Financial Analyst · CFA Charterholder

Shantanu
Jalan

CFA Charterholder

I turn complex financial data into clear, confident decisions. Currently partnering with executive leadership at illumynt, working across revenue modelling, budgeting and strategic analysis on a $150M+ business.

FP&A Financial Modelling Bloomberg Terminal Power BI Python Equity Research
Shantanu Jalan

Finance professional with a global perspective

I'm a Financial Analyst at illumynt, where I work closely with the CFO on the numbers that shape how the business moves. My day-to-day covers everything from revenue and margin reporting to budgeting cycles and cost deep-dives, with the goal of making sure leadership always has reliable information when it matters most.

Finance has taken me far. I've studied and worked across India, Thailand, France and the United States, starting with a Siemens internship in Bangkok during my undergrad, building equity models in Jaipur, building financial data infrastructure at a fintech in Noida, and eventually completing a Master's degree with the first year at SKEMA Business School in Paris and the second year at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, NC, while leading a research project for UniCredit in New York.

I hold the CFA Charter and passed all three levels, scoring in the top 10% throughout the program. It took three years of focused effort alongside a full-time job, and it fundamentally shaped how I think about investment analysis, risk and valuation.

🎯
Analytical Rigour
CFA-trained mindset: every number has a story. I build models that don't just report results, they explain what's driving them.
🤝
Executive Partnership
Equally comfortable in the CFO's office and the analyst's chair. I translate complexity into clear takeaways for senior stakeholders.
🌏
Global Experience
India, Thailand, France, USA. Working across cultures has shaped how I approach problems, communicate and build relationships.
📊
Data to Decisions
Power BI dashboards, Python regression, Bloomberg factor models. I enjoy finding the signal in the noise and making it actionable.

Professional Experience

Jul 2024 to Present
illumynt
Boston, MA, USA
Current Role
Financial Analyst
  • Partner directly with the CFO on financial summaries that drive executive decisions across revenue, margin and cost performance
  • Build commission and revenue models covering $125M+ in annual trader activity, implementing aged-inventory rules to keep payouts accurate and compliant
  • Lead monthly trend, variance and KPI analysis, translating the numbers into clear business narratives for senior leadership
  • Own revenue, cost and gross margin reporting with consistent, timely visibility for leadership reviews
  • Reconcile 10,000+ SKU and PO-level records across ERP, trade and physical inventory, fixing mismatches that were quietly distorting the books
  • Analysed $400K+ in annual security, monitoring and licensing expenses, identified the cost drivers and implemented measures that cut costs by 20%
  • Built automated Power BI dashboards that cut manual reporting time by 30% and gave leadership a much cleaner view of the business
  • Work cross-functionally with operations, accounting and leadership to make sure financial reporting actually reflects what is happening on the ground
Nov 2023 to May 2024
UniCredit
New York, USA
Research Project
Team Lead
  • Led a team of 5 SKEMA Business School students on a research project exploring how the EV transition is reshaping ICE production globally
  • Analysed the global EV market across regions over the past five years, mapping adoption curves and regional divergences
  • Researched the structural obstacles to electrification across the auto sector and presented findings directly to UniCredit
Dec 2021 to Jun 2022
K.C. Goenka & Company
Jaipur, India
Trading and Investment
Trade Analyst
  • Analysed market and financial data to support investment and trading decisions, with a focus on understanding performance, market trends and key risk factors across 10+ companies
  • Reviewed market movements and analysed securities, preparing analytical summaries that helped senior team members assess investment positioning and risk exposure
  • Supported investment discussions by providing analysis and insights rather than executing trades, contributing to evaluations of potential opportunities and risks
  • Assisted in monitoring market developments and identifying trends that could affect investment decisions, adding analytical input to the overall decision-making process
  • Applied DCF and industry benchmarking to assess intrinsic value and screened 50+ new opportunities with a primary focus on Indian equities
Oct 2020 to Oct 2021
Daloopa Private Ltd
Noida, India
Financial Data
Senior Analyst
  • Led and reviewed financial analysis and model-building work related to publicly listed companies, ensuring accuracy, consistency and relevance of financial data used in investment research
  • Managed and trained a team of analysts, overseeing the development of financial models and analytical outputs that supported equity research, valuation analysis and investment decision-making
  • Worked directly with clients and internal stakeholders to understand research requirements, translate them into analytical deliverables, and ensure that financial models and datasets met investment research standards
  • Reviewed assumptions, methodologies and outputs across multiple models, contributing senior-level analytical judgement to the evaluation of company performance, valuation drivers and investment risks
  • Improved team productivity by approximately 20% through process optimisation and streamlining of model-building workflows
Jun 2019 to Jul 2020
DIPL
New Delhi, India
Trade and Sourcing
Trade Executive
  • Explored new sourcing options across China and Southeast Asia for IT hardware including hard drives, servers and PCs
  • Negotiated pricing, finalised deals and structured credit payment terms with international suppliers
May 2018 to Jun 2018
Siemens
Bangkok, Thailand
Internship
Financial Analyst Intern
  • Supported the month-end close by preparing cost comparison reports for the regional finance team
  • Prepared performance reports and financial forecasts, getting hands-on experience in corporate finance at a global company

