Meet the new poetry loving chairman for the North at PwC from Huddersfield

It’s not often that you come across an accountant who quotes American poet Robert Frost to describe their philosophy on life. But then again Armoghan Mohammed isn’t just your run-of-the mill accountant.

Mr Mohammed, who grew up in Huddersfield, was recently named chairman for the North at PwC.

It is the perfect role for Mr Mohammed, who started off his career in engineering before becoming an actuary.

“If I could create a role, this would be it,” he says.

That’s because it combines his vast experience in business with his passion for the North.

Mr Mohammed said: “It’s where I grew up. I know the people. I can start a conversation with anybody in two minutes, whether it’s at a bus stop or in a business meeting.

“When this opportunity came up I was really interested in it because I have an affinity for the North.”

Mr Mohammed’s parents were both immigrants from Pakistan, who left behind teaching jobs to come and work in the textile mills in Yorkshire.

He lost his father at the age of nine. Mr Mohammed along with his two brothers and sister were brought up by their mother.

She put a high value on education. Being a teacher herself, she encouraged her children to get as much education as they could.

He said: “I had a very strong mother, who passed away two years ago. She had four children. She brought us up with good ethics and values. The thing that she promoted more than anything else was education.”

It was at school where Mr Mohammed developed a passion for maths, literature and poetry.

When he embarked on his career, Mr Mohammed initially started off in engineering but very quickly moved into actuarial. “I loved applying maths to financial problems,” he said.

Working in the world of finance enabled him to not only apply maths to financial problems but also to see the world. He even spent time at Lloyd’s of London.

As part of an executive MBA, he went on an exchange programme to Chicago. An experience that Mr Mohammed describes as “awesome”.

He said: “You get to appreciate American culture. You get to appreciate how people live. You appreciate the food they eat – even if you don’t like it yourself. There’s lots of really interesting things to learn.

“What an opportunity in life that you can go and spend three months in the jazz capital of the US.”

After a corporate career working for various insurance companies, Mr Mohammed joined PwC in 2002. Prior to becoming chairman for the North, he was head of actuarial, banking and intelligent analytics.

The North is important to the professional services firm, which has made a concerted effort to shift roles from London to the regions.

Mr Mohammed said: “We’ve got an office in Leeds, Manchester, Bradford and Newcastle. We have got 2,686 staff. We’ve got 64 partners and 120 directors.

“It’s a really important part of the firm’s business. My role will be a combination of helping out business strategically and it will be a role of how I contribute to the community and some of the challenges.”

Social mobility is high on PwC’s agenda and it’s a subject that Mr Mohammed is not only passionate about but he also embodies through his own journey.

He said: “I think people’s lives should be determined by their talent and their determination not by which part of society they were born and grew up in.

“Those two tenets are really important – talent and determination.”

PwC is doing more work with school leavers. It sponsors 120 tech degree apprenticeships. The firm is also looking to increase opportunities at its office in Bradford.

Mr Mohammed said: “There is a responsibility for all businesses, whether they seem accessible today or not, to make themselves accessible and to represent the society that we work in.

“I am a representation of British society and people like me should have access to places like PwC and other professional services.

“Professional services is really important for the economy. It is one of the fastest growing parts of our economy. It’s a great house for training people. We need to get more access to organisations like ours.”

He admits that it’s not often someone from a working class background, not least an ethnic minority background, occupies a position like his.

But what does diversity at the upper echelons of business bring to the table?

“One, it represents the people that are in the communities an organisation operates in,” Mr Mohammed says. “The second thing it brings is a diversity of thought.

“Diversity at the top of an organisation is really important. It’s one of the factors that help prevent groupthink.

“I love having a range of different points of view from different backgrounds. For me it’s the continuation of that journey of learning.”

It’s clear to see that for Mr Mohammed, his late mother, who he describes as a “really hard worker”, was a role model for him.

“My mother passed away two years ago and I think if she had known I had this role she would have been so proud,” he says.

Mr Mohammed added: “That first generation of Pakistanis who came in the 60s are made of titanium. They are really special, solid people.

“We are losing a generation of people who have sacrificed a lot to give opportunities. It’s incumbent upon us to then build on their sacrifice and do the best that we can with what’s available to us.”

When asked if he sees himself as a role model, Mr Mohammed says no as that is “quite a high hurdle”.

“What I do see myself as is someone who has gone down a particular path,” he adds. “To quote Robert Frost, it’s a path that is less travelled.

“The experience of that path, I’m happy to share and if it helps other people I’m happy to contribute to their journey.”

And that’s his advice to anyone from any background looking to break the mould as he has.

“If I was to encourage anyone to do anything, I would say go down the path least travelled and it will make a big difference to you,” he says.

Curriculum vitae

Job title: PwC North Regional Chair

Date of birth: 20/07/1966

Education: Royds Hall High, Huddersfield; Greenhead Sixth Form College Huddersfield; Queen Mary College – London University – Business Engineering, Nuclear Engineering; City University, London – Post Grad – Actuarial Science; London Business School/ Kellogg Graduate School, Northwestern University, Chicago – Exec MBA

Favourite holiday destination: Aeolian Islands

Favourite film: The Godfather

Favourite song: Sochta Houn by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan

Last book read: Ten Years to Midnight by Blair Sheppard

Car driven: Tesla 3

Most proud of: My kids

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James Mitchinson