Michelle Scheer, vice president for finance at ThomsonReuters, is at home in the matrix. “Thomson Reuters has a matrixstyle of management,” she explains. “Instead of being organizedinto divisions, all with their own finance departments, we havefive different product lines and five heads of those product lines,but we also have functional leaders, like myself, who manage thingsacross all the product lines.”

This style of organization can make things challenging, Scheersays, but she calls that a good thing, because it means she andother functional leaders are always trying to manage all theproduct lines and “looking to see where the growth areas are.”

“That's part of my role, coming up with those priorities, andputting funding in place to drive those priorities,” she says.

Scheer, 38, joined Thomson Reuters in 2009 after working in thetreasurer's office at General Motors, where her positions includeddirector of business development and director of worldwide pensionfunding and analysis.

As assistant treasurer at Thomson Reuters, she led a projectdesigned to model the company's foreign exchange risk and devise aforex hedging program, a project that won an Alexander HamiltonGold Award in financial risk management in 2010. While the projectitself has “little application” to her current job, Scheer says theprocess of building and heading the team for that project gave herexperience and skills that do carry over.

How has ithelped?
That treasury project was a comprehensiveforex strategy, which we needed because Thomson had just boughtReuters. So we were suddenly a global company and needed to developa hedge program to deal with forex risk.

Doing that meant trying to manage a project that involved a lotof teamwork across the company. And it turns out that managing in amatrix is a lot like managing a project. Everyone has their owngoals, and yet you need to win their cooperation.

What is the biggest challenge in your financeposition?
Trying to make everyone understand thegoals of what we're trying to accomplish so everything gets done.All the product line heads have their goals, and we functionalleaders have our goals. I have to get buy-in from the product lineheads. Global growth is what we're focusing on now, so we need tomake sure we provide product development and product managementwith the resources they need. In the current economic environment,it's more important than ever to have a strong finance operation,to focus on key growth areas and on efficiency, and to reallysupport a lean business. Corporate finance is more important nowthan ever.

What do you like best about this job?
Ireally love being closely involved in the business operation side.I love being part of such a talented and motivated business team.It's exciting!

Is there adownside?
Yes. Implementing expense controls. I don'tenjoy telling people they can't spend money on an initiative thaton its own might make sense. This company has grown throughacquisitions, and people come up with good ideas all the time. Partof my role is to have the company focus on things that make themost sense, and sometimes I just have to say no.

What helped you get your career on the fasttrack?
It really hasn't been any one thing. I havealways tried to do my best in every role I've had. Over time, thatgets noticed. I have also definitely benefitted from havingsponsors who have given me stretch opportunities. My currentposition is an example of that. Before this, I've been incorporate-level positions, and I've been interested in moving intoa more operational role in the company. I was made aware of thisposition, and had a sponsor who encouraged me to take it on.

Are you referring to mentors?
Yes, kindof. In this case it was David Shaw, senior vice president forfinance at Thomson Reuters. I had first worked with him when I wasan analyst. That was even before business school, when I was withGeneral Motors. He got me interested in Thomson Reuters, and I cameand worked for him here. He was treasurer at the time. That was abuilt-in support, and you need that kind of a safety net when youmove to a new company. Having someone like that who can provideadvice and career support is important. You get that kind of arelationship by doing a good job and getting noticed. He also wasinstrumental in getting me to move into my current position.

Do you do mentoring yourself?
Yes, butmore informally. We also recently started a more formal mentoringprogram here in finance, and I'm involved with that.

What advice do you have for young people interested incorporate finance?
Try and find a way to partner withthe company. Sometimes it's easy to think of corporate finance assomething separate from the business activity of a company, butit's really possible to see it as closer to or even part ofoperations.

Are there any areas of finance that offer moreopportunity?
There is no ideal path. Each company hasits own growth areas. One that does come to mind is financialplanning and analysis. Taking a role there, especially early inyour career, can help you hone your technical skills and at thesame time gives you a lot of knowledge about the businessoperations side.

Are there skills that you are still trying toimprove?
Oh yes. I have very strong technical andanalytical skills, but over time you transition from being a doerto being a leader. So being able to motivate employees and todevelop a great team is important. That's leadership skills,particularly around the idea of motivating people.

For the complete 2012 30 Under 40 list, see Ascending the Corporate Ladder. For last year's list,see Readyto Take Charge.