Subramanian Neelakantan

Assistant Manager, Research & Insights (2015 - 2017)
Assistant Manager, Research (2011 - 2015)
Senior Analyst (2009 - 2011)

Analysis/Insights Development
Derived top-level insights by studying primary and secondary data; used databases and tools to create purposeful insights integrated with external research.
• Competitive intelligence/Whitespace analysis - Determined potential thought-ware topics by performing whitespace analysis on competitors and think-tank publications based on key industry/sector trends
• Benchmarking analysis - Identified business performance and operational issues by benchmarking companies and products with Key Performance Indicators (KPI) collated through primary and secondary research
• Survey design - Designed survey questionnaires and moderator guides to build questions required to test business hypothesis shared by Deloitte Function-specific teams (Consulting, Tax, Advisory, and Audit)
• Statistical analysis - Assessed survey responses through factor analysis and clustering, to build regression models for data analysis; created custom decks from survey data for key client engagements, RFP’s and presentations
• Sentiment analysis - Gauged customer perception of brands and products using sentiment analysis of tweets with the help of text mining tools

Research Project Management
Revamped the research process to reduce work duplication and improve project group productivity
• Task prioritization - Led and managed research and other time-critical custom projects for senior leaders by quickly understanding context and developing a prioritized approach for resolution; end-to-end ownership on projects - scoping to delivery
• Process streamlining - Refined research processes through development and improvement of research department tools and procedures, resulting in a more streamlined, strategic research experience

Stakeholder Management
Worked closely with business leaders in corporate planning, developing specific business cases and in strategic initiatives to improve customer service; conducted sessions on best practices across all industry teams
• Portfolio management - Built client relationships to create broadest project portfolio for team while expanding internal responsibilities; assisted the leadership partners in making strategic business decisions
• Resource negotiations - Acted as the point of contact for external third-party vendors or outsourcing partners for new tools and databases; pilot products, negotiated pricing and submitted proposals

People Management
Coached and mentored juniors on various aspects of research; performed random checks and provided feedbacks for quality control
• Talent development - Conducted periodic reviews to identify skill gaps for team members to identify potential training and project opportunities to motivate them as well as aid them in professional and personal development
• Training sessions - Identified training needs of team and felicitated sessions on technical and soft skills - databases, business writing, and qualitative and quantitative research techniques

Major contributions include:
o Key projects:
 Deloitte’s Annual publications: Global Aerospace & Defense Outlook and Global Aerospace & Defense Sector Financial Performance Study \[Research and analysis on top 100 global Aerospace & Defense companies\]
 Deloitte Back-to-School and Back-to-College campaigns - 2013-2017 \[2017 Statistics: Over 4 million site visits and five thousand plus leads or inquiries\]
 Deloitte Customer Loyalty campaigns - Airlines, Hotels and Restaurants \[Rated among top Deloitte thoughtwares by Source Consulting\]
 Retail Benchmarking— created a model to score US retailers’ performance based on various industry KPI’s

Team Leader, Content (2007 - 2009)
Deputy Team Leader, Content (2005 - 2007)
Analyst (2003 - 2005)

Managerial responsibilities
• Led and managed over 85 content management professionals in the India office. Responsibilities included: Day-to-day supervision, recruiting, trainings, performance appraisals, and project management
• First point of escalation for all queries raised by the US sales team with regards to product
• Accurate submission of daily dashboards/backlog details/country statistics/monthly functional review data/analysis and trigger actions to be completed per agreed timelines with management
• Coached team members in presentation and communication skills, supporting each member’s growth and career development
• Facilitated weekly staff meetings to share information, respond to issues and avoid escalation, and develop incentive programs to improve performance
• Instrumental in setting up new operations in Philippines (subsidiary) in Sep 2008; led a multi-site team to develop, document and implement standards for content department in Manila; recruited and managed over 100 professionals

Research
• Collect and analyze financial data of public companies’, track board members - networks and compensation trends and develop in-depth biographies and business chemistry assessments of key executives for major client interactions
• Determine relationship capital of an organization and analyze its impact on overall performance, both directly and indirectly
• Ascertain an organization's financial health, business status, group and subsidiaries, and competitive position; review news, analysis, and research reports to identify market trends