The 2020 Rising Stars of the Profession: Neha Lnu

Neha Lnu is a Senior Consultant in Cognizant's Banking and Financial Services practice.  She has more than nine years of global consulting experience in geographies including India, Singapore and the U.S. 

"The consulting career always intrigued me because of the vast global and varied opportunities of problem solving it offers," Lnu says. "In consulting, you can be very sure that no two days are the same. The sheer nimbleness it demands along with the need to keep oneself abreast with industry leading trends always fascinated me and motivated me to pursue a career in consulting." 

In her current role, Lnu is consulting with one of the top three North American banks on its Digital journey by leading the modernization of its Core Banking platform to Microservices and Cloud, using Domain Driven Design principles. This program is helping the bank attain better alignment of its business strategy and objectives, reducing operational risk and enhancing technological relevance by making the platform more nimble and future proofed.

Lnu is a BIAN (Banking Industry Architecture Network) certified consultant and is passionate about evolving Coreless Banking consulting capabilities and solution offerings using Domain Driven Design.

Through her consulting stints across U.S., Singapore and India, she has played roles in driving complex digital transformation programs for top global banks. "It gives me immense pride to be a part of these success stories, which resulted in significant business benefits for the banks and helped them remain relevant in the ever-changing digital world," Lnu says. 

"Consulting roles are demanding. From early on in your consulting career, one is required to work with the brightest minds in the industry and shape the future of leading firms by working closely with senior executives and decision makers," Lnu says. "I believe there is still a long way to go before I am truly considered successful."

She says winning this award validates her career choice and helps her realize that this would not have happened without support from Cognizant leadership, exceptional clients, colleagues and family. "I owe this recognition to my leaders who have consistently selected me for marquee programs and continuously encouraged me to hone my consulting skills," she says.

Q&A: What's the best advice—personal or professional—you've ever received? 

Lnu: "One of the best pieces of advice that I received early in my career was to always speak my mind irrespective of the setup. Not everyone is an extrovert but putting forth your ideas without hesitation not only helps you but your clients in problem discovery and solution design processes."