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Seema Pajula Highlight
I tried to hide my diversity and my differences because I thought that was something that was going to hold me back. But that wasn’t the case—it was my own insecurities holding me back.
About Seema
- I was raised by a single mother who emigrated from India to the U.S.
- As a child, I had lofty ideas for what I wanted to be when I grew up: a bus driver, the first female major league baseball player, the person who cured cancer, and even a shark researcher.
- I attended Northern Illinois University, where I started out pursuing my dreams of studying sharks and curing cancer, but eventually discovered I had an interest in business and accounting.
- Graduated with my bachelor’s degree in accounting and earned my certified public accountant (CPA) license.
- My first job out of college was working as a manager for Arthur Andersen & Co.—I worked there for six years until the company collapsed in 2002 as a result of the Enron scandal.
- After that, I began reevaluating my career but, with support from my former clients, I decided to continue working in this industry and got a job at Deloitte as an audit manager.
- In 2008, I made partner at the firm and, in 2016, I became the first woman of color to serve as the managing partner for Consumer & Industrial Products Industry group.
- In 2019, I became the consumer industry leader for all of the U.S. audit, tax, advisory, and consulting services at Deloitte.