Siddhartha Thyagarajan

Current Employer/Organisation Name

Facebook Ireland Limited

What have you been doing since leaving Exeter, and what are you doing now?

I am currently the Market Specialist- India for Facebook Ireland Ltd. As a part of my profile I lead on the Global Operations for users of Facebook products in India, including users of Facebook, WhatsApp, Messenger and Instagram. Previously I was Policy Advisor for the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), New Delhi, India. As a policy advisor I was responsible for providing research and policy analysis support to senior colleagues. I also monitored developments on a wide range of policy areas that are of interest to companies doing business bilaterally between India and the UK (e.g. trade, transport, climate change, IP, tax, labour relations). I spearheaded the preparation of all briefing material for meetings for Country Heads and visiting senior CBI managers and other business and government delegations. Previously, I was senior business management consultant with Dezan Shira & Associates’ New Delhi office. I provided bespoke strategic consulting and business intelligence services for multinational companies based in Asia. I was responsible for producing special market entry reports for clients expanding in Asia. I also reported on complex business and market issues for Asia Briefing publications for China, India and ASEAN member countries. My areas of expertise include, open source intelligence, market entry studies, risk assessments and business consulting. I have more than 3 years experience in security risk analysis domain with International SOS and Control Risks, to deliver the highest quality information services for clients through Travel Security Online. I analyzed geo-political risks and provided security assessments for over 90 percent of the Fortune 100 companies and 60 percent of Fortune 500 companies. In addition, I have been responsible for the training of several new employees. I have previously worked with Oxfam in London, United Kingdom.

Why did you choose this career? And what do you enjoy most about your work?

A career with a tech company such as Facebook with a focus on operations for India was one that has immense opportunity. This was one of the key determining factors for me picking this role. The aspect of the role that I enjoy the most, is the fact that most of the work and the career itself is self-defined and one is allowed the room to explore new areas of interest in the course of daily work, which ensures that work each is entails, new ideas, engagement with new teams as well as real impact that is quantifiable.

Please tell us if you were a member of any societies, groups or sports clubs?

I immensely enjoyed my time at Exeter. I was a part of the Debating Society and represented the University in more that 8 Inter-Varsity Championships, including tournaments at LSE, King’s, SOAS, and Warwick. The experience at Exeter was enriching not only in the academic sense but also culturally very rewarding.

What did you enjoy most about your programme and what was the biggest highlight?

The flexible nature of the course with the wide variety of optional modules is what I enjoyed the most about the course. The biggest highlight for me was studying the History and Historiography of the Palestine Conflict with Ilan Pappe. The kind of insights that discussed during the course as well as the heated discussions during the tutorials was something that I cherish the most.

What skills and experiences have been most useful for your career?

Critical Thinking, Analytical Writing, and Public Speaking were the skills that I have aided me the most in my career.

What advice would you give to a current student who wishes to pursue your career?

I would recommend that while studying, it is important to study a wide cross-section of modules that don’t pigeon-hole you into picking specific areas of work. Employers are often more concerned about transferrable skills and exposure to different types of modules, allows one to build on different skills while also acquiring knowledge from different subject areas.