Akanksha Rai
Business Analyst
San Diego,CA
Summary
Experienced in global banking and consulting environments, aspiring Business Analyst with a strong track record in client management, business development, and financial crime compliance. Leveraging data-driven insights, consistently enhanced growth and upheld compliance standards. Expertise lies in delivering strategic solutions that align with organizational objectives, ensuring maximum efficiency and success.
Overview
5
5
years of professional experience
6
6
years of post-secondary education
1
1
Certification
Work History
Senior Consultant - Forensic and Integrity Solutions
ERNST AND YOUNG LLP
Ahmedabad, India
09.2023 - 05.2024
- Achieved $100K in revenue through leading ML-driven compliance projects at GIFT City.
- Boosted fraud detection efficiency by 30% through utilization of EY-Assess for AML risk evaluations.
- Conducted compliance analysis and ML TF risk assessments aligned with regulatory standards for multinational and public sector banks.
Senior Client Assessment Analyst
KPMG GLOBAL SERVICES
Gurgaon, India
07.2022 - 09.2023
- Conducted 1,500+ due diligence checks for HNIs and Fortune 500 companies with 95% accuracy
- Saved 52 hours of operational time per year, achieving team recognition.
- Achieved 95% accuracy in risk assessments through implementation of sanctions screening.
- Project Lead for Client Risk Control: Led due diligence efforts, assessing ownership structures and conducting 1,500+ checks for over 400 HNIs, Fortune 500 companies, and private equity firms
Priority Banking Client Relationship Manager
STANDARD CHARTERED BANK
Noida, India
07.2021 - 07.2022
- Managed $1M in HNI and UHNI client assets, increasing portfolio revenue by $120K.
- Secured top ranking for new-to-wealth client acquisition in Q3 2021 within the West Region.
- Crafted customized investment portfolios aligned with client objectives.
Preferred Relationship Manager
HDFC BANK
Gurgaon, India
06.2019 - 07.2021
- Recognized with Star Excellence Award for exceeding liability targets by 10% and earning $50K.
- Enhanced client connections by delivering customized financial advice.
- Enhanced client retention through personalized banking strategies for high-value accounts.
Education
Master of Science - Business Analytics
University of San Diego
San Diego, CA 08.2024 - 05.2025
MBA - Marketing
ICFAI Business School
India 04.2017 - 05.2019
Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) - Finance
GGSIPU
Delhi, India 03.2014 - 04.2017
Skills
Proficient in Tableau and Power BI
GAP Analysis and Quality Assurance
Business Development and CRM
Factiva and Refinitiv for Risk Analysis
Sanctions screening and financial frauds
Customer Due Diligence Proficiency
Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Risk Assessment
Predictive modeling and time series analysis
Machine Learning (XGBoost, Random Forest)
Programming (Python, SQL)
Proficient in Tableau and Power BI
Academic Projects
LISI Automotive, Madrid, Spain January 2025
- Collaborated with LISI Automotive in Madrid on an international consulting project to address a real-world business problem.
- Fine-tuned and customized pre-existing forecasting models (Holt-Winters, XGBoost) using hyperparameters, lag features, and rolling averages to meet client-specific needs., Reduced MAPE from 20% to 7.49%, enabling tailored solutions for accurate sales and raw material forecasts.
- Trained models on 80% historical sales data (2019-2023) and validated using 2024 actuals, improving production and inventory planning.
DSA Alliance NPO, San Diego, CA, December 2024
- Analyzed shelter utilization trends in San Diego to support homelessness reduction strategies.
- Merged HUD and economic datasets to uncover key correlations, finding that a $100 rent increase results in 322 additional homeless individuals, while a $1,000 per capita income rise reduces homelessness by 283.
- Identified emergency shelters as the most effective, reducing unsheltered rates by 20.13 individuals per unit increase in utilization.
- Proposed expanding HMIS programs, increasing shelter capacity, and refining policies to improve resource allocation and operational efficiency.
Spotify Recommender System, San Diego, CA, November 2024
- Designed a playlist recommendation system using the Spotify Million Playlist Dataset (MPD) with advanced machine learning techniques.
- Applied Word2Vec for embedding generation and BERT4Rec for sequence modeling, achieving 96.13% accuracy in playlist continuation.
- Enhanced user engagement and music discovery by integrating metadata, audio features, and behavioral insights into the model.
Leadership Experience
- Marketing Director, Analytics Association, University of San Diego - Organized workshops and guest speaker sessions, connecting students with analytics professionals.
- Placement Coordinator, ICFAI Business School - Built relationships with 250+ companies, improving campus placement opportunities.
Certification
Certified in Data Visualization at EY
Timeline
Master of Science - Business Analytics
University of San Diego
08.2024 - 05.2025
Senior Consultant - Forensic and Integrity Solutions
ERNST AND YOUNG LLP
09.2023 - 05.2024
Senior Client Assessment Analyst
KPMG GLOBAL SERVICES
07.2022 - 09.2023
Priority Banking Client Relationship Manager
STANDARD CHARTERED BANK
07.2021 - 07.2022
Preferred Relationship Manager
HDFC BANK
06.2019 - 07.2021
MBA - Marketing
ICFAI Business School
04.2017 - 05.2019
Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) - Finance
GGSIPU
03.2014 - 04.2017