Success is never ending and failure is never final
PwC Partner, Charles shares how his career journey took him from Nigeria to the UK and how his persistence and resilience led him to go from Associate to Partner. Here’s his story…
Tell us about your background and career journey at PwC?
I was born and grew up in Lagos, Nigeria with my parents and three siblings. We came from a working class background and didn’t have a huge amount growing up. My mum went to primary school, up to the age of 11, and that was the highest level of education she had. My dad went to secondary school, did a diploma and became a tradesperson. Later in life, he went to university because he really wanted to achieve a degree - and he did!
Our parents invested a huge amount in us getting a good education. When I was around 11 years old, my dad got me a green screen IBM computer (with floppy disks!) and it’s a moment I will never forget as it sparked my interest in technology.
After secondary school I did a computer diploma and then moved to the north of Nigeria to teach physics, computer and mathematics in a secondary school. I was 19 at the time but wanted to do something different. I have always been happy to go where the opportunities are and I think it is so important not to limit yourself.
Whilst teaching, my dad kept pushing for me to get a university degree and that was my next step. I moved onto university to study Computer Science and went on to get my first role at PwC Nigeria as an Associate.
After two years, I left the firm to work at a telecoms company and gain more industry experience. Although I always knew I wanted to progress my career with PwC, I felt it was necessary to gain experience elsewhere too - I was honest with my manager at the time on my reasons for leaving and told him I would be coming back one day! After 18 months, I applied for a Senior Associate position at PwC UK and got the job. My wife and I both grew up in Nigeria and we wanted to experience somewhere different - this was our opportunity.
What was your experience adapting to a new culture?
There was definitely a culture shock when we moved to the UK. In Nigeria, you just get your head down, do your work and progress. In the UK, I felt that you needed to vocalise your contribution. I was brought up not to boast about my achievements, so I found it really hard going when it came to talking about what value I can bring to the business.
When I joined the Gatwick office in the summer of 2005, it was definitely a shock to the system that I was one of 2 or 3 black people in the South East team. At the beginning, I did struggle as being a minority was new to me. My mannerisms and the way I did things was different and people weren’t used to that. I remember sometimes walking into a shop and being the only black person there. It felt like people were looking at me. All I could think was ‘there is no-one that looks like me’
Interestingly, when I return to Nigeria now on a visit, they see me as quiet and usually comment on how my mannerisms have changed from being in the UK for so many years.
What challenges have you faced in your career?
When I joined PwC Nigeria, Nsa Harrison, the Managing Partner that took us through our introductory training was inspirational. I knew then and there that I wanted to become a Partner at this firm. When I moved to the UK, the desire to be a Partner didn’t go away but I did question ‘is this achievable?’ However, in 2008 Teresa Owusu- Adjei became a Partner. She was the first female black Partner at PwC and it inspired me to feel that I could do it.
Through my years here I’ve always had coaches, sponsorship and have never been shy to approach people to mentor me. That’s helped me massively. I’ve sometimes felt I needed to work harder than everyone else to get noticed. Breaking into networks hasn’t come as easy to me as it has for others. With the benefit of hindsight, I can confidently say that no-one within the firm is stopping any individual from progressing; however as human beings we tend to stick with those that we know. Stepping out of my comfort zone, being agile and expanding my network has definitely helped me to get to where I am today.
I focus a lot on being resilient - there’s been many occasions where I’ve been knocked back, perhaps not getting the role or promotion I’d hoped for. I know some of my peers from the same ethnic background have said ‘I can’t make it here’ or ‘This is not for me’ but I’ve always just got up, dusted myself off and kept going. I strongly believe that resilience is a quality we all need to function effectively.
The biggest fear I had coming up through the firm was ‘would I get a second chance if I fail?’ But I’ve learnt from experience and the support I’ve received from others that you don’t have to succeed at everything the first time; persistence is really important. A motivational quote from secondary school has always stuck with me ‘success is never ending and failure is never final.’
What are some of your proudest moments in your career?
I was so delighted to become a Partner at the beginning of 2022. My wife was with me when I got the news so we took a brief moment to go out for a celebration lunch - it wasn’t just me after all, we both did this. My parents were also emotional knowing the achievement of this, especially given the size of the UK firm. Becoming a Partner at PwC UK is big.
Since I've joined the Partner Diversity Council chaired by our Chief People Officer, I’m able to bring my perspective to contribute to delivering the firm’s inclusion and diversity strategy for all of our people. It’s fantastic to see the significant focus that PwC Chairman, Kevin Ellis and the management board have placed on the the racial inclusion agenda since 2017 (when we engaged with our ethnic minority staff to better understand their experience of our working culture), and whilst we have much more to do on this agenda, it’s clear to see that we have made really good progress and are not where we used to be.
What advice would you give to anyone building a career in technology?
Be curious - technology changes so fast, it’s good to keep up with what’s new.
Resilience and persistence are key in your career journey.
Be agile and seek out new opportunities in line with your goals.
Check out our tech opportunities.
