Deloitte’s People of Operate | Bharatendu Sureka

Bharatendu is a passionate managed service leader who drives the Operate services for the Technology & Transformation practice across India. Read how he brings the best of his extensive experience in solution and delivery enablement to the fore—collaborating with Deloitte clients and teams in India and around the world.

Interview question and answers:

Briefly, explain what you do at Deloitte.

I lead Deloitte India’s Operate services for the Consulting practice. My role includes solution and delivery enablement across the organisation’s storefront for Consulting in the Operate areas.

How would you explain what you do to someone who knows nothing about Operate services?

We offer managed services to our clients to enhance their efficiency, effectiveness and business outcomes. Our work areas cover finance, AMS, testing, infra, cloud, finance, supply chain, HR, analytics, customer services and analytics.

What does a typical day of work look like for you?

My day usually begins with looking at the pipeline of deals, client meetings, proposals, win-loss analysis and enabling delivery with hiring, functional transformation, offerings and capabilities.

What's a common misconception about working in Operate services that you'd like to debunk?

People often perceive Operate services to be merely transactional in nature, with a limited career path at Deloitte. Operate, on the contrary, involves long-term, recurring services that can transform clients’ businesses. As part of the value that Operate offers, there is always a great opportunity to ideate and innovate – both internally and with clients.

How did you end up in Operate?

I had started my career in managed services with a service integrator, and over the last 23+ years, I have been handling core Operate and managed services in the IT and BPS space. When I found that Deloitte is investing in Operate Services in a big way, with a vision to grow Operate exponentially, I got excited and found the opportunity to be interesting as well as challenging.

What excites you about your role?

My current role is full of opportunities that allow me to stay connected to the ever-evolving consulting space. As managed services grow, the demand for Operate services will increase, especially in the Consulting business. There’s always a new challenge and you’re always on your toes to stay ahead of the game.

What's the most challenging component of your job?

My role cuts across the entire storefront in Consulting business. It needs me to navigate with multiple service lines and provide solution and delivery enablement as and when needed. Thankfully, I have the support of great teams to help keep it all together.

Tell us about an Operate services project you're most proud of working on in your career.

I have handled Operate services across clients globally. During my stint with my previous organisation, I had worked for a large GCC acquisition of 2.500 people, across India and Poland. This GCC covered business operate and technology operate services, which was a great learning experience and a significant achievement in my career.

What aspects of your career journey have taken you by surprise?

As a consultant and managed services leader in my career, I have always been servicing clients globally. I never thought I will be able to travel to 45+ countries in a short span of 20 years of my career.

What's one piece of advice you'd give your younger self about getting started in Operate?

Operate is a big opportunity and this is just the beginning.

What do you like to do outside of work? And why do you enjoy it/why is it so special to you?

I enjoy playing a variety of sports, such as cricket, badminton, squash and table tennis. I love watching Bollywood movies. As a fun fact, I had appeared on national television and participated in a popular comedy show, “The Kapil Sharma Show”.