Karen Sloan is head of payments and cash management at HSBC Corporate Banking, Ireland. Sloan spends most of her day discussing treasury and cash management topics with both local and international colleagues, while maintaining close relationships with Irish and international clients. She says client activity is at a high at the moment as a result of the Single European Payment Area (SEPA), which she says is a unique opportunity for clients 'to re-engineer their bank account and liquidity management structures to streamline processes.'

As a senior relationship partner, and head of AIB Corporate Banking Ireland's international financial services sector, Diarmuid O'Neill has worked with corporates in a variety of sectors such as telecoms, medical device, software, food & beverage and Asia Pacific. Key to success in such a role is continuous professional development, says O'Neill, who has just graduated from the Harvard Business School Program for Leadership Development.