A career with unlocked potential

Meet Qais Tillawi

Qais has had an insatiable hunger for knowledge and business management since he was a kid. From starting off in a Montessori school in Jordan to landing his dream job with PwC Middle East in Dubai, he’s lived through very diverse and unique experiences. Here’s his story:

What was your upbringing like?

Raised between Jordan and the USA, I believe I was lucky to live the best of both cultures. As a kid, I went to a Montessori school, had several hobbies such as photography, playing fencing for several years and trance music; I even played as a DJ during my high school years. I then followed my passion and continued my education by going off to college in Arizona, where I studied political science and international relations. 

After graduation, I was lucky to work at the Jordan Embassy in Washington DC. Yet, as much as I enjoyed the global world of politics, the love I had for business continued, therefore I decided to pursue my Masters degree in operations, project and supply chain management - which was the stepping stone for me to land my dream job at PwC Middle East. 

How has your journey with PwC Middle East been so far?

I joined PwC Middle East in 2019 as a Management Consultant, where I got to help clients solve important problems, create value, maximise growth and improve overall business performance - my role involved identifying options and recommendations for change, as well as defining means for additional resources to implement new solutions. I look after a handful of clients which are all at different points in their projects, juggling diverse expectations and deadlines for each of them.

My journey would not be the same without the team I work with - the team is very diverse and made up of people from different backgrounds, cultures and with a variety of skills. As a team, there’s no expectation that you have to be an expert in everything - there’s such a deep range of skills and knowledge and we collaborate on the work we do. Everyone is supportive, available to help and share their knowledge, and you never have to ask twice for help. 

What’s one thing you love about working at PwC Middle East?

Something that I really admire about the firm is its continuous investment in its people to be tech powered - there’s always an opportunity to learn new skills here, which is key in a rapidly evolving industry. I had access to a lot of training, such as the Digital Accelerator (DA) Programme, a six week digital upskilling programme to develop our capabilities around design thinking and being effective change agents within the firm. 

As a DA, I was: 

• able to be at the forefront, joining a community of pioneers driving the transformation of our business;

• given the opportunity to develop deep capabilities in data analysis and visualisation;

• able to specialise in digital areas such as Intelligent Process Automation and Artificial Intelligence;

• given the chance to develop a solution to an existing problem, which I showcased in front of our Middle East Leadership Team.