Rashmi Airan

Expert on AdaptAgility™, Dharma Leadership™, Transformation, and Change Management, TEDx Speaker, Entrepreneur, Mental Health Advocate, Former Attorney, Professor, and Finance & Sales Professional
Rashmi
Airan

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Keynote
Virtual Presentation
Fireside Chat
Webinar
Workshop & Training
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Traveling from

Miami, Florida, United States

About

Rashmi Airan is a captivating and motivational speaker, consultant, and catalyst for transformation with a mission to foster organizational cultures centered around authenticity. Her powerful story transcends the pitfalls of unknowingly making a life-altering decision; it's a tale of leadership, core values, and decision-making, capable of creating a safe haven for courageous and often challenging conversations.

As a first-generation immigrant of Indian descent raised with lofty expectations, Rashmi excelled as a lawyer, graduating with honors from Columbia Law School. After gaining experience at major corporations, she embarked on an independent law practice in Miami. During the housing boom, she developed an ethical blind spot collaborating with a real estate developer engaged in questionable practices. Driven by her desire for success to provide for her children, Rashmi refrained from questioning her client's actions despite her inner voice urging caution. This led to a federal prison sentence for bank fraud.

During her six months in federal prison, Rashmi found inner peace and self-forgiveness. This humbling yet invaluable experience made her realize that while living with remorse is one thing, allowing it to define one's identity is another. Now a "recovering lawyer and investment banker," female leader, and community entrepreneur, Rashmi is an internationally recognized keynote speaker and TEDx presenter.

With over thirty years of real-world experience in finance, business and law, Rashmi Airan intimately understands the complexities modern leaders face. Her expertise is bolstered by years of research in behavioral psychology and collaborations with renowned global brands like Coca-Cola, Cardinal Health, Merck, Comcast, Sotheby's, and Hershey's. Deloitte has recognized the transformative power and relatability of Rashmi's journey, which spans from an Ivy League education to federal prison.

Rashmi has partnered with Fortune 100 companies, financial services groups, CPAs, lawyers, real estate professionals, and dozens of women’s conferences and groups to share her transformational journey and create a RISE movement. She has been featured on ABC, PBS, in the Washington Post, and the Wall Street Journal.

An avid hiker, travel enthusiast, and proud mother of two teenagers, Rashmi serves on the Board of Directors for the Overtown Youth Center/Alonzo Mourning Foundation and is an Ambassador for The Key Clubhouse.

Her inspiring journey instills the power to overcome obstacles and unleash human potential.

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Topics

Topics

RISE THROUGH IT™: Transforming the Fear of Uncertainty to Limitless Results

DON’T RISK IT! Ethics & Decision-Making

DHARMA LEADERSHIP™ - Finding Your Why?

SILENT NO MORE: Remaking Mental Health in Leadership

OPPOSITES ATTRACT: The Power of Turning Enemies into Allies

Videos

https://youtu.be/LAbBRzTueaA
Against the Slippery Slope | Rashmi Airan | TEDxGreenville
https://youtu.be/g8SeRQT6Eg0
Hollister Keynote Address
https://youtu.be/68Oq45JFVLU
Rise Up clip Video
https://youtu.be/9KyFc5aSoR0
How Self-Reflection Can Lead To Personal Growth with Rashmi Airan
https://youtu.be/Wk0329tIQX0
Impact Eleven Story Share
https://youtu.be/JyzUwWEgR24
Rashmi Airan: How can we hold our members accountable?
https://youtu.be/JJdsqyp6wfg
Red Flags, Risks, and Resilience: Why Ethical Decision Making is Key - Rashmi Airan
https://youtu.be/92bjNQaq-Vw
The Impact of Ethics | Rashmi Airan and Serina Vash | MGM Resorts

Books / Movies As an Amazon Associate, Gravity earns from qualifying purchases.

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Testimonials

“Rashmi worked with the Coca-Cola team for an entire day. She created such a meaningful impact on the pivotal issues of accountability and vulnerability. Her diverse and unique view has propelled her as a leader on these topics. Rashmi shares a personal story that we must strive to live through uncertainty with conviction and navigate through the gray area. Her workshop truly helped our team learn how to thrive in chaos, be adaptable and remain curious while always focusing on the organization’s needs and long-term sustainability. Her story is relatable and she is truly a remarkable speaker and consultant!”

Preeti Balwani
Former General Counsel and Global General Counsel, Coca-Cola, India and CRISIL Ltd.

“What Rashmi brought to us is real-life experience with emotion, authenticity, and courage for immediate value add in our individual organizations. As a group of CEOs of our companies, we typically don’t spend an entire day listening and engaging with one Coach/Consultant. Rashmi’s workshop and message were extremely effective and impactful, both personally and professionally. Even after an entire day with Rashmi, we all wanted more. I am definitely planning on bringing Rashmi back to work with my own leadership team at my organization.”

Reuben Xeureb
YPO

“Rashmi’s story illustrates the power of humility and transformation. Rashmi is an energy giver - whether live or virtual. She reminds us that we are all humans and fallible. I would recommend Rashmi, she is one the best speakers I have ever worked with and I will work with her again!”

