We are so excited to feature Denzel Eriz Y. dela Cruz as our September 2025 Employee Spotlight. Read below to discover more about Denzel, his professional journey, and what makes him successful.

Employee Name: Denzel Eriz Y. dela Cruz

Location: Manila, Philippines

Job Title: Senior Software Engineer

Length of time at GTreasury: 2 years and 2 months

What do you believe are your key strengths?

Across all the organizations I’ve worked with, two traits have remained constant: grit and resilience. I am known for keeping my head down and pushing through tasks of any difficulty, even in challenging or uncertain circumstances. When others might give up, I keep going.

I’m also deeply passionate about my work and I constantly look for ways to improve, whether in engineering, leadership, or communication. I make it a point to grow continuously and become a better engineer every day.

How do you keep track of the things you need to do?

I regularly audit my priorities on both a weekly and daily basis, which helps me manage my time effectively. This way, I know where to invest most of my energy and how to fit smaller tasks around bigger priorities.

I stay on top of my email, Teams chat, dashboards, calendar, and apps to keep myself updated. I also organize my to-do list at least once a day, sometimes every hour, to adapt to shifting team priorities. You’ll see me at one moment I might be doing my sprint work item, and after an hour or two you might see me tackling a super urgent task. The key is staying hyper-aware of what matters most at any given time.

What makes you happy in a job?

It brings me joy when I can showcase my abilities and know that my work has made a tangible impact, may it be on our product, our clients, or at my team.

I also find satisfaction in making my teammates’ lives a little easier, whether that’s helping them with a task, improving tickets during refinement, or answering their question

Why do you feel you have work/life balance? Do you have any tips/tricks for others to improve their work/life balance?

I think work/life balance is subjective and depends on each person’s priorities and goals. For some, it’s logging off on time and jumping straight into their hobbies. For others, it’s putting in long, focused hours during the week (sometimes even weekends) and then enjoying fun activities sporadically. I fall more into the latter group. I enjoy immersing myself with work on weekdays, then unwinding with the occasional vacation or even just taking days off to do absolutely nothing.

For me, balance means being able to do meaningful work while still having space for important things outside of it, like spending time with family, without one completely overshadowing the other. I like to think I manage to reach that state every now and then.

Think about a good manager you’ve had. What did they do that made them a good manager?

The best managers I’ve had were people who had been in my shoes as an engineer. They understood the challenges because they had faced them too, and that made their empathy feel real. When they gave feedback, you could tell it came from genuine experience, not just theory.

And yes, these good managers that I am speaking of? They were all servant leaders, serving both the business and the team. They showed kindness, were quick to jump in and help, and often took on the tasks no one else wanted. They were the glue that kept the team together and running smoothly, which gave us the space to perform at our best and be recognized for it.

What do you like about the work environment or culture here?

I think the environment here has a good balance of pressure and fun. There is pressure in the sense that we are expected to deliver since we are still a business, but the people make it enjoyable. The connections I have built, not just within my team in Phoenix but across the company, have made a big difference in my work. Even a tense SEV call can feel lighter when there is a bit of friendly banter in between.

Who are some of your biggest inspirations at GTreasury?

My team in Phoenix and in FI are my biggest inspirations here at GTreasury. From my managers, Joseph and Jermy to my fellow engineers Jane, Sejal, Jeff, Phil, and our PO, Richard. They push me to be a better engineer and leader. I’m always trying to catch up to them because of how smart and capable they are, and that makes me want to show up each day better than the me from the day before.

Outside the FI team, I would also include Ciaran. He gets to work on the latest technology and apply that on cool new features. I aspire to be at his level someday.

How have you grown professionally at GTreasury?

When I joined GTreasury, I was eager to learn our domain of treasury and finance, contribute to the FI team, and make an immediate impact. A few months in, I had the opportunity to lead the previous iteration of the Phoenix team, which included five engineers and three QAs. I can say that the time I have spent with this team was truly transformational. I was exposed to responsibilities I had never taken on before, and the process of learning how to lead gave me a level of confidence I didn’t know I had.

Today, I still lead the team as Scrum Master, helping organize our sprints and making sure we deliver on time.

What’s the best advice you can give to someone who just started their career?

You must be very clear about who you want to be and what you want your career to look like. Yes, it’s good to aim for a position or a specific salary after x number of years. But in the process of aiming for that position or salary, ask yourself what type of person or engineer do you want to be? That vision will be your North Star. Because I guarantee you in chasing your numerous goals, in one way or another, you will feel lost and overwhelmed. But you have that North Star to go back to if you get lost.

Also with the recent developments in technology with the advent of AI, and how our apps are getting smarter, we suddenly developed the itch for instant gratification. If you want a long and fulfilling career, you have to put your head down and really immerse in your work. That’s how you build grit, and grit is something we need now more than ever.

What’s something you are passionate about outside of the workplace?

There are 4 things I truly love outside of work right now: Music, food, reading, and running (Sorted in their level of importance in my life). I have always loved music and food. These are the two of my biggest stress busters. I used to perform in the streets as a busker where I sing while playing the guitar and people will give me voluntary donations because they loved what they heard. ;) And I love to have a great meal occasionally, when I check out new food spots near my area to dine into or new restaurants in my food delivery app for takeout. I also read books, but I mostly dabble on Japanese visual novels, or mangas. (I believe One Piece is the greatest manga ever, and it’s not even finished yet!) And I recently got into running and it’s a physical activity that I don’t plan on quitting anytime soon.

GTreasury provides CFOs and Treasurers with The Clarity to Act on strategic financial decisions with the world’s most adaptable treasury platform, empowering them to face and conquer the challenges of today and tomorrow. Because each company faces different points of complexity and needs, our industry-leading solutions are purposefully designed to support every stage of treasury complexity, from Cash Visibility and Forecasting to Payments, Risk, Debt, Investments and Netting. With GTreasury, financial leaders gain comprehensive connectivity across all banks and ERPs to build an orchestrated data environment, enabling rapid value realization with implementations up and running in weeks. Plus, our unmatched industry expertise ensures your continued success through dedicated guidance and top-tier support. 

Trusted by over 1,000 customers across 160 countries, GTreasury provides treasury and finance teams with the ability to connect, compile, and manage mission-critical data to optimize cash flows and capital structures. To learn more, visit GTreasury.com.

GTreasury is headquartered in Chicago, with locations serving EMEA (Dublin and London) and APAC (Sydney and Singapore).