Kelly Gill

A helping hand on the path to partner

Sitting in front of a group of new hires, I ask, “Who here wants to be a leader at Deloitte?”

I get lots of blank stares, maybe some nervous laughter and just a few folks who raise their hands. And I get it. It can be hard to see that far down the road early in your Deloitte career, but it’s my goal to inspire them, and so many others throughout Deloitte, to grow their career at Deloitte. I should know—I became a Deloitte partner in 2018 at 36 years old.

When I joined Deloitte out of college, I had incredible coaches and leaders. I saw women in leadership positions, leading the way in the tax business, and I was eager to do the same. I remember, as a newer consultant, my coach was asked to lead a marketplace initiative around a new complex tax deduction that had been enacted into law. We attended client meetings together, where she explained the mechanics of the calculations, as well as the key impacts to our clients. This was just one example of a key opportunity led by a female partner that I had witnessed. These types of examples were so numerous in those early years of my career that they shaped my desire to be a leader at Deloitte.

With examples like this, and the support of teams I worked with, I never felt like I wouldn’t be a leader one day. It took hard work, lots of networking, and raising my hand for stretch assignments, but I never had to figure it out on my own. Even through pregnancy complications and my transition into motherhood, I had people =supporting me so I could grow my career, in a way that fit the new demands in my life.

Today, I’m the Chief Talent Officer for Tax in Chicago. I love that part of my job is to be a mentor and leader. I’m happy my position at Deloitte enables me to help our people so they can develop as professionals, align them with networks who can support them, and show them that becoming a leader at Deloitte is possible.

I’ll be honest, for me, this is the best career out there.