Sonal Bhutra’s exciting journey through CA to CNBC

You cannot afford to miss out on this one

Watch Sonal Bhutra narrate her exciting career journey — from topping Surat city in her school board exams to landing in the city of dreams — Mumbai, opting for the conventional CA route instead of journalism, spending 4 years in Risk Advisory and Indirect Taxes at Haribhakti & Co and EY, wanting to pursue journalism course at St Xavier’s and finally deciding to move to Equities at Motilal Oswal Equities, serendipity in being discovered by Anuj Singhal of CNBC at a panel discussion , when a question she asked Piyush Goyal Sir caught everyone’s attention and thus landing in her dream job at #CNBC and become the face of the PowerBreakfast show at CNBC — this story is surreal but true

Q1. Tell us about your formative years in Surat. You were a bright student I understand, the city topper before you moved to Mumbai. Tell us about your family, the kind of value system you had, etc.

Ans: Basically I have travelled across India. From 9th standard to 12th standard I was in Surat, before that I was in a very small place called Banswara that is in Rajasthan. From there we moved to Bhilwada for a year, that is again in Rajasthan and that is known as the textile city and because of COVID now its known even more. After that I was in a place called Vijaywada, Andhra Pradesh and after that I moved to Surat. That is because my father would take those transverse from one place to the other whenever he got a better opportunity. In terms of being a student, I think I was a very active student who would like to take part in everything, be it literary events or being good at studies, being a sincere student, and the only thing I would not do is sports. Other than that I think I would be basically everywhere. That is the kind of school system I was in, I liked taking part in everything, I was quite competitive that way and apart from that, of course I stayed with my parents and an elder brother. He was the role for me because he too was a very studious person, as far as school is concerned we were in the same school, and I always believed we both were very sincere kids, not very naughty. At the same time we were not serious kids, we were just sincere, so we would have fun at the same time, but I think in part of me growing up, my brother and my parents had a lot of impact on what I would believe, what my value system totally is. So that is how my formative years were, and apart from that, one thing that I always believed in was whatever I do, I have to do it myself. I have to try it first and in case I am not successful, then will I ask for help. That is something which has always been my motto, to try things first and try everything that is possible because I like having new experiences about everything that is there around.

Q2. Did CA and CS happen just as a natural progression, considering that you belong to a Marvadi family?

Ans: Basically there is another story here and since I told you I would be everywhere, I would take part in every competition possible and I had those qualities which I knew that I can get into a format where journalism is involved, where storytelling is involved, and where I can discuss things which are actually affecting this world. I had a lot of empathy and that’s the kind of person I was and thought maybe telling good stories by journalism is the path to go and that is something I would be good at, but again the way you said in the conventional way; a “Marvadi” girl and everyone thought that I Marvadi girl should not get into journalism because of hours and hours of long work and you don’t have any times to come back and its late in the night and any parent would be worried about that, so that was one thing. Secondly, my house has a lot of chartered accountants; my brother is a CA, my uncle is a CA, so my father always said that it’s a great course to learn and you will be able to evolve and learn a lot of opportunities out there, and after 12th standard I was confused, I really wanted to get into journalism but of course I had no clear path because had no mentor there and this field definitely requires that because you have no idea. In my family there is no one who is into the media field. Finally after a lot of conversations, after a lot of cold war with my father, ultimately I was like okay let’s get into chartered accountancy because of course I was a good student so I thought that would work, and finally I came to Mumbai in 2011, joined HR college as my graduation and started with my CA classes as everyone else does when they come to Mumbai.

Q3. How was that life for someone who always loved journalism and storytelling, choosing risk-advisory and indirect taxes? How was that 4 years?

Ans: I would say when you are a new kid you are very excited to learn anything that comes about and when I knew that right now I don’t have a shot with journalism, might as well do better at what I am doing right now, regrets won’t help me at all. I would always watch CNBC but as a student you just watch it for stock markets and to understand how it functions. I was in Haribhakti and that’s when I saw CNBC properly, I was into risk-advisory of a lot of broker companies, and that’s when I looked at it and I was like if the conventional journalism is not working, then maybe business journalism would work for me and that’s how it hit me. I was like if I am doing a course in chartered accountancy, I will have a lot of financial and business related knowledge, then might as well combine the two, and that’s when I decided business journalism is the way to go and I might sound funny but that’s when I thought that one day its going to be CNBC TV18 and I am going to work with that channel and that’s how it worked. For those 4 years, yes that was not the work I wanted to do but I had a lot of fun learning that and when I was in Haribhakti, I also knew that if I have to get out of the CA route, it has to be through a Big Four, and for some reason again I worked and spoke to a lot of people, got into an internship and a job ultimately with EY and I would say the base learning was so strong and right now I feel it, I am glad I started that way that it helps you in your later years. So I would say that maybe the checklist part wasn’t so exciting, going to the meeting, the tax official wasn’t so exciting, but now when I see it, it teaches you so much, so many communication skills and it also teaches you people management, so these are the two major things apart from the technical knowledge that I got is what I learnt from those two places, and of course great organisations to work with.

