Adil Durrani

Adil Durrani is a Financial Management Director within Grant Thornton’s public sector. Adil has over 20 years of financial management experience in federal, non-profit, and commercial sectors, including 18 years in leadership positions. He has been with Grant Thornton for over five years, serving federal clients within the firm’s Financial Management Service Line.

Adil received his B.S. in Business Management from Virginia Tech. As he started gearing his career more toward accounting, he earned his Professional Certificate in Accounting at the University of Virginia. Adil acquired his MBA from George Mason University which was concentrated in entrepreneurship. He is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and he also holds several other certifications.

Adil shared the qualities that he believes every leader should possess. Those qualities include an element of humbleness, an element of understanding, being open with things, being able to take constructive feedback, humanity, and the willingness to always learn. He expanded on this by explaining that everyone has to start somewhere and a leader must work hard, put in a lot of effort, and realize that they are not always going to be right. He went on to say that when a leader is put in situations where they are wrong or things do not work out as planned, they must be willing to spin things into something positive and learn from the experience.

Adil then spoke about some of the challenges in which he has faced as a leader. He explained that within the consulting area, each agency has a certain way of doing things. He learned that he had to come in and be able to hear and understand his clients’ issues and then determine how to best help them. This includes being adaptable, getting critical exposure, and staying on top of subject matters as the environment changes. “Sometimes you have to jump in and roll your sleeves up in order to help your team. A good leader will know when this is necessary and be willing to help where and when they are needed.”

Adil has been active within the Business Leadership Center by helping with the Annual Leadership Conference, the Diversity Case Competition, and working on an advisory board. His goal is to try and see how he can assist in the development of the next generation.

“Virginia Tech is not just a university. It is so much more and offers so many opportunities. It is my wish to be involved in as many of those opportunities for students as I can.”

Post written by Jane Lake, BLC Student Assistant