Let's get candid with Devika!

Devika is an Associate Engagement Manager at Kepler. She started her consulting career with us after spending a year in investment banking. Her expertise spans across growth, strategy, process re-design and customer experience. She started in our Delhi office and recently transferred to our New York office.

Q:?What made you pursue Investment Banking after your Master's degree?

A: Pursuing a Master's degree in Economics made me more resilient. The curriculum was extremely rigorous in my school and to cope with the work load I had to figure out smarter ways of working (a skill that helps me till date!) and get to the finish line with a Master’s degree!

At DSE, IB jobs were the most coveted ones! I had a strong academic background, so decided to give it a shot and got shortlisted for the interview - however, only one of the three people was going to get the internship - and I wasn’t the one. Being stubborn as I am, I reapplied - built a stronger profile, prepared better, and finally got the job, only to realize that it wasn’t something I wanted to do!

Q: What made you move out of IB and into consulting?

A: One thing that I didn’t particularly like about my work in IB was that it restricted me to a particular industry and after a point the work felt repetitive. I wanted to explore more industries - specifically, financial services and fin-techs. Separately, while some people thrive on the pressure that comes with being in investment banking, I wasn't one of them!

Q: Why specifically were you keen on Kepler? How was the transition?

A: The shift to Kepler was drastic in many aspects. I moved from a large bureaucratic bank to a boutique firm with a very start-up-like culture! A few months into the firm I was leading a client pitch end-to-end. I was responsible for the entire storyline of the deck - I conducted industry research and proposed a solution very customized to one of our clients. My research skills from IB must have definitely helped me ace the proposal because soon after, the senior partner called to congratulate me! The meritocratic culture at Kepler further motivated me to take more ownership in a fast-paced and challenging environment.

Q: How has your journey at Kepler been so far?

A: After I decided to switch from IB - Kepler seemed like the perfect fit because it offered me the opportunity to solve diverse problems for global clients and be closer to the financial services industry. At Kepler, the opportunity to travel internationally excited me. In fact, working out of the clients’ office in Miami and Shanghai gave me good taste of what it is like to work abroad! I truly believe that you can gauge a lot about the firm through the interview process. When I spoke to people at Kepler - I instantly clicked with them. The interview felt more like a conversation than a test where I was pressured to perform. Even the senior leadership at the firm were very interested to get to know me and my interests beyond work. Kepler felt like the perfect match - and it is!

Q: How did you end up moving to New York? How do you like living in NYC?

A: I had dreamt of working abroad ever since I was a child. So, when the opportunity came, I capitalized on it. Working in a dynamic city like New York was daunting but I knew that this was an essential pivot to boost my career and personal growth. By virtue of being in NY, I have access to a lot of opportunities and can build a powerful network.

6-months in, here’s my verdict - Working long hours in consulting while coping with the intense city life can be intimidating at first. In fact, I am still adjusting to the pace of life here & the constant FOMO that ensues because of everything that goes on in the city. Through this process I have become stronger - both mentally and physically and can't wait to call this city HOME.

To learn more about the work and team at Kepler Cannon, head over to our?website.