Take My Advice

Determined to combine business and technology acumen in his role, Akshay Lamba took on the position of CIO at Deloitte Middle East in May last year, and now oversees the firm's IT operations across 16 countries in the region.

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Akshay Lamba first honed his curiosity for technology during his four years at the Birla Institute of Technology, where he studied his Bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering. “These were very fundamental years that gave me insight into operations and processes,” he says. “I focused a lot of my time on robotics and the communication protocols between machines, which stemmed my interest in networks and IP.”

Having completed his Bachelor’s degree, he pursued his passion for technology and applied for a Master's in computer science at The University of Michigan. “Fortunately for me, I was lucky enough to be offered a research assistantship for the duration of my Master's,” he says. “It was like Christmas had come early. I had a lab of my own, and was able to experiment with nearly every operating system under the sun. As a result, my desire to work with interconnected systems just grew and grew.”

Lamba left Michigan in 2002, and returned to home country India as a business analyst for telecommunication firm, Bharti Airtel. “I was part of the CIO’s office at Airtel, which allowed me to be involved with IT management at a senior leadership level,” he says. During his time at Airtel, Lamba completed his MBA in finance at the Management Development Institute, Delhi. “Airtel gave me a deep appreciation for the wide range of skills required by a leader," he says. "I realised that a leadership profile extends far beyond expertise in their function, and instead encapsulates broad knowledge across finance, technology, marketing, and people skills."