Sanjivan Kohli on the route he took to his current role
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER Shobana Jeyasingh Dance Company (2009–present)
My role is hybrid: part way between a chief executive and a producer. I end up being involved in almost every aspect of what we do: there aren’t many jobs where you spend the morning devising a fundraising strategy and the afternoon spray-painting shoes!
GENERAL MANAGER Siobhan Davies Dance (2002–2009)
I worked in developing tours to unusual, non-theatre spaces, whilst delivering a £4.2m capital project. I also led on developing a partnership with Coventry University that led to dance’s first digital archive: Siobhan Davies Replay.
PERFORMING ARTS ASSISTANT Institute of Contemporary Arts (2002)
I started out on a three-month internship that ended up being six. The performance programme was largely live music, but included some dance and theatre as well.
SENIOR ANALYST Citigroup (2001)
Prior to 11 September, I was working for what was then the world’s largest bank in terms of headcount. It’s amazing what working in a massive organisation teaches you. Teamwork and making allies is vital, whether it’s arts management or leveraged buyouts. I learned a lot of skills that stood me in good stead later on: dealing with financial complexity (and uncertainty), tenacity, attention to detail, how to take risks – but measured and controlled ones. I also learned about negotiation, building partnerships and deals, marketing and branding. By August 2001, I’d come to a realisation: money’s nice, but there’s more to life.
ANALYST Credit Suisse First Boston (1996–2001)
After finishing a Masters degree in social psychology, I came to London. I had vague plans to work in global corporate finance, but wasn’t even sure what it meant. Then suddenly it clicked. I landed a job for an Amercian ‘boutique’ called Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette (later taken over by Credit Suisse). Suddenly I was being stretched – learning about business and finance, marketing and sales – in a lightning-paced, competitive environment. It was a world that was strangely divorced from reality, but very alluring to a disillusioned academic.