Ten years is a long time in treasury. But Raffi Basmadjian, France Telecom's head of group cash management and treasury IT, is nearing completion of a plan he devised over a decade ago to overhaul the company's cash management and treasury structures. “I drew up a target design 10 years ago and I'm sticking to it, basically,” he says.

Basmadjian's association with France Telecom dates back more than 20 years. He joined the company upon leaving university in 1991, also the year in which France Telecom became a state-owned company, having previously been part of the French Telecommunications Ministry. This marked the beginning of its privatization (the French state now owns only 26% of the shares), as well as the internationalization of the company, which currently has a presence in 94 countries, including strong positions in the U.K., Spain and Romania.

As Basmadjian points out, it was essential for the treasury to keep up with this international expansion. “Obviously you don't manage a domestic-only company in the same way that you manage a multinational company.” As a result, France Telecom has continuously taken advantage of the latest treasury technology available, ranging from payment factories to SWIFT for corporates.