Business

Misericordia Executive in Residence Wayne Chau, vice president of finance and corporate treasurer of Toshiba America Inc., recently shared his experiences at the helm of the financial giant and described how the company is weathering the recession, offering local business leaders his insight on corporate finance in the new millennium.

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Participants in a Misericordia University workshop, from left, seated: Vince Benedetto, president, Bold Gold Media; Christine Stevens Slacktish, director of Financial Services Education and Outreach Projects, Misericordia University; Nadia Dailey, president, Roosevelt Capital Partners and Jujama.com; Laura Muia, director of human resources, Guard Insurance Group; and Wayne Chau, VP of finance and corporate treasurer, Toshiba America, Inc. Standing: Todd Serafin, VP, commercial loan officer, Luzerne Bank; Tom Druby, Blue Cross of NEPA; Mike Sowinski, senior VP and CFO, Landmark Community Bank; Jeffrey Laboranti, financial adviser, Merrill Lynch; Ralph Capristo, assistant branch manager, M&T Bank; Gerard Mihalick, CFA, VP, Berkshire Asset Management, Inc.; R. Clements Gover, financial adviser, Wells Fargo Advisors, LLC; and Bryan E. Boyle, CLU, ChFC, CPCU, MSFS, planning specialist, Howell Benefit Services Inc.

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In a program hosted by the Misericordia University Business Department, with support from Wall Street West, Chau detailed the chain reaction of economic events that led the global economy into the worst recession since the Depression.

He urged business managers to build crisis management into their company’s playbook, refreshing their risk policy annually.

“What we learned is that liquidity is paramount,” he said.

“At the end of the day, ‘Cash is king.’ We would have been dead if we relied on capital markets because the funding from capital markets froze.”

He recommended that corporations examine their cash conversion cycle and streamline the data exchange and cash flow process.