Education & Qualifications

Master's in Finance
North Carolina State University
Raleigh, NC, USA
Aug 2023 to Apr 2024 · GPA 3.7/4.0
Derivative Instruments · Alternate Investments · Asset Valuation · Behavioral Finance · Corporate Finance · Bloomberg Modelling · Credit Risk · Python · VBA
MSc. Financial Markets and Investments
SKEMA Business School
Paris, France
Sep 2023 to Apr 2024
Financial Modelling and Econometrics · International Finance · Financial Analysis and Reporting · Corporate Social Responsibility · Power BI
Master's in International Management
SKEMA Business School
Paris, France
Sep 2022 to Aug 2023
Organisational Development · Strategy · International Finance · Financial Analysis
CFA Charterholder
CFA Institute
Charlottesville, VA, USA
Jun 2019 to May 2022 · All 3 levels passed · Top 10% throughout
Above 90th percentile throughout the program · Asset Management · Investment Analysis · Portfolio Theory
Bachelor of Business Administration
NMIMS (Narsee Monjee)
Mumbai, India
2016 to 2019 · School Topper
Business Management · Finance · Marketing · Operations · Published: Comparative Study of Supply Chain Management
Bloomberg Market Concepts
Bloomberg · SAP FICO
Certifications
2018 and 2023
Bloomberg Terminal Certification · SAP Financial Accounting and Controlling · Financial Modelling and Valuation

The CFA
Charter

The CFA is widely regarded as the gold standard in investment analysis and portfolio management. Passing all three levels and scoring in the top 10% throughout the program reflects both the technical depth and the sustained commitment it takes to earn the charter.

CFA Level I
CFA Level II
CFA Level III
CFA
Charterholder
3
Levels Passed
~10%
Pass Rate
3 yrs
To Charter
Top 10%
Throughout Program

Skills & Tools

📊
Financial Modelling
Core Competency
📈
FP&A and Budgeting
Core Competency
💹
DCF and Valuation
Investment Analysis
🔵
Bloomberg Terminal
Platform
📉
Power BI
Data Visualisation
🐍
Python
Quantitative Analysis
📋
Excel VBA
Automation
🏗️
SAP FICO
ERP Systems
📦
Inventory Valuation
Operations Finance
🔎
Regression Analysis
Statistics
💼
Equity Research
Investment Analysis
🌐
Cost Variance Analysis
Reporting

Projects & Certifications

Mar 2024
Columbia Sportswear Equity Valuation
Performed a full DCF and relative valuation to arrive at an intrinsic value of around $70 per share. Ran scenario analysis on discount rate shifts and EBITDA multiple sensitivity.
DCFRelative ValuationScenario Analysis
Nov 2023
Bloomberg Factor Portfolio, Outperformed NASDAQ by 2%+
Built a diversified factor-tilt portfolio in Bloomberg using the Robust Value factor. The portfolio outperformed the NASDAQ index by over 2% year-on-year.
BloombergFactor InvestingPortfolio Construction
Oct 2023
DJIA Macro Regression in Python
Ran a multi-variable regression on 10 years of DJIA data in Python, modelling the impact of unemployment, economic policy uncertainty and four other macro variables on index performance.
PythonRegressionMacroeconomics
Apr 2024
CAC40 Structured Product
Designed a structured product on the CAC40 combining a vanilla call, two one-touch options and two knock-out calls, putting derivatives theory to work in a real product structure.
DerivativesStructured ProductsOptions
Mar 2024
20-Year Portfolio Simulation
Constructed and simulated a long-horizon investment portfolio that delivered returns of over 10% across a 20-year period, tested across market cycles and rebalancing strategies.
Portfolio ManagementAsset AllocationSimulation
2019
Published Research on Supply Chain Management
Published a comparative academic study on Supply Chain Management during undergraduate studies at NMIMS. Graduated as School Topper.
ResearchSupply ChainPublished

Interests & Passions

🏏
Cricket
A lifelong fan and player. Cricket has taught me patience, reading situations and thinking two steps ahead, which turns out to be useful in markets too.
✈️
Travelling
Having lived across India, Thailand, France and the US, travel is now just part of how I see the world. Every place teaches you something different about people and economies.
📰
Following the Markets
I read the FT and Bloomberg most mornings. Keeping up with macro forces and policy shifts is part habit, part genuine fascination with how things connect.
📚
Finance and Business Books
From behavioural economics to business strategy, books are how I keep my thinking fresh. I'm drawn to writing that explains why smart people make bad financial decisions.

Let's Connect

Open to conversations about FP&A, financial analysis, investment research or executive finance roles. Feel free to reach out on any of the below.