Damien Atkins
Former General Counsel, Hershey’s Inc.

“The most mind capturing talk ever! 100% focused and visually present. Personable and relatable”

Roshni Kadhiwala
CEO/Owner JLM Hotel Group, Asian American Hotel Owners Association

“I had the pleasure of working with Rashmi Airan as conference planner for the 2020 Tri-State SHRM Conference. Rashmi was scheduled to present two in person sessions for us, but due to COVID-19, she easily adapted and presented her sessions virtually. Her presentations centered around taking ownership of your actions, and business ethics. Rashmi’s ability to tell her story with candor, honesty and ownership makes her keynote(s) very relevant to business leaders. Thank you, Rashmi! Keep up the great work.”

Lori Maher McCombs
SHRM Association Management Professional & Convention Planner

“Rashmi spoke to our senior leadership team and coaches at Georgia Tech. Her story and message around decision-making was incredibly impactful as it hit home the fact that good and smart people can make bad decisions with dire consequences. Rashmi helps shed light through her research in behavioral ethics. She provides a mental process for maintaining ethical vigilance in our decision- making and how to avoid the overconfidence bias that leads to the slippery slope. I highly recommend Rashmi to my friends and colleagues as she will inspire and help create substantive change in our athletic environments around integrity and ethics.”

Todd Stansbury
Georgia Tech University Athletics.

“Your story is immensely compelling with some incredible takeaways.”

Jenny Pakula
CEO, Oregon Association of Realtors

“Rashmi’s talk was authentic and really resonated with the entire audience. She was hands-down the #1 speaker we had over the course of our multi-day conference.”

Marc Durant
CTO and CISO

“Thank you so much for your presentation. We had a record turnout to hear your story of over 2,700 participants and more to come in our APAC region! ”

Hollie Foust
Senior Vice President, Cardinal Health

“In my 30 years as a federal prosecutor, I dealt with thousands of individuals involved in criminal conduct.  Many were truly sorry for and embarrassed by their criminal conduct but happy to put their punishment behind them and move on as quickly as possible.  But in my experience, only one of my former defendants – Rashmi Airan -- has chosen to relive, repeatedly, her personal and professional failings in an effort to inspire and motivate others to avoid the poor choices she made.

It’s a rare thing for a prosecutor and defendant to develop a relationship of mutual respect and friendship.  We began as adversaries in a courtroom, became teammates in prosecuting others, and now collaborate in writing and speaking. Rashmi’s acceptance of responsibility for her conduct, her deeply sincere expressions of remorse and humility, and her efforts to share her experiences with others who may be tempted to follow a misguided path, have been extraordinary.  Rashmi tells a compelling story, rich with life lessons everyone can relate to.”

Joe Capone
Rashmi’s prosecutor, Department of Justice

“Thank you so much for the time you spent sharing your story with vulnerability, creating a space for us to do the same, and sharing insight applicable to both personal and professional life choices. Your messaging resonated in unexpected and practical ways. I admire the courage on display to speak from a place of such openness and high character. “

Grant Achilles
Head Baseball Coach, Brown University

“I attended Rashmi’s talk and I thought it was amazing. I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to hear you speak. It was, without a doubt, the best session I have attended in my 40 years. I particularly liked your focus on our duty to the community and society as a whole.”

James A. Martell
Colorado Bar Association

“Rashmi’s story is equal parts chilling and heart-warming. The lessons from her life experience weave together to form a cautionary tale for REALTORS®. In watching the room as Rashmi delivered her keynote, I have never seen a REALTOR® audience so transfixed on a speaker and her story. Her delivery is direct, touching, sad, funny and always brutally honest. Her candor and accountability were rewarded with an emotional standing ovation at the conclusion of her keynote.

When it comes to delivering a lesson on those two subjects in a poignant and unforgettable presentation, Rashmi and her story cannot be beat.”

Scott A. Peterson Esq.
Colorado Association of REALTORS®

“Because Ms. Airan was only a few years older than the law students she spoke to and because she graduated near the top of her class, her impact on the students was powerful and immediate. I think her presentation gave students an entirely unique, more nuanced and certainly more vivid sense of how seemingly normal professional practice can cross the line over into fraud. She made a very valuable contribution to the students’ that others cannot duplicate.”

John C. Coffee
Jr., Professor, Columbia University, School of Law

“In sharing her story, Ms. Airan is helping make a difference and helping to favorably shift the ethics paradigm in the legal profession.”

Michele DeStefano
Professor, University of Miami, School of Law

“Rashmi’s gripping presentation to more than 50 of our lawyers transformed the subject of professional responsibility from a textbook experience to a compelling human drama with real-life consequences. It was eye-opening and gut-wrenching, and Rashmi’s willingness to share the lowest moment in her professional life and her takeaways was a real tribute to her character.”

Scott L. Baena
Managing Partner, Bilzin Sumberg Baena Price & Axelrod, LLP