Living with Purpose

Today, we have a very special conversation with not one, but two leaders from Upaya Social Ventures . Joining us are A.B. Chakravarthy, known as Chakra, and Shruti Goel, Co-CEOs of Upaya Social Ventures . Chakra leads Upaya’s India operations and brings more than 14 years of experience investing in early-stage enterprises across agriculture, energy, health, livelihoods, water and sanitation, techn...

Brian Neirby is the Co Founder and CEO of CHILLMINE. Brian sits at the intersection of some of the biggest forces shaping the future: venture capital, energy, AI infrastructure, Bitcoin mining, data centres, cooling technology and sustainability. Through CHILLMINE, Brian is helping companies scale their AI and mining infrastructure in a smarter, more efficient way, reducing costs, improving perfor...

Susie James is a PhD researcher, founder of Walk Together Adoption Resource, adoptive parent and committed advocate for adoptees and adoptive families. Her work is deeply personal. As both an adult adoptee and an adoptive parent, Susie has dedicated her research to understanding the quality of post adoption support available to single parent adopters. Alongside her academic work, she has built and...

Chris Browne is the Retail Director at Jigsaw, and a global retail leader, consultant and mentor who has spent his career helping brands, teams and people understand what it really takes to succeed in a fast changing world. Chris previously led global retail sales and operations for Ted Baker PLC, playing a key role in the brand’s international growth and helping shape the customer experience acro...

Dr Arokia Antonysam is an award winning consultant psychiatrist, health tech CEO, TEDx speaker and one of the UK’s leading voices at the intersection of clinical psychiatry, artificial intelligence and healthcare innovation. Dr Arokia is the creator of MaZon , an innovative tool designed to support people beyond the clinic and help reduce pressure on overstretched healthcare systems. She also crea...

Dr. Lisa Corsa is a clinical scientist and Doctor of Physical Therapy whose work sits at the intersection of rehabilitation, longevity, neuroplasticity, and human performance. After nearly three decades working with everyone from elite athletes and executives to neurological patients and people in their 90s, Dr. Corsa has built a reputation as a “medical detective” — someone known for identifying...

Kartik Ram is Vice President and Relationship Manager at J.P. Morgan Private Client. With more than 26 years of experience across private banking, asset management and fintech, Kartik has worked at the intersection of wealth, innovation and leadership, advising entrepreneurs, founders, principals and family offices on building sophisticated financial ecosystems with precision and discretion. Havin...

Jean-Philippe Courtois is a truly remarkable global leader whose career has shaped business, technology, entrepreneurship and positive impact on an international scale. After joining Microsoft in 1984, our guest went on to serve for four decades at the heart of the company’s global growth, most recently as President and Executive Vice President of Global Sales, Marketing and Operations, working al...

After more than 15 years in investment banking and consulting, Preeti made a bold shift into entrepreneurship. What sparked it wasn’t a business plan… it was transformation. Following postpartum recovery, she turned to the outdoors, and within a year, summited Mount Rainier. That journey didn’t just change her physically, it reshaped her purpose. She saw firsthand how powerful the outdoors can be,...

Michelle Desmond is a leading voice at the intersection of grief science and innovation. As a trained thanatologist, consultant, and former executive at Starbucks, Michelle is pioneering modern, science-backed approaches to how we understand, teach, and respond to grief, both personally and in the workplace. From universities and wellness retreats to global organisations and emerging “grief tech”...

Brian Baird is a former Member of Congress, a clinical psychologist, and a university president who has advised governments, organisations, and leaders on communication, science, and policy at the highest level. He is now the Chair and Founder of the National Museum and Center for Service, an ambitious initiative being built near the National Mall in Washington DC, dedicated to celebrating and ins...

Gabriele is a physician, author, and international academic leader dedicated to advancing ethical innovation and global cooperation. He serves as President of the Institute for Advanced Studies and Cooperation, where he brings together governments, universities, and institutions to shape the future of artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and sustainable development. He is also the Founder of th...

