The close up: An interview with Chris McLaughlin

Learn more about the trends and opportunities shaping treasury in our exclusive interview with Chris McLaughlin, Trafigura’s Head of Group Treasury.

19 June 2025

7 mins

Corporate & investment bankingTransaction bankingTreasury

Learn more about our partnership with Trafigura here.

Over the past two decades, Trafigura has grown into one of the world’s leading commodity trading firms, shaping global markets in energy, metals, and minerals. With a presence in over 150 countries, it plays a pivotal role in making global supply chains more efficient, secure, and sustainable. We recently sat down with Chris McLaughlin, Trafigura’s Head of Group Treasury, to explore the questions our readers are most eager to have answered.

Tell us a little bit about yourself.

I grew up in a small town in Somerset, England, studied economics and politics at Queen Mary University in London, and started my career with a short internship at Bloomberg. I joined Trafigura 16 years ago, and it has been a journey that has taken me from London to Geneva, where our management team is based. I am here with my wife, three children, and our miniature Schnauzer puppy.

What drew you into the Treasury space?

At school, I had an aptitude for numbers, so I figured finance, or commerce was the direction I would go in. Back then, I had never heard of Trafigura – it was a much smaller company. However, when I joined in a junior role, I found it to be very entrepreneurial, very dynamic, and growth focused.

Can you describe your role and the biggest opportunities your treasury team is embracing?

Six years ago, I became Head of Group Treasury, bringing together three functions: corporate treasury, operational treasury, and FX/interest rate management. We’ve since expanded to include global banking operations and due diligence, as KYC processes have become a major focus. Our business is very working capital intensive, and with over one hundred banking partners, it can be very complex. Our corporate funding team manages liquidity, cash, investments, and intercompany flows. The FX and interest rate team hedges key exposures and advises our traders, while our global banking operations crew tackles KYC queries.

The biggest opportunity? It must be redefining treasury’s role. I am moving us away from being just a service centre that processes transactions and onto a journey of adding alpha and delivering against the wider business strategy. Our eyes are set on tomorrow’s possibilities; we are exploring the potential of blockchain and digital assets in seamlessly moving money across our network and settling with counterparties 24/7.

We are embracing APIs with our core banks to boost cash visibility and integrate treasury with commercial operations to improve credit management and decision-making. And we are deploying AI for document reading, payment verification, and KYC processes, freeing up treasury professionals for higher-value tasks. Our CEO talks about working simpler, smarter, and sharper, and AI is key to that. Group Treasury has an incredibly important role to play here.

What major trends shaping treasury today are most exciting to you?

I am excited by blockchain technology like Partior – it is a direction we are very keen on. It is an interesting network that could enable 24/7 cash movement, which is something I would like to see. Banks often talk about this within their own ecosystems, but where I see the real opportunity is when they start to collaborate. We work with many different banks, and so do our counterparties.

We need a means of communication amongst them to remove that correspondent friction – cash just sitting in the system, not working in our best interest. Something like Partior has the potential to make that happen. AI, though, is what excites me the most. In just six months, we have identified more than fifty areas where it can reduce operational workflow, enhance data visualisation, and improve collaboration across functions.

Treasury will look very different in a year’s time as we deliver these projects. It is about freeing up our talented people from heavy manual day-to-day processes so they can focus on the more interesting, value-added aspects. For example, in payments, we have a process with about thirty fields of manual validation. We are developing an AI document reader with our data science team that matches payment orders to documentation, gives us a comfort score, and lets us focus only on the 5% that do not match. It will really speed things up and improve risk management.

What is one treasury innovation or tool you wish had existed five years ago and why?

I wish a global solution for managing KYC requirements exists – and I hope the industry solves for this soon. Every financial institution and corporate has teams doing this job, and I do think about the time that can be freed up. AI as well – I wish it had existed five years ago. The speed at which it is delivering is simply amazing. What we deliver with AI in the next five years will fundamentally change our business and how treasury operates.

What leadership traits do you believe are essential for the next generation of treasury professionals?

Treasury is changing fast, and the best people in my view are those who are always challenging the way we do things. They ask, “Should I be doing this? Is this the best way?” I value those who question the status quo, align treasury with the company’s vision, and build relationships across the business. We need to be with the business to understand what issues they have and how treasury can drive that solution. Invariably, things happen daily and having that relationship with stakeholders means quicker resolutions. I encourage my team to get out of their comfort zone and into the wider business, to see how we can meaningfully add more value.

What book, podcast, or resource would you recommend to your friends or our readers?

I do enjoy reading about business history – currently a biography of Andrew Carnegie, after similar books on Henry Ford, JD Rockefeller, and Richard Branson. On the podcast front, I like “How I Built This” by Guy Raz. It is about how people build businesses and thinking differently, fuelling my ideas about building a treasury that is fundamentally different and focused on value-generation.

What habits or routines help you stay effective in your role?

Organisation and communication. Some of the smartest people I work with are not necessarily the most academically gifted, but they excel because they are methodical and articulate. Simple habits like taking structured meeting notes, following up with clear actions, and providing concise updates can dramatically improve effectiveness. Treasury is complex, so regular, well-structured communication is key.

What is one prediction you have for the future of treasury, and how should professionals prepare for it?

I see treasury becoming more embedded and integrated with our commercial business, not just a standalone function. We are linking cash management directly to physical transactions using internal systems, so we can better track cash per deal, forecast cash flow, and model risks right within our commercial operations. This connects payments and liquidity to the full process, moving us beyond being a reactive support team. APIs will help drive this shift, sharing treasury’s insights across the business. AI will take over manual tasks, making workflows more efficient. We need to upskill our treasury personnel to manage richer data and make smarter decisions. Treasury professionals should prepare by embracing technology, learning data analytics, and collaborating more with colleagues across the wider organisation.

If you could give advice to a professional starting their career in treasury, such as your younger self, what would it be and why?

I would tell them – and my younger self – to challenge your leaders. Ask, “Why are we doing this? Is this the right thing to be doing? Is there a better way to do it?” Experiment with new ideas, explore technologies, and work with data science or AI teams to drive solutions. Treasury is changing a lot – it is an exciting field for those who are both analytical and creative. It has been incredibly fulfilling for me, and I would encourage anyone with curiosity and a problem-solving mindset to dive right in.