Or you can read Abhay’s story below:
Like an atom in the universe some 18 years ago and some 5,000 miles from here, the 22-year-old me is getting through my mundane task in a multinational IT firm in India. While I’m functioning like a programmed robot, I can see that I’m a lot quieter than my normal self. I’m introspecting my contribution to the greater good and pondering how far I have deviated from my original self-inflicted goal for doing good for planet and people.
Clearly with the role at this large IT firm, I’m galaxies away from what I originally imagined I would do with my life. Something doesn’t feel right and at this point I just don’t know what to do with this situation.
So with a lot of nervousness, I reach out to my mentor and colleague Jean. I narrated to her how I wanted to study environmental science after school, but was disappointed by everyone. I consulted to know more about the opportunities in the field, and I ultimately ended up taking electrical engineering. Among several things she mentioned in that meeting passed on her mantra like a true guru. It meant something like following your passion and that you will discover opportunities in due course of time, even if they are not clear at the start of your enterprise.
I remember feeling a bit light and at ease following that conversation, but taking the big career step was far more difficult in reality. Coming from a lower middle class, leaving a full-time job with a large global corporation is often not well supported by people around me. It’s not just the loss of steady income, but also the cost of any master’s degree that adds to the family debt. And more than anything, the mammoth amount of uncertainties about the future this will bring was one of the biggest doubts I had. Will I get a job? Will I earn decent enough to take care of all the financial liabilities and what happens if this turns out to be a bad decision?
My then good friend and now my wife, Bhumika, my team leader James, and one of my close friends, Sohrab, all three of them tried convincing me. They tried giving me confidence to pursue my dreams and not worry too much about the future when it is quite uncertain, at this stage. I was beginning to make up my mind, but I still wasn’t sure if it is the right decision.
Then something unexpected happened. My dad, whom I know was a bit worried about me leaving a job and pursuing higher studies, ultimately gave his nod. He did not know much about the field and the risk I was taking, but he supported the move. The only thing he mentioned to me was pursue my dreams and if I’m comfortable taking the first step, I should go for it.
So I left my full-time job to become a student again and pursue a post-graduation degree in environmental management. To me, it was like a reset and it felt like the right thing to do. After my post-graduation, I got the opportunity to work with couple of global brands in retail and energy space in India, and when things were looking a bit saturated and to an extent dull, I found another interesting opportunity to work with my current law firm, Weightmans’s. I have never worked in a law firm before. I have no idea about how law firms work. What I was sure of was that I’m going to put my hundred percent in integrating sustainability into this law firm’s work. So after a couple of interviews, they decided to take their chances with me.
So here I was packing my bags to move from Mumbai to London and feeling on cloud nine, and at the same time a bit scared. I, along with my wife Bhumika and my then 3-year-old child arrived in London in January of 2022. The air felt different and a lot colder than I was used to. The pace of life was familiar though with no familiar faces around. Both me and my wife promised to each other that we will give this our best shot.
As I set foot towards my office on the Fenchurch Street, I noticed the hustle bustle of the street, families rushing on the street with their kids towards the school and smartly dressed people, briskly walking, and some of them balancing coffee cups and their laptop bags. Now, this was familiar coming from Mumbai, so much so that I said to myself that certainly the crowd and some routines are same around the world.
At my office, on my first day, I was received by the senior partner of the firm, David, who came down from Leeds to London to welcome me in person. It was a time when businesses had just started to come out of Covid restrictions and seeing this gesture to meet and greet on the very first day by a senior member of the firm was really heart touching. I thought to myself that for sure I can work with these people.
I was relatively quiet, again as I approach end of the day, but this time it was all positive. My mind was only thinking about how do I make a start and deliver on my existence here? And I can say that since that very first day until today, there hasn’t been a dull day wherein I felt that I could have done things differently.
So this has been my journey into becoming the Head of ESG at a respected and awarded law firm of the country in the Aldgate area, which I believe continues to be a tapestry of cultures and an area that is welcoming and full of opportunities.