Mahnaz Javid is the President of the Mona Foundation, an organisation that, since 1999, has been on a mission to alleviate poverty and inequality through education. Their work goes far beyond the classroom, empowering women and girls, supporting grassroots organisations globally, and developing individuals into agents of change within their own communities. What stands out about Mahnaz’s work is t...

Amanda Schneider is the founder of ThinkLab, the research division of SANDOW Design Group, where she sits right at the intersection of business strategy, research, and the future of work. She’s not just observing change, she’s decoding it. From how work is evolving, to what customers actually value today, to how B2B relationships are shifting, Amanda brings clarity to the questions most leaders ar...

Rajeev Agarwal has built his life’s work around helping organisations make better decisions, create stronger systems, and unlock greater impact through data. Rajeev is the founder of MAQ Software, a globally respected technology company that has spent more than two decades helping leading organisations accelerate their business intelligence and analytics capabilities. Under his leadership, MAQ Sof...

Rashaana Shah, a serial entrepreneur whose career sits at the intersection of film, music, art and technology. Born in India and originally trained as a computer engineer, Rashaana began her career in acting, appearing in Bollywood and international productions before stepping behind the camera as a producer. She went on to found Mulberry Films LLC, producing feature films including Blowing Up Rig...

Genevieve Gaiser Tremblay is a new media artist, creative technologist, and researcher working at the intersection of art, science, and environmental storytelling. Genevieve is an Adjunct Researcher at Instituto Milenio SECOS in Chile, where she collaborates with coastal communities to explore how art, data, and immersive technologies like AR and VR can support more inclusive ocean governance and...

Welcome to our 100th episode of Living With Purpose! One hundred conversations exploring leadership, resilience, impact, and what it truly means to live and lead with purpose. And it feels fitting that this milestone episode features a leader who is quite literally reshaping who gets a seat at the table. Our guest today is Jocelyn Mangan. Jocelyn is the founder and CEO of illumyn and illumyn Impac...

Bill Karidias is a business leader operating at the intersection of innovation, industry expertise, and customer driven growth. As part of Spartan Equipment, Bill represents a company that has built its reputation by delivering high quality equipment attachments designed to help people work smarter, operate more efficiently, and achieve better results in demanding environments. Spartan Equipment h...

Dr. Kohinoor Darda is a neuroscientist, researcher, artist, and founder who is building bridges between disciplines that are too often kept apart. With a PhD in Social Cognitive Neuroscience and postdoctoral research spanning the UK, Australia, and the United States, her work explores how the human brain engages with art and how we navigate our social worlds. But Kohinoor didn’t stop at academia....

Jane Meseck is a humanitarian leader and long standing force behind global nonprofit innovation and technology for good. Jane has spent more than two decades at Microsoft helping transform the way technology supports nonprofits and humanitarian organisations worldwide. From the early days of delivering software to charities, to now helping lead initiatives that provide over a billion dollars each...

Jon Browning is the CEO of the Global Mentorship Initiative, an organisation built on a powerful belief that mentorship has the ability to transform lives and unlock human potential at scale. Jon’s work focuses on creating meaningful opportunities for individuals who may not otherwise have access to guidance, networks, or career pathways. Through Global Mentorship Initiative, born out of the Rocke...

Shelly Kurtz is an award winning communications executive, strategist, and facilitator who believes deeply in the power of intention, connection, and using our voice to create positive change. With more than twenty five years of experience working across diverse markets and industries, Shelly has built a reputation as a leader who helps individuals and organisations communicate with clarity, purpo...

Lalita is a leader who sits at the intersection of purpose and action. Her work is rooted in a deep commitment to inclusion, social equity, and building communities that don’t just survive, but truly thrive. With a background that blends scientific and analytical thinking with human-centred leadership, Lalita has helped scale programs that support women, seniors, young people, and individuals rebu...

Bridgette Stumpf is a survivors’ rights advocate and one of the leading voices shaping restorative and trauma-responsive systems in the United States. Bridgette is the CEO and Co-Founder of Volare, an organization she’s led for more than a decade, working at the intersection of justice, healing, and systemic change. With over 15 years of experience advocating on behalf of survivors of crime, her w...