Influential Woman · Power and Utility Financial Due Diligence

Ananya Agrawal

Senior Director, EY-Parthenon

Jersey City, NJ

Her Story

About Ananya

On a typical day, if I'm on a sell-side or a buy-side deal, I try to understand the business of the target company that is being invested in. I try to understand how they have performed in the historical period and have calls with the management to discuss how things have been trending in their financial performance, and why if something looks abrupt or abnormal. If I'm on a buy side, I try to talk to the client to understand what they are looking for in the target and provide my view as to how they should look at the business and how they should think of the target company when they're making their investment. I also talk to my junior team members, discuss with them, understand what they think of the target company, and how we should plan our work in evaluating the target company, how we should divide the work, and then go ahead and actually work on the plan that we thought of.

Her Interview

Ten minutes with Ananya

01What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?

Maybe not advice, but what I've learned from people - one thing that has worked for me, and what I've noticed in people that have performed well, is doing things fast rather than trying to be perfect. I feel that when I implement it, it has worked well for me. Going for good enough rather than going for perfection.

02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?

When I started working in my service line or my field, day one I was the only woman in that entire department. That didn't scare me, it motivated me that I need to work in this field and encourage other women that this is a field that they can also opt for. My advice for younger women would be that if you are alone in a room, use that opportunity to make a difference which will encourage the next generation, the next female generation to do the same. Use the opportunity wisely and encourage others also to be in that room if they want to be.

03What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?

I think the biggest challenges right now with AI is just making ourselves more useful, learning the new technology and knowing how the new technology can be used for our work to do the work more efficiently, while also adding that personal touch or experience that we've gained over years. Also, I've not seen a lot of renewable energy deals in the last few years or in the last few months. Maybe it's the regulations or how things are in the market that it's not happening, but that is another thing that I'm noticing in the market. That's the challenge that we are facing right now.

04What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?

I recently gave birth to a 6-month-old baby girl, so the values have shifted for me. Being more reliable - I try to be more reliable with my team. Efficiency has become very important to me now so that I can divide my time properly between work and my personal life. Previously, I used to give all my time and work was everything for me, and now I've started valuing my personal life also. Prioritizing, which is part of efficiency, is important. Also, gaining trust or building trust with the team and understanding the strengths of everybody to be able to leverage everybody's skills properly. That's what I'm working towards now.

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