“DREAMZZ UNLIMITED”:STORIES THAT INSPIRE
Mantra of my life:
Build a foundation Grow Sustain Repeat
Before I walk you through my journey of climbing, let me first take you back to my journey of reaching base camp.
Jan 2006, I cleared my CA PE II securing rank 7th In India. Naturally my inclination was to get into one of the BIG 4 for my articleship and accordingly I was invited for the interview. Was given a topic for a group discussion, “Cricket”, boom, bold on first ball!, Why? Forget about talking about a sport of which I had no idea, I didn’t even have a working TV at my home to even see a glimpse of this sport. Of course, I wasn’t rejected, but they didn’t have enough ground to select me either as others did better than keeping mum. Failure? not really, joined a nice midsized firm, spent 3 months and then I got a call from PWC. Well yes I was hired as this time the topic was manageable 🙂
Journey started, corporate environment, meeting and dealing with even bigger corporate clients, working under the shadow of a smart bunch of team members and amazingly intelligent managers, life took direction for the perfect grooming. Let me take a pause and salute all those great people who gave me a strong foundation and grooming for the next stage of my life.
Day of my CA final result – July 12, 2008, my hubby (then best friend) woke me up and told me that sadly I couldn’t progress much from the last time and again ended up securing 7th Rank only. At the cost of sounding overly humble, I had absolutely no regard for the rank but the potential of being rewarded with a promotion with a decent financial prospect turned my world, yes I needed it badly!
I continued my journey with PWC for another year and having served unforgettable 4 years, I moved to the Industry and Joined Essar Group. Luck was in my favour and I was entrusted with an opportunity to be the part of the team responsible for installing the system for the implementation of IFRS, which was patented for being first of its kind. Spent 2 years full of knowledge, guidance and an even stronger base to push myself for more.
May 2012, got a call from Tata Motors Finance Limited. The brand “Tata” needed no introduction of what it stands for and I would be lying if I say I wasn’t nervous. Came for an interview, had a couple of rounds of discussion and got a call from HR. Yes, I was being hired as a subject matter expert – IFRS as a Senior manager. Phew!!
To be honest, It was tough to start off to establish my identity as IFRS in India was still a distant thought and although I was treated with the right level of respect, my profile had its own limitations. To thrive in an environment that didn’t really see much change in a long time was an arduous task.
6 months back I was told by our CEO that I’m being considered for the role of CFO and I had no freaking idea where that came from. For me more than capability to perform the role, it was all about an element of depth of responsibility of being a CFO of a regulated entity with book size of ~5 Bn $. Yes I had exposure and experience of 13 years but I still was 34 and had never dreamt of being considered for the elevation so fast. I pinched myself, filled myself with all the questions?
Is it a dream?
What is I fail?
Do I have enough in me to justify the role?
When I look back, I realise one thing, all that one ever has to focus on is in being excellent in whatever one does, rest all will fall in place. Of course, it wouldn’t have been possible without having the right people giving me valuable direction and I can thank all those amazing people and my wonderful team who made me strong every single day that passed by in this journey and continuing further.