Name: Pallavi Dharamsey | Designation: Senior Solution Consultant | Company: Temenos | Place: Sydney
(November 4, 2023) She’d never really planned on a career in banking. Yet when things organically headed in that direction, Pallavi Dharamsey decided to see just where life took her. Currently, a senior solution consultant with Temenos, a banking software company, in Australia, this alumna of SDM Institute of Management has come a long way.
Raised by banker parents, the industry was never alien to Pallavi. However, she found herself veering towards HRM as she contemplated course choices after a degree in Commerce. “I’d always had a flair for communication and people skills. I excelled in my class during graduation and post-graduation. In fact, I even had my papers in Human Resources awarded at HRM Circle, Bangalore chapter and my research paper was accepted at IIM Kozhikode,” smiles Pallavi, as she talks to Global Indian. As fate would have it, she landed a job with IDBI during campus placements at business school in Mysore.
The unintended shift from HR to banking
“The role promised was HR, but when I was posted to their Hyderabad branch, I learnt that their HR roles were only in their Mumbai headquarters. Suddenly, I found myself in the role of an assistant manager in a bustling retail bank,” she says, adding, “As I faced this dilemma my father suggested that I either give banking a shot or begin looking for other HR roles. Though initially reluctant, I soon got a hang of banking thanks to my mentors in the bank. I fell in love with the job and began doing pretty well. I was promoted shortly thereafter and soon began working as a relationship manager with large companies in the corporate banking division.”
After about five years of working with the bank, Pallavi landed her next role with a product company that sold banking solutions to financial institutions across the globe. Ever since, she has been working in presales with IT majors in their banking sectors. “Over the last 17 years, I have been managing end-to-end sales cycles; from demonstrations, solution designing to closure of deals with banks and financial institutions in the Pacific region,” she says, adding, “My role is to help our sales team close the deal by responding to RFX received from banks, demonstrating the solution based on client requirements, pricing, order form, and closure to win deals.”
A work visa to Sydney, Australia
Having worked with companies such as Infosys and EdgeVerve in India, Pallavi moved to Australia in 2019 as lead consultant with Infosys before taking up her current role with Temenos. As she navigates the different styles of working and networking in both countries, she observes, “In India we have agents, referrals, and job sites to aid with job hunts. Here though, LinkedIn is a very powerful tool when it comes to networking and job hunting. So if someone’s looking for opportunities here, it would pay to keep your LinkedIn updated apart from staying abreast with industry trends.”
Work/Life balance
A typical day for Pallavi begins at 6.30 am with getting her kids ready and off to school. “My husband fixes their breakfast and I take care of their lunch. Once they’re off to school, I begin work by 8.30 am. If I’m going into the office, I use my commute time to take work calls. My day usually involves meetings, proposal submissions etc apart from catching up with colleagues. I usually wrap up work by 6 pm and it can extend to 8 pm at times,” says this busy mum of two, who also loves to play badminton twice a week.
Pallavi with her family
During her time off she loves to travel with her family: from road trips to weekend matches and events. Her work also takes her across the globe and she loves to use her time exploring new cities. With a penchant for art, Pallavi has made several small pieces to decorate her home. “I’m also part of CSR activities and ensure I volunteer at several local events such as cancer fundraisers, clean up drives apart from regularly donating to UNICEF, RSPCA, and National Breast Cancer Foundation,” says the professional, who also enjoys organising and volunteering for events organised by her local Indian community. “Some of my fondest memories are from my life in India; vacations with my parents, summer holidays spent with cousins, trips with college friends, hostel life, and meeting my soulmate in college,” she says, adding, “So would I want to return to India? Eventually yes. But not right now. Maybe once we’ve retired.”