Alumni speak
Your success lies within you
Our alum Pawan Tayla currently serves as the Chief Financial Officer of Publicis Sapient and was a part of the firm from 1992 to 1995. Pawan is a self-motivated learner who believes in giving hundred percent to everything that he takes up. He is an outstanding Finance professional and a genuine human being at heart.
Read along to know what drives him to be the best version of himself.
- You are what you make of yourself
- Yes! I love Mondays
- Be a jack of all trades
- There’s always a second chance
- Keep your critics closer
- Working at the firm was a game changer
- Always thankful to my family
You are what you make of yourself
I firmly believe that all good things in life begin with confidence in self. Building self-confidence is incremental and one step at a time goes a long way. Always keep an open mind and absorb as much learning from your environment as possible. The more you learn, the more confident you become. Integrity in thoughts and actions is another key driver that defines my happiness. You must learn to take accountability of your own happiness and should learn to live in the moment.
On the professional front, I have always been a steady learner, taking up new work and constantly increasing my areas of responsibility. This has not only helped me grow into a seasoned professional but has also allowed me to support and nurture the talent around me.
Yes! I love Mondays
While most would disagree, I do love Mondays. Even more than rest of the weekdays! Mondays bring a new set of challenges to me which I like to view as opportunities. If you are not excited to go to office on Monday, you are either in the wrong profession or a wrong place. The beauty of today’s time is that you are exposed to a plethora of career opportunities. Do a thorough self-analysis, be true to yourself, identify the right channels of information and find out what you are most passionate about. If you set your goals clearly and have a robust understanding of what value your role adds to the organisation, you will never be disappointed.
Be a jack of all trades
Today’s fast paced professional environment demands a skillset that transcends boundaries of your regular job. I cannot emphasise enough on the need to experiment and work across industries to adopt understanding of different work functions and soft skills that enable you to stand apart. I personally started my career as an accountant, moved to controllership, added tax expertise to my portfolio and also went into Business Finance and Analytics. All these roles have helped me to do better justice to my role as a CFO today.
There’s always a second chance
I once lost my job during the recession of 2008. People would generally take it as a roadblock in their career. It was at this juncture that I could actually gather the courage to move beyond the comfort of a well-paying job and start something of my own. This is the time when my company called CFO4YOU was born that provided virtual CFO services to PE funded companies aspiring to go big. Though the venture didn’t scale up, it did leave me with a rich variety of experience.
Keep your critics closer
Academically, I was an average student and was often subject to criticism of close relatives and teachers. I never took this criticism to heart. In fact, I always took this as a way to motivate myself and strive to be better everyday. I was strong-willed to prove them wrong and where I stand today only adds to my self-confidence.
Working at the firm was a game changer
Born and brought up in old Delhi, I come from a family of businessmen. The firm was my window to the corporate world and gave me some extraordinary opportunities to go around the world, learn about various industries and sectors, contribute to diverse professional areas and most importantly working and collaborating with some of the most learned seniors, colleagues and clients. It is overwhelming to fathom that I left the firm 23 years ago but still feel a part of the family and take immense pride in my association with it.
Always thankful to my family
It’s no surprise that my family plays a huge role in my life. Our small family has my loving mom, extremely supportive wife Kanika and my two sons Sarthak and Keshav. It is because of their support that I am able to do what I do. Over the years, my wife and I have found a common purpose of spreading happiness and as a part of the NGO ‘Art of Living’, we do our bit to help people live a happy, content and compassionate life. In addition, I am a big music aficionado and also love travelling and animal photography.
