Rising Stars of the Profession: Preeti Bangali

Preeti Bangali is a director at KPMG in the Finance Transformation practice. She works with clients to help design and establish leading practice business processes to support the Finance organization's strategic vision. My goal is to enable my clients to leverage technologies to drive analysis which helps achieve insightful decision making. Over the past nine years, she has led workstreams on multiple business transformation programs and gathered leadership requirements with reporting outputs and overall process design. She leads teams based out of the US, South America, Europe and Asia. She has led Robotic Process Automation (RPA) projects. She also serves as a subject matter expert for internal and external audits. Preeti has an M.S. in Information Systems from Indiana University and currently lives in Chicago.

What would you say has been the biggest factor in your success so far?

My success is rooted in three principles: (1) putting my clients first, (2) building trusted relationships with supportive mentors, and (3) learning from my mistakes and successes. With every project or challenge, I think about how I can put my clients first, what they need, what they are trying to accomplish, and how I can best serve them to achieve their vision. Then I think about which mentors could best guide me with this project and how past mistakes or successes could be instructive. Ultimately, if you put your clients first, you really can't go wrong in your career.

What do you enjoy most about your career in the consulting industry?

Every day is a new challenge. Growing up, I loved solving puzzles. In consulting, there is a new puzzle to solve every day. It may be technical, related to people management, internal, or something unexpected, but the excitement of rolling up my sleeves and working with my team to solve a challenge in the optimal way is what I still find intriguing.

What is your proudest achievement to date?

Starting at KPMG as an intern was my first experience in the American workforce. When I started, I had no network, and since then, I've built a strong network of colleagues and clients. Having grown up in another country, I felt like an outsider when I started working in consulting, and I had no safety net. Now, not only do I have that safety net, but I am able to give back and help others. Seeing those in my network achieve success, whether earning a promotion or succeeding in the industry, is rewarding. I feel proud because I know our successes are all connected. It is gratifying to play a small part in their success.

What's the best advice you've ever been given?

I was given this advice as an intern, and I share it with everyone: "Your job is to make your leaders' lives more manageable." I've carried that advice to this day and make sure I'm supporting my leaders by providing clear communication, presenting solutions, and escalating as needed. In turn, I cultivate a supportive team by building trust, encouraging team members as they grow, and helping them understand the big picture.

What does being honored as a Rising Star mean to you?

This award validates the hard work I've put into my career so far. I often find it hard to celebrate my successes because there is always another puzzle to solve and someone to help. But, ten years into my career, all the hard work and sacrifices have been worth it. And the fact that I've was nominated was very humbling and an absolute honor!