Meet Siraj Alimohamed, our new Senior Director in Europe, who joins us with a wealth of experience in Data and AI.
Q: What is your role at LanciaConsult? And which team are you in?
A: My role at LanciaConsult is to establish a data and AI practice that leverages the latest technologies to address our clients' complex data challenges. My focus will be on building a team that is not only technically proficient but also understands the industry domains and can help plan, build, and deploy data and AI solutions that empower clients to harness the full potential of their data assets.
Q: How long have you been a consultant? And where were you before you joined our team?
A: Over 20 years.
I led the Global Data and AI practice at Experion Technologies. Prior to that, I helped establish and led the BI and analytics practice at Slalom London. Before that, I started my career as a consultant with Thorogood, helping customers with their data challenges.
Q: What was your path into consulting like?
A: With a degree in Information Technology, I spent many of my career's initial days building software products and database solutions. Early in my career, I realised I enjoyed working directly with clients – trying to get to the bottom of their business challenges and using data and analytics to help unlock and empower their teams. My technical background often enabled me to develop creative ideas and work with technical teams to build innovative solutions. Before I realised it, I was doing this across different industry sectors and have been fortunate to work with many big names worldwide – from Coca-Cola to Disney!
Q: Do you work on any specific types of projects with clients?
A: My work usually covers all aspects of data, from developing a data strategy to leading teams in building data pipelines, analytics, and AI solutions.
Q: What have you been up to in your first few weeks with us?
A: Getting to know more about our people, their backgrounds, and the projects they have been working on. I'm also working with one of our clients to build a data migration framework and help address challenges with customer data quality.
Q: What do you think of the team?
A: There's a lot of energy here—some initiatives and team activities are super creative. There are really no time-wasting processes here, from idea to implementation; I love that everyone's so driven to make change happen!
Q: What sort of consulting work excites you the most? And is there anything that you're looking forward to getting stuck into?
A: The variety in the consulting work excites me the most – one day, I could be sitting down to help improve performance on existing solutions, and the next day I am working with senior business leaders to help build data strategy for their organisations. In this new role, I would say that I'm really excited about bringing the Data & AI specialisation to the LC team. I think we can make a big impact on our customers!
Q: What do you think makes a good consultant?
A: There are a lot of things that a good consultant needs to be, and maybe a list that's twice as long that a good consultant would/should never do. The focus area always keeps changing for me. Right now, I have been more mindful of the Japanese technique of "Shoshin" – it's basically about adopting a beginner's mindset and approaching every challenge with curiosity and openness – letting go of preconceived notions and embracing the joy of learning because there's always room for growth…
Q: What makes you tick outside of work and the office?
A: My time outside work is often very packed – Rajitha (my better half) and I spend our time either doing mini construction/decoration projects, making music with the kids or walking out and about – birding or sightseeing!
Q: So far, what's the best bit about joining the team?
A: It sounds pretty cliché – but it is the warmth everyone has shown me at LC! People have been reaching out to introduce themselves, make me feel welcome, and offer support to get me started. It's been really exciting!
Want to join our team? Check out our available roles here: https://lanciaconsult.bamboohr.com/careers
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