Q4. You got stuck in ISCA in first attempt. Being a historical topper, was it a shocker?

Ans: It was a big, big, big shock, I never thought that something like this would happen, but again I had seen this happening. So one thing is knowing something and second this is it happening to you, so that you are able to basically process that information. So I knew people, even smart people who were not able to pass CA, sometimes it happens, but it would happen with me is something I never ever expected. I was quite taken aback, I think for over a week or so I felt like I am not going to study again, because of one subject why would I give exams again. But then of course you have a great family support, they support you, they tell you that its okay and it happens, and that’s when I realised that failure doesn’t always mean that it’s the end of your life, you can always come back stronger, is the one lesson am glad that I learnt from CA final. So now if there is any failure, I think I will be better prepared to deal with it.

Q5. Was the boredom the trigger to shift into equity research at MOSL?

Ans: I had no plans in joining the equity research firm. In fact, I had put in a request or an application with St. Xavier’s for a journalism diploma after I was done with my chartered accountancy because I knew its journalism for me. I applied for it, I put in my papers at EY, everyone was quite sceptic, I still hadn’t got the admission, but I had to do that so that I could serve the notice period and go to the college. So before that I spoke to a lot of people. I remember 1st June was when I had to pay the fees and the results had come out for Xavier’s, and 31st May was my last day at EY, in 2016. So 31st May I come out and realise that now Xavier’s is where I have to join, I have to pay the fees tomorrow. Before that, I spoke to a couple of business journalists, they were like my friend’s friend, or somebody I just randomly got their contacts at Xavier’s, and they just told me one thing that since you already have some financial knowledge, I think you should build up on that rather than joining a journalism course for one year, and I would just say that build on your equity financial knowledge, because that’s what business channels talk about, that’s more of it. I wasn’t convinced, I was like a lot of them are journalists, and they are like they are but what they actually talk about is basically their financial knowledge and you will be surprised to know that not a lot of people in my team are journalists by their degree. They are basically into finance, and that’s what our main job is and that’s when I realised journalism in that way is not going to work for me then I have to find for a equity research job and it was exactly for two months that I kept looking for a job in equity research which you also know is very difficult for a chartered accountant. They would prefer a CFA or an MBA for a equity research position, but I was lucky, there were internships that opened up at MOSL for three months and post that they were going to convert it into a full-time job if you did well. I applied for it, thankfully I got it, I was like really lucky that day, and that’s how I got into MOSL and I started tracking pharma sector there.

Q6. You got into the XL life making financial forecasts for companies and this consensus estimate and all, you have stream of numbers, so were you good with numbers as well?

Ans: I was good with numbers, I won’t deny that, but this was a different world to do estimates, analysis was okay but to do consensus numbers or forecasts for any company, it comes with time. You cannot learn it over 3–9 months, it comes with time and that’s what they try teaching me out there, specially the Pharma sector was extremely difficult, not only numbers you have to understand, you have to understand what drug is important, what drug is not important, so all that took a lot of time and I would say it’s a different thing and you cannot learn it in 9 months even if you are good with numbers. You will of course be able to do it faster than others, but learning it is definitely an art and it’s a very interesting art.

Q7. How did CNBC happen? Is it an easy transition? Are there enough vacancies?

Ans: Interestingly, I think 20 days to the system in MOSL and we have a big conference called the MOSL conference, which is a big event they have for three days, and CNBC team had come to cover it and interestingly there was a panel discussion, Mr. Piyush Goyal had come, he was the power minister then, and everyone was asked for public interaction. The discussion was open to questions and I out of nowhere just asked random questions and everyone was quite surprised that this is the new girl who as come and in 20 days she asked a question to Mr. Piyush Goyal that actually got a lot of eyeballs and it was honestly not related to the economy, it was social questions. I was like I would never get to meet Mr. Piyush Goyal again, might as well take the chance and ask him a question. Mr. Ramdev Agarwal ji, who was the chairman at MOSL, he noticed it and he said aren’t you the new girl and I said yes. Then he was like you asked the question and I said yes again, lot of people came to me regarding the question, they were surprised it was not related to power yet I still asked it. I was usually not scared to ask questions and maybe it was a different question than what people expected but I knew I would never get a chance to speak to Mr. Piyush Goyal in person so I asked that question. Mr. Anuj Singhal, who was the stock editor there at CNBC TV18, he noticed me and of course if you ask an uncomfortable question to somebody, people will notice you. He noticed me, I spoke to him after the event, and he told me to send my CV to him, first I was a researcher, second I was a chartered accountant, and third he saw my question asking skills so he told me to send him my CV, and he said he will see what he can do, if you are interested in it, I shall take it forward. I was so excited and I sent him the CV that very day because I came home at 12 in the night and the first thing I had to do was send him my CV. I think it was in August that it happened and in March I got a call from CNBC for an interview, so this is what happened.

