Thought Leadership — an exciting career for both Commerce/Accountancy and Arts students
BY LAVANYA MALHOTRA
Lavanya Malhotra is the Country Lead for Thought Leadership at a Big Four firm. She is pursuing a Master's Degree in Creative Writing and Literature from Harvard University. She is a Chartered Accountant, England and Wales.
Thought Leadership at a Big Four or consulting firm is a rewarding career option, whether you have studied either Commerce, Accounting, Economics, English or other Arts subjects in 12th grade. It marks the confluence of creative writing and technical industry knowledge. It is a rapidly growing field across MNCs in India, many of which offer opportunities to work closely with global colleagues in Europe, the US and Canada through frequent online meetings. This allows you to build valuable relationships that can be leveraged should you wish to move to other countries in the future.
My work involves researching for, writing, and editing publications across the variety of sectors that my company serves: Financial Services, Technology, Energy, Risk and Forensics, Sustainability, People Management etc.
I was originally an auditor, mainly for banks, before making the transition to Thought Leadership.
After qualifying as a Chartered Accountant, I embarked on a Master's degree in Creative Writing and Literature at Harvard University. We delved into the twisted worlds of Allende, Poe and Ferrante; we hurtled through the Italian Renaissance with Boccaccio, and furiously burnt the midnight oil to pen down scores of analytical essays and original pieces. Our classes featured conversations with a Pulitzer Prize winner, a Huffington Post editor, the editor of the Harvard Review, and several published authors. Master's degrees for Arts subjects at Harvard are hybrid format, which makes it possible to work and study simultaneously. The program directly benefited my professional performance by strengthening my storytelling skills.
Whether your forte is business, communication or critical thinking, a job in Thought Leadership will enable you to develop subject-matter expertise while shaping conversations on the issues that matter most to organizations and society.
— Lavanya Malhotra