Devisa Todi, CFA

Contrary to the usual order of things, it was in fact the CFA Program that sparked my interest in the thrilling world of finance. I started reading the CFA curriculum to gauge where my interests lie during undergraduate studies when I was still figuring out what my choice of career would be.

My grandfather was in the manufacturing business, and investing was one of his hobbies. I grew up listening to my family members talk about business and finance. Hence when I started reading the curriculum, I took to it quite naturally. It seemed like a fascinating story book that exposed me to the world of investments where there was so much more than equity investments. Just a few weeks before the CFA exam, I registered for it – right before the deadline. At that moment, there was no plan, no long term vision of what I wanted the next steps to be, what I wanted my career to look like. I went on to take one CFA exam after another, and the next thing I know, I was an MBA in Finance from IIM Lucknow, during which I worked as a fund manager of a student led investment fund and was soon working as an Investment Banking & Markets Assistant Vice President in Citibank.

Earlier this year, I joined the founding team and started my current role as CFO of Centilytics, a 200-people strong bootstrapped start-up providing cloud services. Now when I look back to the day I had asked my friend to lend me the CFA Program Curriculum, I had no idea I’d be here today. Behind the cover of the book was a journey that has made me who I am and I’d do it again if I had the chance.