The 2017 Women Leaders in Consulting: Lata Varghese

Lata Varghese is a Cognizant Assistant Vice President who leads the company's cross-industry Blockchain and Distributed Ledger Practice. In this role, she oversees the practice's efforts in providing business and technology consulting and implementation services related to the blockchain and distributed ledger suite of transformative technologies.

She has over 20 years of consulting and technology service expertise in the banking and financial services industry and brings wide and varied experience across multiple geographies and services.

"I have transitioned through various roles while advancing my career at Cognizant," she says. "My current role is in providing leadership to our transformative Blockchain and Distributed Ledger technologies practice with specific focus on business consulting and go-to-market strategies involving partnerships, thought leadership creation and being the firm's public face at key industry events."

In her current role around this transformative digital technology, she says enjoys the process of engaging deeply with clients to understand their problems and help them navigate, and apply context to, this potential disruption. "I lead the group that provides clients with advice on what strategies they can deploy, executes scenario planning and implements the best solutions based on client strategies," Varghese says. "I love interacting with clients; I thrive in a client facing role and being consultative to clients, business partners, and associates.  Collaborating with internal groups to continuously serve our clients better has been a common tenet to all of the roles I've held throughout my career."

Varghese says she takes pride in her ability to forge trusting relationships with those clients. "Clients like to come to me for unbiased advice and place a high degree of trust in my recommendations, which they know will always put them in the center without any hidden, self-serving agenda," she says. "I really like this aspect of my work and when C-suite executives say to me, 'thanks for telling us what we need to hear, not what we want to hear' that is validation that Cognizant, along with myself, are seen as a trusted advisor by our clients."

As far as winning the Women Leaders in Consulting award, Varghese says she's very honored to be recognized among such a talented group of individuals. "For someone who has not spent her entire career in consulting, it is a rewarding validation that there are many paths to one's success," she says. "As a consultant, what is most important, is the success of our clients as, ultimately, we are in the market to solve client problems and develop solutions to make them successful."

Consulting: What advice would you give to a female consultant just beginning her career?

Varghese: "Technology is changing entire industries and uprooting business models. It is important to evaluate and do some scenario planning on what the rapid pace of change might mean for your career. Those beginning their career should think about where they are and where they want to be and develop a plan. It's important to take advantage of the rich information readily available today, tap into one's network and reach out to established professionals to get their perspective so you can benefit from their foresight."