Mudassar Chaudhry

Mudassar Chaudhry is currently an Assistant Manager in Sustainable Business Practice at EY (formerly known as Ernst & Young) and Co-Chair of EY Muslim Community in London Bridge. Mudassar is a former A Level student at NewVIc. He came from Stratford School Academy and studied A Levels in Maths, Government and Politics, Urdu and AS Level in Further Maths and Chemistry. He progressed on to EY’s School Leaver Programme as an Associate in their UK&I Audit business. He qualified in ACA from ICAEW. We caught up with Mudassar to find out a little more on his journey since NewVIc.

What made you apply to NewVIc?

NewVIc was an easy choice for me, as both my siblings, and most of my family and friends went to the college – everyone shared their positive experiences at NewVIc making it a no-brainer. My siblings and I all went to the same primary, secondary, sixth form and university (me being the anomaly in not choosing to go university at all).

Tell us about your journey from NewVIc to where you are now?

After completing my A Levels at NewVIc, I joined one of the world’s largest global professional service firm, as a school leaver in their UK&I Audit business, specialising in Real Estate, Hospitality & Construction.

As a school leaver, I was studying towards my ACA charted accountancy qualification from the Institute of Chartered Accounts in England and Wales (ICAEW), whilst working on some of the world’s largest hospitality businesses. I spent just over 5 years in the audit business, and gained my ACA qualification in just over 4 years, all with first-time passes.

During this time in audit, I got the opportunity to travel across the globe to work and represent EY at various conferences and initiatives. I spoke extensively at schools/colleges (including NewVIc!) and at employability fairs around my experience with EY, and how anyone can build a successful career here.

I then spent 10-months on a secondment at the EY Foundation – an independent charity that works with disadvantaged young people in the UK to help realise their career ambitions, and helping social enterprises scale up sustainably. In this role, I travelled across the UK helping hundreds of students, through mentorship and paid work experiences, from ages 13 – 19 to get a foot into the world of work, or higher education.

As a result of all these great experiences and achievements, I won the coveted Highly Commended BAME Apprentice of the Year 2019 award.

In 2020, I was asked to chair the EY Muslim Community – a global network of 750+ EY employees – a role which is one of my favourites at the firm. I get to host large internal and external events, attracting audiences of 500+ and speak regularly on topics applicable to Muslims at EY and the wider corporate sphere. It’s a great network which has definitely helped me grow professionally and continues to help hundreds in being able to practice their faith openly, both at EY and externally.

I have also recently joined a new team, leaving the world of finance and accounting behind. I am now an Assistant Manager in EY’s Sustainable Business practice, specialising in Culture, Diversity and Inclusion. In a nutshell, I assess and advise CEOs and Boards of some of the world’s largest public and private businesses on all things culture, diversity and inclusion. This is a great role where I feel like I am making a huge impact for thousands of people globally every single day, and helping live the EY values of building a better working world.

I am now invited to and speak extensively on an array of topics (including diversity, faith, apprenticeships and more) on various panels, at leading conferences and at some of the UK’s top universities.

I also advise and mentor over a dozen founders and CEOs at start-ups, social enterprises, NGOs and charities on scaling up, growing their brand and expanding their reach. All-in-all, I am able to do a host of different things outside my day job due to the great flexibility given at EY!

How did you get into the position that you are in?

It’s a result of the support and prayers of my parents, family and friends. Lots of guidance from my teachers, support from my college tutors (big shout-out to Jag!) and mentorship from Partners at EY. Everyone has played a big role in getting me to the position to where I am today at such a young age, and for that I am beyond appreciative and thankful.

What are your memories of NewVIc?

I have many! I think my favourite memories were in the Maths/Further Maths classes with Ore and Nazir, who were both hilarious and great at teaching. I was also recall the intense yet educative debates in Paul and Nazli’s politics lessons!

I miss those cookies from Sid’s café big time! I loved the calming ambience of the multi-faith room where I spent a lot of time reflecting. It was an all-round great experience filled with many a fond memories.

What is your advice for students considering NewVIc and pursuing a career like you?

I’d make use of the tutors and teachers as much as possible. So many are vested in your success and are always happy to look over applications, CVs and the likes to give you advice. Getting experience is key, and there are so many different internship/work-experience offerings available from top firms for Year 12 students. You have to spend some time yourself finding these, apply to them with support from tutors/teachers. All of is so worth it and makes a huge difference when you apply for apprenticeships and universities for your UCAS personal statements.

How did you find the teaching at NewVIc? Did it prepare you for your next educational step?

The teaching was above all, enjoyable. Teachers ensured that classes were fun, interactive and always made sure they listened to students. My politics lessons ran by Nazli and Paul were always ones I looked forward to purely because of how many soft skills I learnt (debating, listening, public speaking, team-work). All these intangible skills played a huge part in my development and career progression.

I also learnt the importance of staying organised and on top of content (picked up from managing Maths and Further Maths) – these skills helped me so much whilst studying for my ACA qualification.

What were your next steps after leaving college?

After completing my A Levels at NewVIc, I joined EY, one of the world’s largest global professional service firm, as a school leaver in their UK&I Audit business, specialising in Real Estate, Hospitality & Construction.

How would you describe yourself before you came to NewVIc?

I was always one of the loudest in the class and wanted to have fun always – most my teachers at secondary would describe me as cheeky. NewVIc helped me shape that confidence, energy and loudness into positive behaviours, and showed me how having fun whilst doing well with education was not only a possibility, but a successful reality.

What are your future plans?

Ultimately, I want to continue working my way to becoming a Partner at EY, and continue to help companies around the world in creating a more inclusive and diverse working environment, where people of all types can bring their true authentic selves to work every single day. This is something quite close to my heart as I was given the opportunity to be myself at EY and that made me flourish in an unimaginable way. I want to be able to give that opportunity to more young people and really shape the future workforce.

I also hope to continue growing the EY Muslim Community so that it becomes a beacon of best practice for faith networks across the globe. My work with start-ups and social enterprises is also very personal to me, and I’m excited for these to grow and to continue advising them in a more formal way (as a non-executive director on their boards!).