environment, with a specific team, facing a specific set of challenges.
Sometimes the Netherlands is exactly what you need, but other times the candidate everyone overlooked turns out to be Japan.
Recognising that difference is often what separates a good hiring decision from a great one.
At Pecunia, we look beyond the obvious names on a CV because, because in treasury, success depends far more on what people can deliver than on where they have worked. If you are looking to strengthen your treasury team, we would be happy to help you find the right person, not just the most obvious one.
