Laurie Zanella | Treasurer
The University of Sydney

Laurence Zanella joined the University of Sydney as their inaugural Corporate Treasurer in February 2013. His previous position was Treasurer at Seven West Media. He has extensive experience in corporate treasury management including other roles held at Seven Media Group, Foxtel and Optus. Mr Zanella holds a Bachelor of Financial Administration and Diploma of Financial Management from the University of New England. He is a Platinum member of the Australian Corporate Treasurers Association (ACTA), a Fellow of the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment (CISI) and a member of the Australian Society of Certified Practicing Accountants.

Appearances:

Day 1 @ 15:00

Fireside chat - Simplifying payment complexity in higher education

Universities manage a growing mix of payments across tuition, accommodation, research, donations and events, often across disconnected systems. This creates challenges around compliance, reporting and financial visibility.

In this session, we’ll explore why payment orchestration is becoming a critical layer in modern university finance architecture, and how centralising payments can simplify operations and improve oversight.

Hear directly from university leaders as they share their experiences, challenges and practical approaches to managing payment complexity, in a moderated discussion focused on real outcomes and insights.

Moderator: Alan Smith, Director of Xetta, Nelnet International/Xetta

Laurie Zanella, Treasurer, The University of Sydney

last published: 22/May/26 02:05 GMT

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