Meet Anusha Palagiri, Manager in Project Finance

Scuba diver exploring a coral reef among pale yellow sea anemones underwater.

Meet Anusha Palagiri, a Manager, Project Finance at Parexel who joined in July 2018 as a Financial Analyst and has grown with the company for over eight years. Anusha's day revolves around guiding and mentoring a team of Financial Analysts, ensuring effective project finance management, supporting revenue and forecasting activities, and maintaining strong stakeholder relationships.

What keeps her going? Knowing that the work goes beyond numbers. Although her contribution is indirect, Anusha finds immense satisfaction in knowing that keeping projects financially healthy ultimately supports drug development that helps patients.

What does a Manager, Project Finance, do?

As a Manager, Project Finance, Anusha guides and mentors a team of Financial Analysts managing the India Mid-Large portfolio. Her responsibilities include ensuring effective strong stakeholder relationships and stepping in during escalations or challenging discussions to help resolve issues and provide strategic guidance.

By keeping projects financially healthy and well-managed, Anusha and her team indirectly contribute to the successful development of life-saving drugs in clinical trials and ultimately helping patients.

Anusha’s typical day varies significantly depending on the time of the month. At month-end, the focus is on reviewing the team's portfolio performance by comparing actual revenue against forecasts and assessing revenue and forecast accuracy. Mid-month, the work shifts to reviewing project overburn, billing positions, accounts receivable, and performing control checks including backlog accuracy and margin analysis, with client reporting also a key focus. For the remaining weeks, the priority is supporting the team through client and internal meetings, resolving project issues, managing escalations, and providing strategic guidance whenever needed.

Life at Parexel

Anusha joined Parexel in July 2018, drawn to the company for its strong values, commitment to work-life balance, and the opportunity to create a positive impact on patients' lives. Although her contribution is indirect, knowing that her financial management work supports drug development that helps patients has provided immense work satisfaction.

Throughout her journey at Parexel, she has gained invaluable insights from her colleagues, from teamwork and effective communication with internal and external stakeholders, to handling difficult conversations with professionalism and empathy, working effectively with people from diverse cultural backgrounds, responding promptly and professionally to client queries, and translating complex financial metrics into operational language.

Growth at Parexel

Parexel has been instrumental in Anusha's career growth. She joined as a Financial Analyst in 2018 and has since been given opportunities to master processes, train new team members, and contribute to finance training for regional Clinical Operational leads.

A significant milestone in that journey was the Alpha program, Parexel's exclusive leadership development initiative designed to empower subject matter experts with the skills and competencies to think strategically and evolve as confident business leaders. For Anusha, it was particularly valuable in helping her understand stakeholder behaviors and navigate difficult conversations with greater effectiveness. That comprehensive support enabled her to progress from an individual contributor to a People Manager, one of the most rewarding milestones in her professional journey.

When asked to describe Parexel's culture, Anusha points to three things: flexibility, recognition and support. Parexel provides employees with the flexibility to balance professional and personal commitments, recognizes contributions meaningfully, and offers robust support systems, a combination that fosters individual career growth and empowers employees to perform at their best.

What it takes to thrive in this role

Parexel provides exceptional opportunities for all employees. Her advice- deliver all your responsibilities by embracing Parexel's core behaviours, deeply learning the processes, performing beyond regular job responsibilities, and maintaining a holistic perspective. When you do this consistently, you become unstoppable.

For anyone considering this role specifically, the skills that matter most are excellent communication to engage effectively with diverse stakeholders, strong people and stakeholder management capabilities beyond technical knowledge, an analytical mindset with attention to detail, and the ability to handle pressure and navigate complex financial scenarios.

Beyond the Job Title

What’s your favorite way to unwind after a long day?

I prefer to keep my evenings simple and peaceful. Spending quality time with my family and enjoying homemade food helps me unwind, de-stress, and appreciate the comfort of home after a busy day.

What’s something you’re passionate about outside of work that people might not know?

I'm passionate about traveling and exploring new places. The funny part? I love the experience of travel but not the planning! My husband usually takes care of organizing the trip logistics, while I focus on shopping and enjoying the journey. It's the perfect partnership.

If you could have any superpower, what would it be and how would you use it at work?

If I could have any superpower, it would be the ability to see the future outcomes of financial decisions. I would use it to anticipate project risks, accurately forecast financial performance, and guide strategic decisions that maximize value while minimizing risk. This would be invaluable in my role and for Parexel's long-term success