She Was a Long Shot for the Job That ‘Changed the Trajectory’ of Her Life — But the Boss Saw This In Her. Today, It Helps Her Leads a Team of 10,000.

Key Takeaways Rema Serafi, the Vice Chair of Tax at KPMG, joined the Big Four accounting firm 30 years ago in an entry-level position.

In her current role, she leads a team of more than 10,000 professionals across all tax disciplines.

Serafi is the first woman to serve as KPMG’s Vice Chair of Tax, a milestone she doesn’t take lightly.

About 30 years ago, Rema Serafi decided to travel to KPMG’s Boston office to interview for a job she didn’t expect to get. KPMG is one of the “Big Four” accounting firms alongside Deloitte, EY and PwC. It has more than 276,000 partners and employees globally, and operates in 138 countries and territories.

Serafi was a couple of years out of graduate school, having completed a master’s degree in international economics from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, but the competition for this role was stiff.

“I was up against candidates with more experience and bigger networks, but I was determined, persistent and had a real desire to learn,” Serafi tells Entrepreneur in a new interview.

Though she didn’t get the job at the Boston office, the New York office leader of the same group at KPMG took a chance and hired her. “That decision changed the trajectory of my career,” Serafi says. “It’s a big reason I am where I am today, and it’s shaped how I think about sponsorship and paying that opportunity forward.”

Now, over 30 years later, Serafi is the Vice Chair of Tax at KPMG and Tax Leader for KPMG Americas. In her role, she leads a team of more than 10,000 partners and professionals across all tax disciplines.

Rema Serafi. Credit: KPMG

How she got to the top

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