Living with Purpose (Podcasts)

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, technology for development and waste management. His work has helped build scalable businesses, dignified jobs and long-term prosperity in some of the world’s most vulnerable communities. Shruti is driven by a powerful belief that the world’s biggest challenges, from extreme poverty to climate resilience, need bold, market-based solutions that put dignity, inclusion and long-term impact at the centre. At Upaya, she leads strategic vision, impact strategy and evidence-building, helping prove that jobs can create a triple win for people, planet and profit. Together, Chakra and Shruti are reimagining how capital can be used not just to fund businesses, but to create pathways out of poverty, build agency, support rural livelihoods and unlock human potential.So today, we’ll be talking about purpose, impact investing, dignity through work, and what it really takes to build solutions that change lives from the ground up.

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 performance and lowering environmental impact.But this conversation is about more than technology. It is about vision. It is about building solutions for a world that is changing at incredible speed. It is about leadership, purpose, and asking how innovation can create progress without losing sight of responsibility.Brian brings experience as a founder, board director, advisor and investor, and today we are going to explore not only what he is building, but why he is building it.

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 managed businesses across the telecommunications and card services industries, bringing together resilience, lived experience and a determination to create practical change.On this episode we explore her journey, the realities of adoption and care, and how personal experience can become a powerful force for purpose.

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 across multiple markets.But beyond the titles and the growth story, what stands out is Chris’s passion for people, culture, training and helping others develop. His work has taken him across different territories, different consumer behaviours and different business challenges, giving him a rare insight into what leadership really looks like when the pressure is on.In this conversation, we explore the lessons behind that journey, the future of retail, the importance of adaptability, and the nugget of wisdom Chris would pass on to others building businesses, teams and lives with purpose.

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 created the Psychiatric Adult Risk Assessment tool, the UK’s first national framework to address social media related psychiatric risks while supporting patient strengths and recovery.Her work is driven by a powerful belief: mental healthcare must become more human, more intelligent and more accessible, without leaving anyone behind.Alongside her clinical and innovation work, Dr Arokia is a passionate advocate for compassionate care, suicide prevention, equality and community wellbeing. Her contribution has been recognised through awards including the Innovator Award, the Rethink Academic Prize and recognition as one of the UK’s rising stars in mental health.Today, we explore her journey, the experiences that shaped her purpose, the future of mental healthcare, and how technology can be used not to replace humanity, but to strengthen it.

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 the hidden root causes behind chronic pain, dysfunction, and failed recovery journeys.As the founder of Premier Therapy Solutions and creator of The Corsa Method, her approach combines evidence based medicine, movement science, sleep, nutrition, rehabilitation, and neuroplasticity to help people not just recover, but stay well long term.

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.Having held leadership roles across institutions including U.S. Bank, UBS and emerging fintech platforms, Kartik brings a unique perspective on capital markets, private lending, treasury strategy and the evolving future of wealth management.In this conversation, we explore leadership, long term thinking, financial architecture, innovation, and the importance of building with both purpose and perspective in a rapidly changing world.

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 alongside CEO Satya Nadella and helping lead Microsoft’s transformation into a cloud and AI powerhouse.But his story goes far beyond corporate leadership. He has dedicated much of his work to using technology, entrepreneurship and leadership as forces for good. Through initiatives supporting more than 2,500 environmental and social impact start ups across over 100 countries, he has championed the belief that business can be a powerful engine for positive change.He is also the President and co-founder of Live for Good, a foundation focused on unlocking the potential of young people from diverse backgrounds through impact entrepreneurship. As Chairman of SKEMA Business School, a board member of ManpowerGroup, Chairman of the Mission Committee at OpenClassrooms, and host of the Positive Leadership podcast, he continues to inspire leaders to align personal purpose with organisational mission.At the centre of his work is a simple but powerful belief: mission led leadership can unlock human potential, build cultures of wellbeing and success, and create meaningful societal impact.

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, and more importantly, how inaccessible it still is for so many people.So she built AdventureTripr, a marketplace connecting people to curated, multi-day adventure experiences with vetted local guides. But this isn’t just about travel. It’s about breaking barriers. Social, cultural, economic. Opening the outdoors to everyone.Along the way, she’s bootstrapped a business through a global pandemic, navigated the realities of being a female founder, and stepped into investing in women-led ventures focused on health, community, and innovation.She’s also building real communities through her “Adventures For Everyone” initiative, helping beginners step into new experiences and connect with others on the same journey.This is a conversation about transformation, resilience, and what happens when you stop waiting and start building something that matters.

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” innovators, her work bridges the gap between human experience and forward-thinking solutions in one of the most universal, yet least understood areas of life.This is a powerful conversation about loss, leadership, and what it really means to be prepared for the moments that shape us most.