Her Story
About Cheshta
Cheshta Chauhan is the Business Intelligence Manager at HICO companies in Warrenville, Illinois. She leads the data team overseeing approximately 70 legal entities within the holding company, which operates businesses primarily in manufacturing along with aerospace, construction, and transcription services. In her role, she is building a data management solution from the ground up to serve as a foundation for future AI products and is leading the strategy for AI governance across the companies.
Chauhan holds an undergraduate degree in electronics and communication engineering from India, a master's degree in finance, and another master's degree in IT. Her career path has taken her from finance and analytics roles into IT, where she has spent the past three years in her current position. She attributes her professional growth to guidance from managers, including CIO Tom Gerdes, who recognized her analytics skills and facilitated her transition into an IT role.
Beyond her primary responsibilities, Chauhan serves on the judging panels for the Globi Awards and Stevie Awards. She values continuous learning and staying curious to remain relevant in the rapidly evolving field of IT and data management.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Cheshta
01What do you attribute your success to?
I would say just having the right guidance at the right time. My current manager, Tom Gerdes, who is the CIO, saw what I was doing in finance and analytics and moved me into an IT role, helping me grow. There was also a previous manager who helped me move into another role because he saw I could do something in IT apart from finance.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
My manager Tom Gerdes recognized my skills in analytics while I was in finance and moved me to the IT team, which helped shape my career path into business intelligence.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
If finishing school, don't just look at a degree you were interested in before. Search for solutions and roles available, what jobs those roles take over, and what AI solutions look like in the future. We're in the biggest AI revolution right now, changing rapidly every day. If interested in IT or math, definitely look into AI roles before committing to something that might not be relevant anymore.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
Everything is changing very fast, so an architecture for data management from last year might not be relevant anymore because there are more models and tools available that could solve roles on my team. The challenge is accepting these changes. There are tools that do half the work of a project manager. We need to show that AI is not scary, evaluate it for businesses, build confidence so they adopt it, and implement across companies.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Keep learning, never giving up. Especially in IT, everything is changing so you should have a good attitude about accepting changes and learning through it to implement in work or daily life. Try to learn new things every day. Stick behind that for my team and myself. Stay curious to be relevant nowadays.
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