Transforming business and society

How did you get your job at Deloitte?

I grew up in Cape Town in South Africa, but I’d always dreamed of coming to London to work. Before joining Deloitte in 2019, I was working for an Investment Bank at home. When a former colleague told me there was an opening here to work on a project across London and the Netherlands, I jumped at the chance to apply! I was a strong candidate because of my technical background coupled with my ability to speak Afrikaans, which means I can understand elements of Dutch. After landing the role I moved across and began exploring the city, which I’ve really enjoyed.

What does your role involve?

I’m a Manager in the Debt and Capital Advisory team, which is part of Performance Improvement in Financial Advisory. Primarily, I work with financial sponsors, helping them secure financing to support their investments. My role is all about understanding their business needs, finding the most appropriate lenders and working out the best way to solve pain points when navigating these major transactions. I’ve always really enjoyed helping people to solve complex problems - that’s why I enjoy the role so much. The businesses I work with also have an impact on society, and I enjoy knowing that by helping them, I’m also contributing to the bigger picture.

When did you join Deloitte and what’s your role?

I joined Deloitte in November 2015 to be part of the Client Feedback team, but my role has evolved since then. My background is in client experience, but I moved into Financial Advisory four years ago, where I’m an Inclusion Lead. My role is to support the firm’s wider inclusion ambition and to drive forward our strategy on inclusion within Financial Advisory, which includes shaping the inclusion strategy and vision. I look at ways to be more inclusive across all aspects of business, from tackling unconscious bias and barriers in the recruitment process through to the way performance management reviews work and much more. One of the things I’ve been involved with is the development of the Black Action Plan, which was launched in 2020. As part of this we are working to increase the number of people of all grades, and especially senior people, from Black and ethnic minority backgrounds at Deloitte, to increase representation in leadership and to better reflect society.

How is Deloitte leading the way in your field?

Deloitte is seen as a leader in the Technology industry for Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) advisory. The Financial Due Diligence Tech team has been involved in all the biggest M&A transactions during recent years and has built a ‘trusted advisor’ reputation amongst clients. With the help of an established data analytics team, Deloitte has been a leader in integrating innovative solutions in M&A advisory.

And it’s a fascinating learning experience to part of an industry that’s going through a transitory period - I think that in the next five years we’ll see technology companies transition into service-based platforms.

Can you tell us a bit about what you do? What do you enjoy most?

I use the analytical and project management skills I built up in my engineering days to support clients in solving their real estate problems. My work is incredibly diverse and varied, as are the clients I support. We have amazing links with public sector clients as well as the private sector and I enjoy both sides of that. I’m often dealing with a range of issues at one time and defining the problem as we go which can be challenging. But I’ve found that through discussions with more senior team members, I’m able to priorities the issues and put my focus where it’s most needed.

I really enjoy working with a range of stakeholders, building relationships and working as a team. But I get the most joy from working through a problem and seeing the difference that I’ve made for our client. It gives me a real sense of purpose.

What attracted you to Deloitte?

Deloitte appeals to me for several reasons, but diversity and inclusion was the biggest one. When I looked up the partners in Financial Advisory, I was pleasantly surprised to see others like me, a woman of Indian origin, in high-profile positions. I’d really like to see diversity increase in the coming years, so there are even more role models for people to look up to.

How do you explain your work to others?

I tell my friends and family that I am an IT Architect. Just like a building architect creates blueprints for buildings, I create blueprints for software systems. My office specialises in Digital Forensics and Financial Crime Advisory, meaning we develop technology solutions to prevent financial-crime and protect clients.