Strategic Finance Lab

Hosted by NeuGroup

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Jun 2026

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About the show

Enter a lab where innovation and digital transformation empower senior finance executives to become true strategic partners of the business. NeuGroup’s Strategic Finance Lab delivers thought leadership through conversations with finance executives at leading companies and finance industry experts. Hear how practitioners are advancing finance’s transformation into a strategic partner to the business and driver of enterprise performance by providing data-driven insight to support decision-making. Our vision: to promote a free-flowing knowledge exchange and be a source of innovative solutions.

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45 recent

June 3, 202626 min

AI Boom, Geopolitical Risk: Navigating Debt Market Crosscurrents

Investment-grade debt issuance fueled by hyperscalers continues at a record pace, and a new wave of AI-related IPOs—including filings and preparations by Anthropic, OpenAI and SpaceX—is cause for cautious optimism among investors and corporates. Despite persistent market volatility and geopolitical uncertainty, strong investor demand is creating opportunities for companies both within and beyond the AI ecosystem, according to Sidney Dillard, partner and head of corporate investment banking at Loop Capital.In the latest episode of NeuGroup's Strategic Finance Lab podcast available on Apple and Spotify, she discusses with NeuGroup's Justin Jones why investment-grade debt markets remain resilient, how private capital is changing the IPO equation and what treasury teams should be doing now to stay prepared.In the podcast, Ms. Dillard discusses:The strong pace of investment-grade debt issuance, supported by healthy demand and financing needs tied to AI infrastructure, M&A and refinancing activity.Why hyperscaler debt issuance is not necessarily crowding out other issuers.The opportunity provided by private capital, allowing many firms to stay private longer while still accessing growth capital and liquidity.How treasury teams should think about timing market access amid geopolitical uncertainty and market volatility.Loop Capital's approach to helping clients manage both financing and investment needs.

May 6, 202632 min

A Treasury Tech Leader on Where AI Can Add Value Today

Treasury teams are being asked to move quickly to digitalize, with AI only adding to the pace as the number of tools, use cases and ideas keeps expanding. The challenge for many NeuGroup members is figuring out where to start and what will actually make a difference. In this episode, Dan Morrison, Global Treasury Digital and Performance Manager at SLB, formerly Schlumberger, joins NeuGroup's Justin Jones to discuss how treasury teams can make AI useful without getting overwhelmed. For Mr. Morrison, the future of treasury starts with consolidating information in tools like SAP Central Finance, a system that consolidates financial data from multiple enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems into a single platform. From there, the focus shifts to how the data is used.Across SLB, teams have built dashboards in Microsoft’s Power BI, often referred to internally as PBIs, to visualize cash positions, exposures and other key metrics. Some are highly effective, but they are not always consistent across regions. Part of his role is identifying what works, standardizing it and scaling it, so treasury teams are working from the same data and definitions.As more processes become automated, Mr. Morrison emphasizes the need for clear ownership. That includes using frameworks like RACI (responsible, accountable, consulted and informed) to define who owns data, who validates it and how issues are escalated. Structure becomes more important as AI is layered in. If the data is inconsistent or ownership is unclear, the tools will only amplify the problem.Listen to the full episode for Mr. Morrison’s insights on how AI is reshaping treasury, where to focus now and how teams can keep pace.

January 14, 202632 min

Treasury Should Expect and Embrace Change, Not Just React to It

Moody’s Corp. Chief Treasury Officer Deepali Chawla joins NeuGroup’s Justin Jones on the Strategic Finance Lab to share how agility, curiosity and a willingness to pivot have shaped her career—and helped drive an award-winning AI transformation in treasury.Early in her career, Ms. Chawla found herself navigating both a new country and a different job in corporate finance. The experience shaped her approach to change: stay agile, stay curious and stay prepared to pivot. It’s a mindset she’s carried into senior roles across companies and continents, and one she brings today.In this episode, Ms. Chawla explains how the adaptability she honed early in her career shapes her leadership—which helped power her team to win the 2025 Treasury Management International award for Best AI Automation.“I think the two things which have got me here were my agility and the quick adaptability approach and mindset,” she says. “That shift, in terms of going with the flow, I think will still take me where I want to go in the future.”

November 5, 202525 min

Private Credit Goes Mainstream for Investment-Grade Corporates

Private credit’s rapid rise is reshaping corporate finance. Once a tool for middle-market borrowers, it’s now a mainstream funding option for investment-grade companies seeking customized, long-term capital solutions. That shift—and what it means for treasury—is the focus of our newest episode, featuring Apollo Global Management COO of Global Origination Adam Kostrinsky. Mr. Kostrinsky tells NeuGroup’s Justin Jones that many corporates are turning to Apollo for large-scale, long-duration projects—from energy transition to data centers—because the firm can “really be a long-term partner, offering differentiated financing solutions" that extend beyond the typical time horizons available in public markets.

