Jennifer Jeremiah, CTP

I Fell Into This Path — And I’m So Thankful I Did

In 2007, Jennifer Jeremiah walked through the doors of Constellation Energy in Baltimore, and her career in treasury began. She had just completed her bachelor’s degree in business management with a minor in accounting, and had fully intended to take a job in that field.

“I’d not even heard of a profession in treasury until I saw the treasury analyst position online. Instantly it clicked that it aligned with my educational background,” said Jennifer, who today holds the position of Treasury Director with Workwear Outfitters LLC.

“You could say I sort of fell into this path — and I’m so thankful I did.”

Treasury Provides a Front-Row Seat to How a Business is Financed and Run

Being immersed in corporate treasury is like having a front-row seat to how corporations finance and run a business. All business activities are either a source of or drain on cash. “Not many get to see the full picture,” said Jennifer.

A thirst for knowledge and connection is part of that equation. In addition to visibility, the treasury profession provides valuable opportunities to network and build business relationships — and continuously learn. “I am naturally curious at heart, so I love having the opportunity to learn and grow both professionally and personally,” she said.

In any economic climate, the financial status of a business is subject to change; it’s simply a given in business. It also makes treasury an exciting career as no one day looks like the next, even with the routine tasks treasury professionals perform. Given the need for agility, Jennifer advised that only those who love to “troubleshoot and solve problems on the fly” enter into it.

Show Them You’re Hungry for the Opportunity

Jennifer has been in her current position as treasury director for four years, but the opportunity didn’t just fall in her lap. She attributes her rise in the treasury profession to a strong work ethic and devoting the time necessary to learning the craft. For example, early on in her career, she managed cash across the globe, so there were early morning calls as well as late-night calls she had to be on.

“Yes, a work-life balance is important, but particularly when I was starting out, it was always a priority for me to show up, be accountable and continuously learn.”

Having a “phenomenal mentor and treasury leader” at the beginning of her treasury career was another key aspect of her career success. This person is dedicated to the professional development of her entire team, something Jennifer both noted and admired. “I knew I wanted to work for her after the first interview, and to this day I strive to pay it forward to my employees by developing them in the same light.”

Ultimately, when it comes to advancement in the treasury profession (or any profession), Jennifer advised, you have to really want it. “I believe the opportunity came because it was evident I was hungry for it,” she said.

Stay Organized, Calm and Focused

“To be a treasury professional, you have to be okay pivoting and managing multiple priorities at once — which means staying organized, staying calm and staying focused,” said Jennifer.

Three core aspects of her job that require organization, calm and focus are: daily cash positioning, debt and credit facility management and cash flow forecasting. She has to coordinate with nearly every department at Workwear Outfitters, ensuring an understanding of her internal stakeholders and that a continuous and open dialogue is maintained regarding their cash needs.

One of the hardest components of Jennifer’s job is modeling a cash forecast because, due to the uncertainty of today’s economic forecast, it may not be as reliable as the historical patterns on which it’s based. While one could deduce many factors contributing to its lesser reliability, “In today's environment, tariffs are a big component of cash uncertainty,” she said.

As a result, conservatively managing uncertainty and liquidity planning is top of mind for Jennifer and her team. When it comes to a favored approach, Jennifer said she always looks first at the worst-case scenario, and strategizes from there.

Given the status of today’s treasury, it isn’t the core skills Jennifer looks for when hiring for her team. “When hiring for treasury, great communication skills are a must,” she said.

She Built the Team From Scratch

Workwear Outfitters was purchased in 2021 as a carve-out from a larger corporation — and the inclusion of treasury personnel was not part of the deal. So, Jennifer moved from Baltimore to Nashville to build a treasury team from scratch, including all new bank relationships, TMS infrastructure, policies and strategies.

“Moving to Nashville wasn’t just a career move; it was a commitment to building a top-tier treasury function from the ground up,” she said. “New banks, new systems, new people — it was one of the most demanding and rewarding chapters of my career.”

Shared Knowledge is a Two-Way Street

In order to broaden her skill set in corporate finance, Jennifer intends to look for opportunities where she can take a deeper dive into other functions — those that align with treasury, but are not core treasury functions — within the organization. This includes gathering insight from the accounting department and the tasks it performs such as AP and AR.

Additionally, Jennifer envisions further sharing her expertise through a treasury advisory position on a board of directors, consulting on a part-time basis through organic network connections and/or treasury career planning via university partnerships or upskilling initiatives.

“It’s a relatively unknown, untaught field, and the challenge I’d particularly enjoy focusing on is educating others as to what treasury does, how to build successful liquidity management frameworks and the strategic value this field brings to an organization,” she said.

I Wanted to Be a Best-in-Class Professional

“When I took the CTP in 2018, I did so simply because it made sense,” said Jennifer. “I knew I was in this career for the long haul, and I wanted to be a best-in-class professional.”

Jennifer was at a point in her career where she knew her experience would go a long way toward preparing her for the Certified Treasury Professional (CTP) exam. But to solidify her success, she also chose to make flashcards from the Essentials of Treasury Management book, knowing that repetition is her preferred way of learning.

What has come from her attainment of the CTP credential is speaking engagements, opportunities for high-value networking, and a career opportunity that allowed her to build her own treasury department from the bottom up.

The answer to whether or not Jennifer would recommend the CTP to others was a resounding, “Yes, of course!” In particular, she recommends it to anyone who desires long-term growth in the field.

Are you ready to solidify your place as a “best-in-class professional” in the field of treasury? Learn more about the process of attaining the CTP credential now.