Mashal Kadri

No two days are the same working in A&O’s growing consultancy practice. My role is divided between shaping how the practice develops and working with clients, which could be a small business one day and a large corporate the next. The focused, strategic projects we’re involved in are particularly interesting as we have direct exposure to the leadership team, which provides a profusion of learning opportunities. 

I grew up in Pakistan, moving to London at the age of 17 to study Law. After my Master’s, I worked on large-scale regulatory projects for one of the big consultancies. I learnt a great deal but was ready to work on more strategic projects with access to C-suite executives. I’d heard A&O had a great culture, so when I became aware of an ex-colleague joining the newly formed A&O Consulting, I was keen to learn more. 

I joined the A&O Consulting team in May 2019 and was asked to choose what type of work interested me most. I chose to work on purpose and culture, along with governance, and the majority of the business development and client work that I now undertake is in this area. As I was used to having to network relentlessly in order to gain a position on an interesting project, I was excited to be offered my preference, though I do have to be flexible based on business demands. 

I’m currently carrying out a review for a large financial institution into whether their Board is ‘effective’. Through 1-1 interviews, attending board meetings, reviewing documents and comparing business models, I will provide actionable recommendations to help them going forward.

As we grow and shape our offering in the marketplace, I’m also responsible for developing innovative ways to demonstrate what we do for our target audience. We’ve recently built a scenario-based training app to share with prospects and a site specifically for start-ups, with premium free resources to help them scale up and navigate the pandemic. 

At A&O Consulting, we have an immense drive to build the brand and secure our reputation, and we’re committed to making the practice highly successful. I’m often juggling priorities, but that’s the nature of the work, and I thrive in a busy environment. 

My advice? Never underestimate the benefits of being part of a small, nurturing, highly-collaborative team within a well-established firm. There’s so much opportunity to learn, and I’m enjoying the space to influence the type of work we’re doing.