Biography

Book Rashmi Airan through The Keynote Curators.

Rashmi Airan challenges leaders to face the invisible prisons that shape their choices and limit their growth. A keynote speaker, consultant, and unapologetic truth-teller, she brings her raw story of success, collapse, and reinvention to audiences worldwide.

As a first-generation Indian American, Rashmi Airan was raised to chase excellence. She graduated with honors from Columbia Law School, thrived in corporate America, and built her own law practice. But success came with hidden cages: cultural pressures, inherited orthodoxies, and blind ambition. One small compromise, fueled by fear and the pressure to provide, led to a federal prison sentence.

Prison shattered everything she thought she knew about herself, but it also exposed the deeper truth: she had been imprisoned long before by ego, judgment, and unspoken rules. Six months behind bars stripped away those layers and forced her to rebuild on a foundation of courage, self-awareness, and integrity.

Now known as a “recovering government, corporate, and real estate lawyer,” Rashmi Airan is a globally recognized speaker who explores the ways people and organizations confine themselves to patterns, assumptions, and norms that quietly dictate outcomes. With over 30 years in business, law, and finance, she has seen how good people make bad choices when these hidden pressures go unexamined. Her RISE THROUGH IT’“FRAMEWORK is a guide to breaking free, reframing adversity, and leading with clarity.

Her insights are grounded in research on resilience, growth, and leadership, and she has worked with leaders atCoca-Cola, Merck, Cardinal Health, Comcast, Sotheby’s, and Hershey’s. Deloitte has recognized hertransformational impact, and her story has been featured on ABC, PBS, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal.

Rashmi sparks conversations that matter. She pushes executives, entrepreneurs, and teams to confront blind spots, dismantle self-imposed prisons, and rise through struggle with integrity and courage.

Beyond the stage, she is a proud mother of two, a board member for the Overtown Youth Center /Alonzo Mourning Foundation, and an Ambassador for The Key Clubhouse. She is also an avid hiker and traveler who believes the real adventure begins when we free ourselves from the prisons of thought and expectation.

Rashmi Airan’s message is urgent: the most confining prisons are not physical. They live in the mind. Freedom begins when we rise through them.

Contact us for Rashmi Airan’s fees and availability.

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Videos

Rashmi Airan - 2025 Speaker Demo Reel

How Self-Reflection Can Lead To Personal Growth with Rashmi Airan

Rashmi Airan Sizzle Reel: Unlock Your Best Self

Are you bold enough to show your feelings and fears?

RashmiShortSpeakerReel v4

Listen to Your Inner Voice

The Impact of Ethics | Rashmi Airan and Serina Vash | MGM Resorts

Against the Slippery Slope | Rashmi Airan | TEDxGreenville

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Speech TopicsExpand each topic to learn more

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

Every day, leaders face a barrage of challenges, problems, and threats. While the initial instinct may be to avoid them, hiding from adversity often leads to further setbacks and long-term chaos.

In reality, the most difficult moments can become our greatest teachers if we intentionally choose to learn from them, solve them, and rise through them. True growth and leadership emerge from consciously deciding to "rise through" our challenges, rather than merely trying to "rise above" them to quickly escape.

Rashmi Airan learned first-hand what it means to Rise Through It™. Her remarkable journey—from an Ivy League education to federal prison—has unlocked immutable lessons in determination, growth, and transformation. Today, Rashmi is a sought-after expert helping leaders rise through challenges rather than avoid them using her proven system: The RISE Process™.

After working with Rashmi, leaders adopt a bold and transformative approach, shifting from being victims of circumstances to viewing challenges as opportunities for profound growth. She fosters a culture of courage, acceptance, and vulnerability to harness discomfort and thrive. Her proven framework illuminates the path to becoming bold, grounded, visionary leaders prepared to overcome the inevitable fear when dealing with change. When we RISE THROUGH IT™, we embrace growth and unlock our power to shine.

OUTCOMES:
- Master a validated process to address any challenging scenario and convert it to an opportunity.
- Reframe our sense of self with the understanding that it's about who we are, not what we achieve that matters.
- Cultivate a culture of courage by creating safe spaces for open communication and risk-taking.
- Alleviate AI anxiety and create a more inclusive, adaptable, and future-ready digital workplace.

DON’T RISK IT! Ethical Vigilance & Decision-Making

In this engaging keynote, Rashmi Airan emphasizes the critical importance of ethical decision-making in today's fast-paced business environment. Drawing from her personal journey from Wall Street to law school to prison, Rashmi highlights the dangers of ethical blind spots and the necessity of maintaining constant vigilance to uphold integrity. Leaders often face the painful challenge of balancing business pressures with ethical considerations, risking financial stability, client relationships, and personal reputation to do what is right. This keynote is essential for leaders and organizations aiming to foster a culture of ethics and navigate complex ethical dilemmas.

Rashmi's insights provide a roadmap for leaders who must constantly tow the ethical line while taking calculated risks. She addresses the real-world pressures that can lead to ethical lapses and offers practical strategies to mitigate these risks. Attendees will leave with a deeper understanding of how to maintain their ethical compass in the face of adversity and make decisions that align with their core values.

OUTCOMES:
- Understand the potential risks of ethical lapses across various industries.
- Learn strategies to encourage ethical decision-making at all organizational levels
- Gain tools to create a culture of integrity and accountability.
- Discover insights on balancing business pressures with ethical considerations.

DHARMA LEADERSHIP™ - Who are you?

