[100 Emerging Women Leaders] How this literature graduate is running her own investment banking firm

Growing up in a business family, Sraboni Haralalka had always been surrounded by conversations about numbers and business strategies at the dinner table. 

Naturally, she decided to pursue an MBA, diving into the world of finance.

Since then she has worked in various roles in the banking sector, including as a private banker, corporate banker, and branch manager. Today she is the Executive Director of Wodehouse Capital Advisors, the investment banking firm she co-founded in 2010 along with her ex-colleague, Manmohan Tiwana.

Wodehouse Capital Advisors is an investment bank with investment banking, strategic consulting and multi-family office services as its three main offerings. 

Under strategic consulting, it offers services like buy-side advisory, India entry, business restructuring, and real estate consultancy. For multi-family offices, it identifies the best investment options to meet the client’s needs. It also provides equity and debt solutions to help clients achieve their financial, strategic, and growth goals.

The firm started off with the investment banking arm. A year later, in 2011, it began its M&A practices branch.

Despite her family’s background, Haralalka recalls that finance was not her first choice. Her heart lay in literature, in which she pursued both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees. However, after her MA she realised that there were not many career opportunities available at the time in the arts, which is when she decided to pivot to finance. 

“I was a good student, and I always understood and answered questions in science and math. At that point, I made a choice. I didn’t want to be a teacher—it didn’t excite me enough to pursue any of those professions. That’s when I decided I wanted to be in banking,” she says.

She adds that since childhood, she has the instinct to discover new things and learn new stories. 

“I believe in bringing creativity into everything, whether it’s banking, biology, or medicine, to make it better. It comes naturally and instinctively to me,” she says.

She started working in HSBC Retail Banking and Wealth Management and soon shifted to American Express. She managed the HNI book for American Express Bank for Western India and was a part of the team that launched the unique MoneyPlus product for American Express.

“I was able to take on various roles for the client, not just in wealth management but also by assisting with other financial and corporate requirements. That’s where I got my first taste of investment banking,” she adds. 

Before founding Wodehouse Capital Advisors in 2010, Haralalka worked with many organisations including Metlife India Insurance, Societe Generale Private Banking, and Altamount Capital Management. 

At Wodehouse, she heads the family office business. She has also led several major deals, including advising US-based Zeda on an acquisition.

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Challenges on both fronts

Haralalka shares she never held the belief that there was a distinction between genders—something she believes has helped her achieve her goals in life. She never thought of the possibility of not having a career. 

However, the real world was different.

She recalls that when she moved to Delhi and attended meetings with her colleagues,  the promoters would often not talk to her directly as they were not used to interacting with women. 

“I would start talking and then they would listen to me, but they are very uncomfortable dealing with women,” she adds.

She does acknowledge the presence of gender roles within the industry as a whole. While many women hold senior positions as relationship managers, branch managers, or in HR, they are rarely seen in leadership roles. 

“Investment banking is a very, very male-dominated field. In our generation, you will see very few women at the top. But I would say women who are ten years younger than me, you'll see more and more women at that level,” she notes.

On the personal front, she recalls that after her masters, she was nine months pregnant while taking coaching for an MBA degree. Even while working, she moved to Mumbai and had to be away from her child for six months, which was a challenging time for her.

“I thought that I don't think I can have my baby and do an MBA and have a career. But my family–my in-laws and parents, supported me,” she adds.

Haralalka believes that she has prioritised her career as much as her personal life. In her journey so far, she has stuck to her principles of honesty and hard work.

“Honesty is extremely important. I have a strong value system centred around being truthful and honest as much as possible. I believe that the knowledge, empathy, network, and skills I bring to the job are more than enough to compensate for the fact that I'm not a male,” she says.

(The copy has been updated)