How is Ritwik Ghosh doing?

Why did you decide to leave PwC after five years?

Ritwik: 'There was actually hardly any reason to leave. The team was fantastic, and Lars was a great leader. Moreover, I learned a lot at PwC, and Lars gave me the freedom to fully focus on delivering results for the company. That freedom helped shape my career. I have always been driven by sales, even during my years at PwC. But the point is that PwC cannot provide technology consulting for audit clients, and I wanted to continue without that limitation. However, if possible, I still enjoy working with PwC because I know that PwC employees make a project successful.'

Lars, what did you think of Ritwik's decision to leave?

Lars: 'Ritwik is quite modest, but he was a high potential for PwC. During his years with us, he experienced tremendous growth, both professionally and personally. I was very sorry to see him leave, but I understand it. At Oracle, one of the world's largest technology solution providers, he can further develop himself. And our collaboration can continue from both companies. It's great to have someone at Oracle who fully understands the value of the partnership with PwC.'

What exactly is the value of the alliance?

Ritwik: 'Oracle and PwC complement each other very well. As a System Integrator, Oracle has excellent solutions that can generate the best results, but the implementation also needs to be optimal. PwC is the Business Integrator that ensures the customer actually makes good use of the technology, including robust change management. I always compare it to a great car sitting in your garage - it only becomes interesting when you learn to drive it.'

How does this collaboration work in practice?

Lars: 'Take ArgenX, a start-up in the pharmaceutical industry that we worked with together. The company didn't have a product on the market yet but was heavily involved in research & development and wanted to be prepared for strong growth. PwC helped define the business processes and implemented an Oracle technology solution as the foundation for their operations. Now, three years later, the company has experienced tremendous revenue growth. That is their achievement, but we helped them be ready for that success.'

For such a project, a lot of industry knowledge is surely required.

Ritwik: 'Both Oracle and PwC stand out because we speak the language of the customer. With PwC's industry knowledge, Oracle can deliver a solution that addresses sector-specific issues, whether it's for a telecom company, biotech, or the financial sector.'

Lars: 'In addition, PwC has a lot of expertise in laws and regulations. This knowledge is also crucial for implementations, especially for banks and insurers. And we also closely collaborate with Oracle in the field of ESG. Oracle has a strong ESG-solution that we like to apply from a business perspective - this helps companies, for example, comply with CSRD legislation using an efficient reporting framework, enabling them to steer towards sustainability goals.'

Lars, what developments do you see regarding tech-enabled transformation?

'Technology is the foundation for any significant transformation in this day and age. One of the trends we see now is that many companies are opting for multicloud. They create multiple cloud environments to no longer depend on a single provider. Oracle, traditionally strong in databases, is often one of those providers. What helps is that Oracle can now also run on the Microsoft Azure and AWS-platforms.'

Ritwik, you have just recently left PwC. What do you expect from the alumni network?

Ritwik: 'It is always good to stay in touch with former colleagues and see each other from time to time. Both PwC and Oracle are in the "people business." And for any organization where our alumni are, they have no choice but to embrace technology to remain relevant. Who knows, Lars and I could give a joint presentation on "tech-enabled transformation" for the alumni?'