Faces of Deloitte Advisory: Why we do what we do

Meet Kevin Wijayawickrama

Faces of Deloitte Advisory is a series of true stories that explore the personal history of our practitioners, highlighting key experiences that defined their values and explaining why they do what they do. In our first story, Kevin discusses how early influences and a difficult childhood led him on a path to help clients manage adversity.

“The more challenges I face, the more I fight back.”

I’ve always felt as though I was borne from the street. I grew up in an urban area of Sri Lanka, an only child. When I was two, my parents divorced and left me to live with my grandparents. In our humble home, there was no nurturing or affection. No one guided me to dream big. But as it turns out, even a skinny kid from a small country can grow up to be whoever he wants to be with the power of persistence, resilience, and the support of real friends and family.

Fresh start gone bad

In my late teens, I moved to the United States to live with my estranged mother and her new husband. I was looking forward to getting to know my mother again, but her husband was unwelcoming. I soon found myself alone in a strange place. I was a scared, 115-pound skinny, Sri Lankan immigrant with no money, no ego. I got a job as a security guard in a gang-ridden, dangerous apartment complex, working the night shift. I was absolutely terrified each and every night. It was perhaps the lowest point in my life.

Turning things around

Hitting that low point made me realize that I was a fighter. Somehow, I gathered my inner strength, determined to turn things around. That’s when I went back to school and started interviewing for internships. To be honest, I have no idea how I got a job at Deloitte. I felt so unqualified, I had no self-esteem, but I wanted it so badly. The people who interviewed me saw something special and offered me the job. These same folks were the ones who helped me make it to partner several years later.

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Paying it forward

Throughout my career, I’ve had incredible support from my mentors, telling me to never give up, to keep going through the tough times, to believe in myself. Their candor and honesty made me stronger, faster, and accelerated my career. When I doubted myself, which was quite often, they were always there with an inspiring pep talk. “Just go out there and fight. Play your game,” they used to say. Over the years, I was able to shift my mindset. I started to model the behavior of my mentors while developing my own unique style. Supporting my team members and making them successful is core to who I am. I want to pay forward the same level of support that was given to me.

Putting a risk-oriented mindset to work for others

As a child, I was always worried. Where am I going to live tomorrow? Am I going to have a roof over my head? How am I going to get food? Through my hardships, I’ve learned the strength of having a high AQ (adversity quotient). That constant anxiety still drives me and how I approach my clients’ challenges. The more challenges I face, the more I fight back. I get focused to overcome them.

Most clients don’t think of their role, their career, or their life from the angle of anticipating risks or identifying potential weaknesses. They’re focused on their mission—providing the best health care they can to their patients. So I find myself looking around the corner to help them see the bigger picture. How can they keep their patients’ data safe? What strategies can they employ to avoid risk, and what should they do when faced with a crisis? My risk-averse perspective brings these issues to mind naturally, so I thrive in this environment. I’m always representing the interests of my clients, looking out for their success, because no one really did that for me until I joined Deloitte.

Through the years, I’ve built many close personal relationships with my clients. These relationships are incredibly important to me. So when I sense that someone is unhappy in their position, I want to help them make a positive change. For example, 10 years ago, one of my clients was a VP of finance who wanted so badly to become CFO, and he came to me for advice. Throughout his career, he had been hyper-focused on his work in finance, so he was looking to build his leadership skills. I advised him to step out of his comfort zone and get involved in strategic decisions, to make an impact by doing something unexpected. He took my advice and put himself out there. All of that work paid off when he landed the CFO role. Eventually he built his way to CEO, and we conducted a Transition Lab to help him thrive. Playing a role in helping my clients grow and succeed really energizes me, as I feel I’m giving back to a community that encouraged me to shine.

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At home, with my wife and four kids, I’m the same way. I want to support them and empower them to push through obstacles. When my 12-year-old falls off her bike, I tell her, “You are strong! Get back on the bike because you can do it!” I want her to grow up strong and confident so that she can do anything, because I truly believe anyone can.

Everyone says I’m always happy and optimistic. They can’t believe when I say I’ve never had one bad day at Deloitte over the past 22 years! But I honestly haven’t, because I surround myself with people and clients who I like to work with and who I want to help. This makes me happy and it makes me thrive. I consider myself blessed to be where I am today. My childhood gave me a true appreciation for people who care about me and support me. I think anybody can accomplish anything, and I’m proud to practice that belief every day at home with my family and at work with my colleagues and clients.

Get in touch

Kevin Wijayawickrama

PPMD Talent Leader | Deloitte & Touche LLP

Kevin is a Lead Client Service principal and a Senior Advisory marketplace leader in the Health care industry. He also serves as the executive sponsor of Deloitte’s Leadership Development Program for the firm’s partners, principals, and affecting the development of the firm’s top leaders.

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