Riya Kadakia
Chicago,IL
Summary
Dynamic Senior Business Analyst & Project Manager with 7+ years of experience leading projects across finance, IT, and operations. Skilled in project planning, vendor management, risk and issue resolution, and cross-functional leadership. Proven track record of delivering high-impact initiatives on time and within budget. Adept at building stakeholder confidence, optimizing processes, and driving continuous improvement.
Overview
7
7
years of professional experience
Work History
Project Manager
Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago
12.2024 - Current
- Led end-to-end enterprise software implementation project, from initiation through post-implementation review.
- Built business case, secured leadership approval, and managed vendor relationships.
- Directed cross-functional teams (Finance, IT, Operations), ensuring projects met scope, budget, and timeliness.
- Oversaw UAT and issue resolution, delivering a smooth go-live.
- Delivered training and documentation to ensure adoption and compliance.
Senior Businesss Analyst
Charles Schwab
12.2021 - 11.2024
- Acted as Project Lead for system upgrades and reporting automation, improving reporting efficiency by 25%.
- Partnered with IT and business leaders to align scope, resources, and milestones.
- Facilitated Agile ceremonies, ensuring project transparency and continuous improvement.
- Managed vendor testing and coordination, reducing issue turnaround times by 25%.
- Delivered compliance-focused solutions aligned with regulatory standards.
- Led system upgrades and automated reporting, improving efficiency by 25%, managing projects valued at $1M.
Business Analyst
Synchrony
08.2020 - 12.2021
- Supported financial data warehouse initiative, managing risk, issue, and budget tracking.
- Introduced agile estimation techniques, improving planning accuracy by 80%.
- Reduced document rejection rates by 30% through improved QA workflows.
- Partnered with PMO leadership on program reporting and cross-project dependency management.
Business Analyst
Assurant
05.2018 - 07.2020
- Managed requirements, stakeholder alignment, and UAT for multiple projects.
- Created dashboards (Tableau) to deliver KPIs for executive decision-making.
- Reduced project delays by 25% with improved process maps and workflows.
- Conducted impact analyses and supported continuous improvement initiatives.
Education
MBA - Business Administration
Benedictine University
Lisle, IL12-2018
Bachelor of Science -
University of Illinois At Chicago
Chicago, IL05-2016
Skills
- Project Leadership: Agile, Scrum, SDLC, Waterfall, Risk and Issue Management, Vendor and Contract Management, Budget and Capital Requests, Stakeholder Communication
- Technical Skills: JIRA, MS Project, Confluence, ServiceNow, Azure Boards, Tableau, Power BI, SQL, Workday, Salesforce
- Analysis & Delivery: Business Cases, Post-Implementation Reviews, UAT, Requirements Gathering, Financial Analysis, Predictive Analytics
- Soft Skill: Strategic Thinking, Change Management, Executive Presentations, Cross-Functional Collaboration, Continuous Improvement
Timeline
Project Manager
Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago
12.2024 - Current
Senior Businesss Analyst
Charles Schwab
12.2021 - 11.2024
Business Analyst
Synchrony
08.2020 - 12.2021
Business Analyst
Assurant
05.2018 - 07.2020
MBA - Business Administration
Benedictine University
Bachelor of Science -
University of Illinois At Chicago