Scaling Treasury From Startup to Multinational: Insights From Zalando to Lufthansa

How do you lead treasury teams through rapid growth, market volatility, and cross-continental transitions?

In this episode, Edwin Koopmans, VP Corporate Treasury at Lufthansa Group returns to the show to share what he's learned from managing treasury at both fast-moving tech platforms and one of the world’s largest aviation groups.

In this insightful follow-up episode, Edwin Koopmans reflects on his dynamic career evolution, offering listeners a rare look into the inner workings of treasury leadership across vastly different corporate environments.

From his early days in hospitality and banking, to navigating treasury transformation at Sara Lee and scaling up operations at Zalando, Edwin shares the key moments that shaped his strategic mindset.

Now at Lufthansa, he unpacks the challenges of managing global FX risk, massive capital investments, and leading highly specialized teams.

What We Cover in This Episode:

• How Edwin transitioned from hospitality and banking into corporate treasury
• Lessons learned building treasury functions across Europe and North America
• Leading treasury through corporate transformations and spin-offs at Sara Lee
• Managing pension plans and financial risk during market downturns
• Taking treasury global at EVRAZ and overseeing teams of 30+ people
• What it’s like leading treasury at Zalando during hyper-growth
• The shift from Zalando to Lufthansa and adapting to a much larger scale
• How treasury at Lufthansa deals with fuel price volatility, FX, and interest rate risk
• The importance of cross-functional leadership and humility in high-expertise teams
• How technology and AI are reshaping treasury - opportunities and risks
• Edwin’s advice on managing teams with more experience than yourself
• Why senior treasury professionals need to rethink what an FTE means in the age of AI

Whether you're a seasoned treasury professional or an aspiring leader, Edwin’s journey offers practical lessons on growth, resilience, and staying future-ready in a rapidly evolving financial landscape.

You can connect with Edwin Koopmans on LinkedIn.

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