The global shift in emphasis towards driving good corporate governance has brought a lot of changes in organizational management, with regulators and companies deriving the benefits of having Independent Directors on their boards. An Independent Director brings an objective and unbiased perspective to the Boardroom and has a responsibility not only to the shareholders but to the organization's stakeholders. An accomplished accountant with more than 18 years of experience in a wide range of sectors, such as Auditing, Accounting, Manufacturing, Hospitality, and Financial Services, Jyoti started her career as an Auditor and over the years, has grown through the corporate ladder while holding various responsibilities over the years. A stickler for principles, values, and ethics, Jyoti currently serves as an Independent Director for Gulf African Bank and CIC Asset Management, ensuring smooth decision-making and overall growth in these organizations while driving sustainability and profitability. In an exclusive interview with The Global Women Leader, Jyoti sheds light on her early influences as well as overall industry experience, the major business chal­lenges she faces as an Independent Director, and much more.

Take us through the formative years of your life. What were some key early influences in life that shaped you as an individual?

My father, who has been a huge influence on my life, passed away when I was 23 and the responsibility of the entire family fell on me. Those initial years were not easy. I joined one of the prestigious Big 4 audit firms that has a reputation for being extremely strict with its organizational policies and procedures. The training I received at the firm was pretty good, which, to date, I have carried in my professional career. One of the key takeaways from my initial professional days was the virtue of being independent. I have always been an independent individual with a no-compromise policy when it comes to my principles, values, and ethics, which I have picked from my father.

Tell us about the prior industry experience that you bring to the table. What are some key areas of expertise you have developed as a leader in finance?

I started my career as an external auditor before switch­ing to accounting. Over the years, I have held various roles as a Finance Manager, Financial Controller, and the equivalent of CFO before finally becoming an Inde­pendent Director. As an Accountant, I have extensive experience in accounting, auditing, finance, compliance, and regulations. During my days at KPMG Kenya, I have worked on various sectors' external audits, including hospitality, manufacturing, financial services, and non-profit institutions, amongst others. However, it was during my working experience as an external auditor that triggered my interest in the financial sector special­izing in banks and insurance companies. In addition to that, I also have exposure and training in both Risk Management and Corporate Governance.  When it comes to shareholders, the decisions taken by them might not always be in the best interest of the organization. However, an Independent Director not only focuses on the interests of shareholders and profitability, but also prioritizes the well-being of all stakeholders, including employees, and regulators, amongst others, and strives to remain independent. So apart from taking care of organizational governance structure and ensur­ing that the decision-making at the organization is done appropriately, an Independent Director also manages the interest of all stakeholders, which can be a challenging task.

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Throw some light on the major business challenges you encounter as a finance leader in today’s business climate and how you mitigate them.

With the whole world going through some extreme eco­nomic turmoil and inflation and interest rates shooting up, doing business has become extremely difficult in the current scenario across the globe. Even in Kenya, we are currently experiencing high inflation and increasing interest rates. While we increase the interest rates to survive, we also have to consider if the customers will be able to pay off their loans with higher rates. To strike a balance between taking care of the customer and the economy and covering the cost is a huge challenge that we go through. Coming to compliances, they can make or break an organization and with the laws and regulations being updated quite often, keeping up with those changes can be a huge costly challenge. Apart from that, unlike before, there has been a massive surge in the number of cyber security risks, which is a great concern and challenge to mitigate.

What has been your leadership approach and success mantra over the years? What steps do you take to routinely align yourself with the evolutions and changes in your respective industry and the technology landscape?

My true leadership skill, I believe, is sticking to my principles, ethics, and values and having integrity in what I do. Irrespective of the pressure, I always stand strong against anything not right or illegal and there is no two ways about it. Through these actions, I believe I am passing the right message to people, especially the younger generation. Coming to my success mantra, I always believe in doing the right thing.

Being a professional accountant, auditor, corpo­rate governor, member of various professional bodies, I attend and participate in various courses, seminars, conferences, and various programs where all the latest innovations, research materials, as well as market trends are discussed. That’s how I try to stay abreast of the latest evolutions and market trends.  

Jyoti Patel, Independent Director, Gulf African Bank

An accomplished accountant with more than 18 years of experience in a wide range of sectors, such as Auditing, Accounting, Manufacturing, Hospitality, Financial services, and many more, Jyoti currently works as an Independent Director for Gulf African Bank and CIC Asset Management. A stickler for principles, values, and ethics, she is a fellow member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (FCCA), a member of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Kenya (ICPAK), and a member of the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA). Jyoti also has done her MBA and has a Postgraduate award in Global Central Banking from the Warwick Business School, University of Warwick, UK, and has exposure and training in both Risk Management and Corporate Governance and as an Internal Audit Quality Assessor.