Q8. When you got the offer letter from CNBC, was it difficult for people at home to tell you to go ahead?

Ans: People were sceptic, because nobody was sure what would I do after taking a job out there. In fact, when I left EY, there were a lot of people who pull you down because people were like how you would do media. My family were more sceptic than them not being sure about me being able to do it. They were just like it’s an industry and there is no surety, are you sure it will work well for you, are you sure you will be able to do what you want, in a sense that you don’t know what happens, like you go there but you are just a backbencher basically and not the face, but that’s what I wanted. I wanted to be a research analyst and an anchor there. There were some people who worked with me in my previous firms who said you can’t do it, its not possible, you won’t be able to do things, is what I was told by some people. Then there were some people who said its okay you try it once, you won’t have any regrets later. So I got mixed responses honestly. My family said you should go try it but always remember that you should be happy that you are a chartered accountant so you can always come back in case you do not like it or if it is different than what you thought it would be.

Q9. What’s your typical day at CNBC? How does you entire day turn up and when does it end?

Ans: The show starts at 7 in the morning and we reach office by 6.30, mostly 6 because then you have to do the entire research. Power breakfast is mostly wrap up of all the global markets, the Asian markets which are light then, whatever happened in the market the last day, whatever is going to happen in the markets that day. So basically it’s the most comprehensive show, basically you have to cover the entire ground, so your research has to be very, very thorough. You do that and post that you have a lot of companies which are coming for interview so you are given specific sectors that you track, track oil in gas, chemical sector, real estate, so if there is any company that comes to my sector for an interview, I have to send the research to the anchors. This happens through the day because companies from your sector keep coming so you have to basically uprise your anchors of the research and apart from that if you have any show, then you have to prepare for that because you also have interviews to take up. So I recently anchored the market show that’s called the Midcap Radar, we have a lot of interviews lined up so you have to basically prepare for all the interviews out there and through the day there is a lot of information that is uploaded by your companies, for instance, somebody has made an accusation, somebody has sold certain things, what is the kind of margin, so you keep discussing that and the second thing is there is a lot of freedom as far as the research you can do, so you are not bound. As long as your research makes sense, you can always do that research and put it on air, you can always write an article on that or you can always do a short link on that, so it is an industry which is driven by your own actions, like people will keep motivating you but it is mostly driven by how much you think and ideas are always welcomed even if its not your core beat, you can always go ahead and create content on that, like I am very passionate about climate change so I started my own series called “sustainability watch” and I speak to people and talk about their CSR, talk about ESG investing, talk about what a company is doing to fight climate change, so that is a different series that I have started on a web channel. You can have a lot of things, if you have ideas they are always able to take it and are ready to take it and create content there.

Q10. How is it to report to Latha Venkatesh? Who are the other people in you team? Do you have lunch together and all?

Ans: Latha Venkatesh is extremely passionate, I don’t think I have seen a lady as passionate as her in my entire career. She is never late to work, I have never seen her take any leaves except for the annual holidays that you take. I think she eats, breathes and sleeps the economy, like she is so passionate about what’s happening with the economy that when she talks about it I can feel that she means what she is saying. Everyone is ultimately a human right, so the part you see on air and the part that you have behind air, like everyone is extremely professional, everyone has a lot of fun and specifically since you like Latha so much, I would say she is one of those who is very warm, she is a great teacher. If you ask her anything most complex about banking, she will teach it to you like she is teaching a 2-year old. Her language is so simple that you will actually come out not only with the understanding that you wanted, but the ancillary things that you did not want to know but the conversations just flows and she talks about it with so much passion that you actually want to listen to her. She’s one of those who inspires you literally to know your subject well and to main business with it. If there is anything in macro economy you know its Latha Venkatesh, if there is anything in banking, you go to Latha Venkatesh, so she is extremely, extremely passionate about it and its great to learn under her. Same for her and Shereen Bhan, both extremely passionate females, they are our bosses, they literally run the entire channel.

