Serena Qi

Business Analyst

China

Serena Qi is a native of Shanghai in China where she also currently lives and works with her young family. After graduating from university, she initially worked for a well-known European fashion brand. However, since 2015 she has been with NTT DATA, initially as an assistant to the CEO in China. She then went on to spend a few years working in the Japanese HQ before returning to Shanghai to embark on the latest development in her career, client-facing consulting. When she isn’t working, she enjoys time with her family, travelling overseas and keeping fit by doing Pilates and playing tennis.

Balancing work and life to achieve my dreams

Tell us about an interesting project

I currently head up a consulting team that combines technical knowledge and consulting to use cutting edge technology to support client digital transformations. It’s a young team that’s passionate about technology and how it impacts the future of work. In 2022 we started supply chain planning improvement and Digital Transformation project for a retail company. It started as a consulting project, where our team did client sales planning, inventory structure analysis and visualize the operational issues the client was having. Enhancing demand forecasting and inventory optimization is both the most valuable and the most challenging part. To do this, we are using AI machine learning to solve the client issues which needed a lot of technical know-how, data analysis and understanding of the client business. We were able to make a 3–5-year blueprint for client digital transformations. The impact so far has been so great that we won the NTT DATA Foresight award for the work we did. We’re very proud of this.

Describe a regular working day

I would say that I spend half of time at the client side talking to them about their issues and needs, and the other half at the office working with my team to design client solutions. I very rarely work from home because I prefer and enjoy the opportunity that working face to face offers for direct communication with clients and coworkers, regardless of whether it is high tension situation or more relaxed. The fast-paced style of that particular working dynamic is something that I thrive on.

Why do you like to work at NTT DATA?

For me, the reason I like working at NTT DATA so much is the support I have received from not just my coworkers and managers, but all the way up to the CEO level to progress my career. I started out as a personal assistant, but through the ongoing support and encouragement I’ve received I now do a consulting job that I love. One example I would give is when I was having my first child. Of course, I was able to take maternity leave as expected, however when I wanted to return to work, the flexible working hours and the understanding and cooperation from my team members, accommodating my schedule, was extremely thoughtful. Without that my transition back to work would have been quite tough. So, I thank NTT DATA for that.