Her Story
About Tuba
Tuba Syed serves as Manager of Enterprise Risk Management at Workday in Pleasanton, California. An accountant by training, she began her career working in general ledger accounting in Dallas after completing her studies at the University of North Texas. She later moved to California and held internal audit positions at Polycom and Veritas before joining Workday, where she has spent nearly four years developing the enterprise risk management function within the internal audit umbrella. In her role, Tuba identifies, assesses, analyzes, and reports enterprise-level risks to management and the board while advising on risk mitigation strategies to achieve company objectives. She earned an Enterprise Risk Management certification from UCLA with distinction last year and maintains membership in the Institute of Internal Auditors. Tuba attributes her success to consistency, hard work, strong relationships, and the integrity of her word.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Tuba
01What do you attribute your success to?
I think consistency, one foot in front of the other. Hard work. My relationships, my word. Most important is consistent behavior, consistent results, and consistent effort. Hard work would always pay off.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
Relationships are key in corporate America. Integrity of your word - when you say something, do it. Your word is your currency. Personal branding is important, coming from authenticity and being credible so people trust you.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Go for it. There's a lot of demand right now. It's fulfilling, strategic work sitting at the strategy and risk crossroads. Gives pride being directly involved in moving the company forward and helping management take big decisions.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
Challenges: Dynamics of risk with AI changing landscape, cyber perspective, business model (SaaS to AI), regulations, skills of employees. Opportunities: Growth potential in risk profession due to uncertainty; scope to help companies make strategic decisions vetted through risk lens for higher ROI.
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