Devarshi Ray moved from EY’s Financial Services Strategy and Transactions team in London to Dublin, where he was recently promoted to director. Read his story, or watch his short video at the end of this post.
Before moving to Dublin, I lived in London for twenty years and my career was based solely there. I started out in assurance, then worked with EY’s UK Strategy and Transactions (SaT) team before moving into investment banking. I gained some fantastic industry experience, but it came at the expense of my personal life. The move back to EY in 2015 meant I could still do exciting work in a fast-paced environment, but with a healthier work-life balance.
When I got wind of what the SaT team is building in Ireland – a team that is smaller, leaner and growing very quickly – I was excited to be part of it. The fact that I could come over and build something, learn something, and have much more exposure to the market was really appealing. I moved in October and got promoted to director in July. I’m glad that the firm saw potential and believed in me.
Interestingly, one of my bosses in London had spent a few years in the Dublin office. He is fantastic at business development and client relationships, because he learned his trade in a market where he had to learn, grow and adapt.
Ireland is an exciting place to work in financial services. The aviation finance industry continues to be an area where there is huge opportunity. The wealth management space in Ireland is seeing a spate of consolidation driven by regulations and in part by Brexit. And then there’s the FinTech industry, which is disrupting the whole ecosystem.
To succeed in SaT, first and foremost you have to love the deal environment. At a junior level, it’s also important to be into the detail. As you go up the ranks it’s about being able to distill something complex into something that’s easily understood by a senior audience – and to do that convincingly, you have to know the detail inside out.
Coming from the UK team and having that wider EMEIA connectivity really helps me because I am able to connect the dots easier than some of my peers. The network is a really valuable tool, allowing us to reach out and draw in skills and expertise where needed.
What I enjoy most about my role is a combination of the internal team dynamics and the external client focus. The team is pretty diverse in terms of our backgrounds, but what we have in common is a love of what we do. Going to market and trying to win business is exciting and satisfying, but the largest element of the work is delivering quality work for clients. The firm is also very accommodating, and the work-life balance is brilliant too. I’m a new father, so the flexibility I have in my day-to-day life is exceptional given the work that we do.
Explore current opportunities in EY Financial Services Ireland.
