At $4.4 billion NII, which markets wirelesscommunications in Latin America, Daniel Freiman has to managetreasury operations across different countries, cultures and timezones. “Coordinating things so they are all aligned is achallenge,” Freiman says. “For example, a focus lately is fundingour Brazilian operation, so we have to make sure we know who issteering and who is in the passenger seat. We drive the strategyhere at home, but in executing some of the tactical issues, thelocal office takes the lead.

The physical separation from his team can be difficult, he adds.“There can be a lot of barriers to communication, includinglanguage. I end up doing a lot of traveling. Face-to-face meetingsare important.”

Cultural differences also play a role, “not just between theU.S. and Latin American countries, but among the Latin Americancountries,” Freiman adds. “We all have the same goals, but how wego about getting there is different,” he says. “Here in the U.S.,we like to move fast. But in Brazil, for instance, people are veryfocused. They can analyze and look at things for a long time beforemaking a decision. Whereas in Mexico, people are willing to workfaster and make decisions from their gut.”

Freiman, 38, became NII's treasurer in 2008 after serving as itscontroller. He started his career at PricewaterhouseCoopers. He hasa B.S. in accounting and an M.B.A. from the University ofMaryland.

How did you come to work in finance?
Istudied accounting, but even when I began my career atPricewaterhouseCoopers, where I focused on auditing public andnon-public companies, I always wanted to do more than accounting.After I came to NII, I went back and got my M.B.A. in finance. WhenI had that degree, I spent a little time in IR, and then becamecontroller, before becoming treasurer.

What has been your biggest challenge or learningexperience?
There have been several big challengesin my career. In accounting, it was going through a restatementabout five years ago, involving bookkeeping errors in our Mexicooperation and some issues in tax accounting. The stress and thecoordination in trying to fix those problems were challenging.

When I was made controller, the challenge became managingpeople. I suddenly had 50 people under me that I had to manage.

Finally, moving from controller to treasurer was a big changeand a big challenge. As controller, you're focused on technicalaccounting issues, whereas in treasury it's a lot more strategicand relationship-oriented. You are focusing on issues you haven'tgiven a lot of thought to before. After a couple of years, I feellike I've gone through the learning curve here.

What has been your most rewarding project sofar?
The financing we did last year–$1.3 billion inhigh-yield notes–was really rewarding. We did a road show, met withinvestors and completed what was a crucial funding for us. We'renow set to grow in Latin America as we go to a fully 3G platform.It was, as you know, a challenging time in U.S. markets. This was afirst for me. My short IR stint was really helpful. It helped me tounderstand the company from a macro level.

What do you like best about your job?
Ilike the fast-paced environment here. We're a growth company, whichmakes for a challenging situation.

How did you get on the career fast track?
By staying committed, dedicated and by making sacrifices, and bynot settling for less. It can be tough. Your family has to makesacrifices.

But it's also been a matter of being in the right place at theright time. And I had good leaders who pushed me and gave mechances to demonstrate what I could do.

Did you have a mentor? If so, how important wasthat?
I've had several mentors. I've really beenlucky in having mentors at every step of the way, from PWC on. Theprevious CFO at NII really took me under his wing and taught me howto be a leader, how to present to an audit committee, and so on.And the current CFO, Gokul Hemmady, has really helped me by puttingme in the treasurer position as a developmental challenge. He movedthe treasurer to the position of controller at the same time andfor the same reason–as a challenge. It was a risk for the CFO to dothat, but it's a way of building the team.

What advice would you give newbies starting out intreasury and finance now?
I try to be a mentor asmuch as I can. I've always enjoyed teaching or mentoring in somecapacity. I would say that people should take on as much as theycan and also should not be afraid of change. Develop communicationsskills–the more effective you are at communicating, the better aleader you'll be. And also be a person people can trust. Prioritizetheir needs and give people good information.

What finance area now offers the mostopportunity?
Financial planning and analysis. If youcan do that, you really can be a much more valuable player. Developyour analytical skills. I also think, perhaps because it's my ownbackground, that accounting is a great place to start. As anauditor, you learn how companies work. Also, it's pretty intensiveand you develop a professional presence.

What skills are the most sought afternow?
The skills that are important are thinkingcritically, strategically and independently, and thinking outsidethe box. Also the ability to juggle multiple tasks. In anincreasingly complex world, that invites more opportunity.

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