October 1, 202541 min

For Treasury4, the AI-Driven Future of Finance Starts With Data

Artificial intelligence is everywhere in finance conversations, including at NeuGroup meetings, where members are eager to understand how the technology will shape treasury. But as Ed Barrie and Randy DeVita of Treasury4 explain to NeuGroup’s Justin Jones in this episode of the Strategic Finance Lab podcast, AI is only as good as the data behind it.Mr. Barrie, Treasury4’s co-founder and chief product officer, and Mr. DeVita, its vice president of customer success, describe how the company’s cloud-based analytics platform helps corporates transform fragmented information into structured insights that improve forecasting, reporting and reconciliation. They outline how years of banking history can be rapidly onboarded, defined and organized, creating the foundation for AI and machine learning to deliver meaningful forecasts and new visibility for treasury teams.Both emphasize that adopting AI in treasury is a journey, not a flip of a switch. With the right structure, data moves from scattered puzzle pieces to a clear picture that allows corporates to connect transactions, spot exceptions and generate insights that support better decision-making.

September 3, 202535 min

A Fintech Aiming to Make Investing Cash in Repos Easier

TreasurySpring CEO Kevin Cook joins NeuGroup Insights editor Antony Michels on the Strategic Finance Lab to discuss how his fintech is reshaping cash investing through its innovative fixed-term funds (FTFs). Born from lessons learned in the 2008 financial crisis, TreasurySpring’s platform offers institutional investors safety, diversification and simplified access to repo markets and other high-quality cash investment options.Mr. Cook explains how FTFs work, why they remove “run risk,” and how TreasurySpring has already issued more than $250 billion across 700 clients in 28 countries. He also makes the case for why corporates should consider repo as a lower-risk alternative to unsecured deposits—and how TreasurySpring reduces the barriers to entry from years to minutes.Listen to learn how technology and a new investment vehicle are giving treasury teams more options when investing corporate cash.

July 23, 202532 min

AI Accuracy: AtlasFX Model Trounces Manual FX Exposure Forecasts

Scott Bilter of AtlasFX on FX market volatility, using AI to tackle forecast problems, and what he’s hearing from Europe.Hedging currency risk effectively and the FX exposure forecasting it requires got more complicated for many treasury teams in the first half of 2025 as the U.S. dollar slumped the most in more than 50 years against a basket of other currencies. But it’s not completely clear yet how much of a price multinationals will pay for the currency market’s gyrations. In this episode, Scott Bilter, co-founder and CFO of AtlasFX, joins NeuGroup's Antony Michels to discuss how artificial intelligence is transforming FX exposure forecasting.

June 4, 202548 min

An Ideal Treasurer: Strategic Thinker, Storyteller, Data Devotee

Now more than ever, treasurers looking to build stronger teams and advance their own careers need to do far more than master core technical skills. They must be able to communicate their value, embrace change and understand how data and technology are reshaping the function.That’s one of the key messages delivered by Mike Richards, founder of the Treasury Recruitment Company, in the latest episode of NeuGroup’s Strategic Finance Lab podcast. In a conversation with NeuGroup founder and CEO Joseph Neu, Mr. Richards shares lessons learned from three decades in treasury recruiting—along with tips for professionals preparing for their next step, whether or not they’re actively searching.

May 28, 202537 min

Narratives in the Numbers: A Smarter Way To Make Big Decisions

Many executives are drowning in data yet starved for insight. In this episode, risk expert Brian Hagen talks to NeuGroup Insights writer Justin Jones about how narrative framing—paired with AI—can cut through the noise and drive smarter decisions.Mr. Hagen, founder of the Decision Empowerment Institute and an adjunct professor at Cal State Fullerton, explains why even the most quantitative analyses need a story to stick. He outlines his PRO Analytics framework—problems, risks and opportunities—which helps companies structure decisions, evaluate trade-offs and prioritize projects based on ROI.He shares real-world examples: One corporate client saved millions by canceling risk mitigation efforts with negative ROI. Another restructured its insurance portfolio to better protect enterprise value—without increasing costs.Plus, learn how Mr. Hagen’s new venture, GENAIDA, uses generative AI to accelerate and enhance risk assessment—cutting weeks of work down to hours while empowering, not replacing, human judgment.

May 7, 202544 min

Treasury as a Value Creator: Laurence Tosi and Ed Barrie

This special episode of the Strategic Finance Lab features a recording of a recent NeuGroup panel featuring WestCap founder Laurence Tosi and Treasury4 co-founder Ed Barrie, moderated by NeuGroup founder and CEO Joseph Neu.The conversation explores what it means to adopt a “treasury-first mindset,” with insights from seasoned finance leaders on how treasury can evolve from a support function to a driver of enterprise value. Mr. Tosi, former CFO of Blackstone and Airbnb, explains how improved cash visibility, FX optimization and data infrastructure can help turn treasury into a value creation center. Mr. Barrie shares lessons from his time at Microsoft, Itron and Tableau and outlines the product vision behind Treasury4.Listeners will hear why WestCap chose Treasury4 as a strategic partner—and why both speakers believe treasurers are uniquely positioned to lead in a future shaped by real-time payments and embedded financial intelligence.