MY CAREER IN SIX SPOTLIGHT

Rebecca Carvatt

Partner

Sharing her career journey by answering the six questions below.

Who or what has been your biggest source of inspiration throughout your career?

I have always been inspired by stories of hard work, innate curiousity and drive leading to success. As a kid, I love hearing the post-depression era stories of creative and practical problem solving, and business building from my pop. He was a lifelong learner and someone who believed that you could fix any problem by thinking through the challenge from multiple angles, researching, consulting your network, and taking a leap of faith.

Would you say your success is primarily due to luck or hard work?

I have certainly worked hard over the course of my professional career (and prior) and I think it is important to not shy away from the value of reps and “”time at bat.”” Luck plays a role as well – but it is the ability to take the lucky market timing and opportunities when they arise. I fought hard for the opportunity to work in Hong Kong eight years into my career and joined our APAC firm at a time we were building for a next era of growth. That timing was luck and allowed me to jump into leadership opportunities I would not have otherwise had if I had not worked hard for the overseas role.

What is the driving force behind your career aspirations?

I enjoy a challenge and I truly enjoy working with such a wide variety of brilliant people – both clients and colleagues at EY. Our business operates like a team and it really is fun to work through new challenges and opportunities and celebrate our wins together as well.

If given the chance to do one thing differently in your career, what would it be and why?

I have had a number of great mentors and coaches throughout my career; however, almost all of them are men. While I wouldn’t change anything about those relationships that have supported, guided, and made a huge difference in my career – I wish I had female mentorship, especially in the early partner years.

What was your most favourite job/role and why?

I love my current role, leading strategic global client relationships and working across EY’s service lines, while also co-leading our US Digital Assets Consulting business. We are in the early stages of the replatforming of our global financial services and it is exciting to see firms leaning into innovation, offering new products and services to their clients, and moving faster to enable agentic capabilities alongside this new programmable financial infrastructure.

Do you have a favourite motto or quote that guides your professional life?

I’m an eternal optimist – sometimes when the day gets stressful it’s helpful to focus on what you can control and let go of what is out of your control (or just bad luck) – “C’est la vie!”