Q11. Is it like since you would be the face, is it an army of research guys to support you? Otherwise how does the transition happen quickly?

Ans: Basically the research team is only the anchor team, so I do research as well as I am an anchor, so what happens is that we are trained so well that the numbers or the exchanges, you have to ready with it, and for that we read a lot and the correct response to whatever is coming to you is something that you learn over time but yea we help each other in case something is coming on air because an analyst cannot read all the numbers together so I would say that the person knows the basic sector if there is something required you have your anchors that help you with it at the same time, but I would say it’s a lot of practice that we go through because if you are a newbie, yes it will be difficult for you, your seniors will help you with it and they do very well but gradually you learn because you know your sector well, you know your company well so you know how to process those numbers in a short period of time.

Q12. When you have calls with promoters, for example, in oil and gas, you might as well have Anil Agarwal coming in. Do you have goosebumps in those moments?

Ans: Its fun actually. Earlier I would feel and I still do because they are like great personalities and to get to interview them or get to talk to them its great so you do feel that apart from your company you turn the thing into more than that and they gradually speak to you so much that they are your mentors as well, they are an inspiration as well, but then you know you can track the companies that they are the promoters of so then it comes normal after a while, it takes a lot of time though.

Q13. If you were to look back and retrospect in terms of your career choices and transitions, what is that one thing you would have done differently?

Ans: I would say I do not have any regrets with respect to my career honestly because despite the fact that I did not want to start with chartered accountancy, I am extremely grateful to my family that they asked me to do this course because it gave me an edge over others because the things that I know maybe others don’t know because its about accounting, its about standards, or maybe its anything about audits that impacts financial status, means ultimately in analysis, and maybe I would have wanted it to happen faster but I cant complain because maybe if I had done journalism I would have started working with CNBC at 21, just after my graduation, I like to start 2–3 years later and that’s absolutely fine with me because the kind of experience I got at say Haribhakti or EY or MOSL, I don’t think anything could have topped me that because I just know one thing that its always your IQ, EQ and SQ. You learn a lot about your emotional quotient if you deal with a lot of people more and that’s what I learned at EY, at MOSL, at Haribhakti apart from of course the IQ that I learnt there. Had I not met so many people, maybe I would have been a different person when I had come to CNBC, a kid who did not know a lot about things but I came as a person who did know the industry, who did know how people work and how the industry works, so that really helped me.

Q14. What do you do for fun and fitness?

Ans: For fun, I basically love to read and right now I am reading a book called Keepers of the Kalachakra and its about spirituality and how the world is related to science. Apart from that I paint and I like dancing as well so these are the things that I do. For fitness, dancing takes care of it and apart from that usual fitness is what everyone does and I do as well.

Q15. You spoke about spirituality quotient so what exactly is that? What do you do to enhance your spirituality quotient?

Ans: I got introduced to this concept like 3 years back only. I did not focus so much on it but this was actually brought into my notice and I realised that spirituality quotient is if you have to be successful, all these 3 things are important — true spirituality quotient is you keep your mind under control and this is so important when you have to react to things. I wouldn’t say I have even touched the tip of the iceberg, but I have started reading more. There is this book that I have been introduced to, which is about Bhagvad Gita and its about how the universe and anything that is talked to us in Bhagvad Gita is connected, so this is something that I am reading and I have realised that science and religion is connected, we just have to figure that out and how to control your mind, that is something that I definitely have to build on and I think yoga and meditation helps a lot.

Q16. Final words of advice to people watching this show.

Ans: I would just say that school world is very different from the normal world. I think one has to learn that reality is quite different so even if people pull you down, you should stop paying attention to people who do not matter. Just go for it if you want to learn something, if you want to achieve something, give it a shot. If you don’t give it a shot, you will regret it forever and that’s what I am thankful to that I had this support around me who forced me to go ahead and speak to Mr. Anil Singhal or maybe helped me leave EY and trying to get into this college for journalism. If I hadn’t done that, had I not been a risk-taker, maybe that would have never happened. You will fail as well, because after I failed my first attempt at CA, I thought that the world has come to an end but that is nothing like that. There are bigger things that are going to happen to you. These small failures do not ever define you as a person, never ever, because you are much bigger than your smaller failures that happen to you and they actually build you as an individual. Third thing I would say, just keep reading, its extremely good, it’s a great habit and it opens you. A book is definitely a person’s bestfriend, it opens you to so many possibilities that happen around, that you can actually see the world from these books so I think these three things I have learned over years and of course there is so much more to learn.