Future Leader profile: Srshti Putcha
 

Positions: Data Scientist within the consumer finance sector with Capital One, as well as Chair of the Young Statisticians Section (YSS) of the RSS 

I ultimately want to pursue a career where I am exposed to interesting and challenging data-driven problems in a variety of domains. 

Education: PhD in Statistics from the STOR-i Centre for Doctoral Training, based at Lancaster University 

At the end of my second year as an undergraduate student, I got the chance to undertake an eight-week research internship. It was during this internship that I got hooked on statistics and coding.  

Leadership philosophy: Leadership isn't about being the loudest person in a room. It's about taking accountability, having a vision and knowing how to leverage the talents of the people who work with you 

Diverse perspectives allow for creative solutions. I’d like to see individuals of all genders, ethnicities and abilities leading technical teams and business functions within data-driven organisations. 

Childhood ambition: To be a lawyer 

I distinctly remember at the age of ten wanting to be a lawyer. I believed that I could make it because I had a tendency to argue with my parents.  

Aims as a Future Leader: Working towards the goal of greater representation in leadership of technical teams and developing my leadership skills 

Career inspirations: Former PhD colleagues  

I am continually amazed by the careers of my former PhD colleagues. Whilst we all come from similar academic backgrounds, they have each forged their own unique paths within academia and industry. I learn from them everyday, whether it be regarding job applications or technical upskilling.  

Advice to aspiring data scientists: You don't need a PhD to pursue a data profession; you can learn much of what you need (coding, statistics, data science) for free online; and develop your problem solving with project-based work 

Hobbies: Hiking, reading, baking and going to museums and the theatre