Roopa Kudva EP2
Guest is known for...
Roopa Kudva, former MD of CRISIL and former Managing Partner at Omidyar Network India, brings four decades of experience spanning financial services, impact investing and board leadership, along with the perspective she shares in her book Leadership Beyond the Playbook. In this conversation, she talks about staying grounded while rising, letting purpose emerge through real work, making decisions when data and instinct pull in different directions, working across generations and scaling yourself as your organization grows. It’s a clear, practical look at leadership drawn from lived experience rather than frameworks. Published in January 2026.
Here's what I will learn...
• How to stay grounded even when success puts you on a pedestal
• How to let purpose emerge instead of trying to force it
• How to make decisions when data isn’t enough
• How to work smoothly with multi-generational teams
• How to scale your leadership as your organization grows
LISTEN TO THE FULL CONVERSATION
From the Podcast
Leaders that build to last
Enabling good decisions
Validating the vantage point
Giving away your Legos
Making/Not making key decisions
Roopa Kudva speaks about how leaders need to have a healthy combination of humility and self-awareness to ensure that they don’t carried away by their success.
Roopa lays out 4 approaches to purpose. 1) Seek alignment between your personal purpose and organizational purpose 2) Learn from role models 3) Find purpose in the day to day 4) Use privilege as a platform to find purpose
Roopa Kudva speaks about how she made decisions given she had a high caliber team at Omidyar Network India. She also highlights the criticality of breaking down the “why” behind a decision so that the team members feel “heard”.
Roopa Kudva speaks about the criticality of peers, not just in driving your agenda in the organization but also as people who often hold the keys to your career momentum.
Roopa Kudva speaks about how she toggled between the bird’s eye view and the worm’s eye view as a leader depending on the business context and the people she was leading.
Roopa Kudva speaks about how entrepreneurs scale up their leadership as the organization grows.
Roopa Kudva speaks about how leaders can harness the various strengths that different generations bring to the work force.
Roopa Kudva speaks about how leaders need to balance their gut and the data that is available to them and know when to make a decision and when not to.
Roopa Kudva speaks about how Venture Investors have two opposing forces to deal with. One is the speed of change and the need to be nimble. The other is the growing depth in a space where there is a track record and experience. Balancing the two is a fine art indeed.