Umut Aktac

Umut Aktac, a 2010 graduate in Business Administration from Kent, now leads Target Operating Model Design & Strategy at the London Stock Exchange Group. After earning an MSc in International Management from King's College London, Umut embarked on a global career in management consulting, specializing in change, transformation, and strategy for financial services.

 
Tell us about your career path since graduation.

I studied for MSc International Management at King's College London after graduation and then moved onto management consulting at Accenture after my studies. I started my consulting career being aligned to Financial Services and since then I have worked in various companies and roles covering all continents for their change, transformation and strategy ambitions.

What does a typical work day look like for you?

My day is typically structured around strategic planning, collaboration, meetings, workshops analysis and presentations. 
Day starts with a stand-up where the change and design team is aligned on priorities, updates and address any immediate concerns. A clear of view of deadlines, key deliverables of the day and meetings are reviewed up front. 
Some part of the day is spent in workshops and meetings with C-level stakeholders to capture input and advise them on their problem statements. Between meetings, I work on strategic planning activities such as mapping out the current operating model, identifying gaps or inefficiencies, and drafting high level designs of the target operating model. This is then followed by detailed process flows, organisational design/structures, architecture, tooling and governance frameworks. I use specialised software or tools to draft these models. 
Day generally finishes with me presenting the findings and to-be design to stakeholders / customers. 

Can you share a professional highlight from your career so far?

I had the opportunity to work on various initiatives and projects that were impactful to both companies and to the public. However, I must mention my time at Morgan Stanley during my placement year at Kent here as I had to navigate through a challenging year in financial markets during the 2008 financial crisis. I had to level up and work like an experienced analyst after a short period of time. Showing resilience during that time when I was 19 years old strongly contributed to all other achievements throughout my career. 

How did your time at Kent help you achieve your current career?

Strong KBS academics, intellectual classmates and placement year opportunity massively helped me to achieve my current career. 

What advice would you give to our current/prospective students who are looking to get into the same line of work?

As work culture and importance of education are being re-shaped in the current times, it is very important to get a taste of work life early on, starting with spring/autumn/summer internships and placement years. Placement year for me was a turning point in my career to get strong experience but also an eye-opening experience to decide what I wanted to post graduation. 

Did you get involved in any extracurricular activities as a student?

I was involved in Kent Business School events and was involved in establishment of Turkish Cypriot Society! 

Do you have a favourite memory from your time at Kent?

Wednesday nights at the Venue! 

Is there anything you would do differently if you could repeat your time at Kent?

I would have watched the scenery on Tyler Hill a bit more - never had enough! 

Are you still in touch with other Kent alumni or academics?

Friends, alumni and academics at Kent are still part of my current network. They are highly valued and we always support each other. 

What are your future ambitions?

I would like to ensure Kent continues to get the recognition during my professional and social dealings in the future.