In our tech-driven world, top talent often struggles with identity and purpose, which significantly impacts engagement and performance. Rashmi Airan, a leader with extensive expertise in finance and law, addresses this critical challenge through her innovative Dharma Leadership™ framework. This framework, developed from her personal experiences and grounded in behavioral psychology research, has garnered acclaim from major corporations and Deloitte. Rashmi's methodology focuses on overcoming technological isolation by fostering self-awareness among leaders and teams.

By emphasizing the importance of understanding "WHO we are" rather than just "WHAT we do," Rashmi promotes inclusivity and unlocks individual and collective potential. This paradigm shift not only enhances the quality of life but also drives business performance, fostering collaboration and growth in today's highly competitive landscape. Her approach is particularly valuable for leaders, executives, and teams seeking to cultivate a more authentic, purpose-driven, and impactful leadership style.

Rashmi's Dharma Leadership™ framework also addresses the challenges of employee engagement, talent retention, and adaptation to the ever-evolving technological environment. By focusing on self-worth and humanity over ego-driven achievements, her methodology helps organizations create a culture that supports ethical decision-making and global impact, ultimately leading to sustainable success.

OUTCOMES:
- Develop strategies to cultivate a culture that creates a competitive advantage and boosts business performance.
- Implement awareness techniques to maximize individual and team performance.
- Foster a more authentic, purpose-driven, and impactful leadership style.
- Enhance employee engagement and talent retention in a tech-driven environment.

SILENT NO MORE: Remaking Mental Health in Leadership

In corporate America, where mental health often remains hidden, Rashmi Airan's journey from finance professional to federal prison sheds powerful light on this critical issue. Her crusade is deeply personal, stemming from her sister's decades-long battle with mental illness and the tragic loss she and her family endured. Her daughter's ongoing struggles with anxiety, depression, and OCD further fuel her mission.

Inspired by their pain, Rashmi's mother co-founded the Key Clubhouse of South Florida, offering tangible support, including housing, to those facing mental health challenges. Drawing from this family history and her own incarceration experience, Rashmi argues that mental illness doesn't discriminate, affecting CEOs and entry-level employees alike in today's high-pressure business world.

Through poignant storytelling and her groundbreaking RISE process™, she reframes mental health as a leadership opportunity. Rashmi shows how creating a mentally healthy work culture isn't just humane—it's a business imperative. She demonstrates how conditions like anxiety often come with unique strengths such as attention to detail and empathy, especially relevant as younger generations enter the workforce.

By booking her keynote, you're not only investing in leadership development but also joining a mission to ensure no one suffers in silence, from the boardroom to the mailroom. Be part of making mental wellness the heart of 21st-century leadership.


OUTCOMES:
- Leaders will learn to destigmatize mental health, viewing it not as a weakness but as a universal human experience.
- Attendees will gain Rashmi's RISE Process™, a practical framework to proactively support workplace mental health.
- Learn to create a mentally healthy work culture that attracts and retains diverse talent, especially from younger generations.
- Leaders will transform personal mental health experiences into powerful tools for authentic leadership.

OPPOSITES ATTRACT: The Power of Turning Enemies into Allies

Customers and employees are struggling with the prevalence of technology and the lack of the human touch, leading to worsening turnover, and lower sales affecting business performance entirely. Establishing relationships is a cornerstone of sales and business growth, reflecting the fundamental principle that people prefer to do business with those they know, like, and trust. This concept underscores not just a transactional interaction but a relational dynamic that can significantly impact the bottom line and long-term success of a business.
Join us for an extraordinary presentation where Rashmi Airan, a former federal defendant, and Joseph Capone, the former federal prosecutor who investigated her case, come together to share their incredible journey.

Rashmi's transformative experience has inspired her to become a corporate motivational speaker, fearlessly spreading wisdom about decision-making and leadership. Despite their past adversities, Rashmi and Joe have developed a unique bond built on mutual respect and continuous growth.

Get ready for an engaging discussion as Joe provides his prosecutorial perspective on the case, focusing on key moments of decision-making. Collaborating now as allies, Joe and Rashmi will lead an interactive conversation, offering valuable insights into how adversaries can become allies. Their story is living proof that transformation and reconciliation are possible, leading to a relationship unimaginable several years ago.

The importance of establishing relationships in sales and business cannot be overstated. It's a strategy that pays dividends not just in increased sales and business growth, but in building a sustainable, reputable, and resilient business that stands the test of time.

OUTCOMES:
- Embrace a culture of transformation by proven framework to build relationships
- Discover how adversarial relationships can evolve into alliances
- Empower change by gaining insights from the collaboration between former adversaries.
- Establish the power of relationships and drive sales and growth through specific skills.

Testimonials

Rashmi’s ‘Red Flags, Risks & Resilience’ presentation for our annual REALTOR® Professional Standards Workshop was excellent, both in content and speaker style. Her vulnerability and brutal honesty deeply resonated with our members and reinforced the important role ethics plays in their profession and everyday lives.
– Arizona Association of Realtors, Scott Drucker, General Counsel
I haven’t met a more authentic person who was as vulnerable and honest keynote speaker as Rashmi Airan.
– Husch Blackwell, Steve Dunn
I just wanted to take the time and say thank you for speaking at UNT yesterday afternoon. When I came home, I could not stop talking about you and your presentation. I always really appreciate people who speak about the pressures of being a first generation American. Recently, there have been more and more people coming out of the woodwork and sharing their experiences, but when I was growing up, it was always so hard to get my friends to understand what I was going through. I think it’s incredible what you are doing with your life now after prison. Although I do not know you, I also wanted to say that how proud I am of you for overcoming this setback in your life. I watched some of your Ted Talk prior to yesterday’s lecture, and it is so impressive to see how far you have come as a public speaker. You carry yourself so confidently and elegantly. You are truly an inspiration.
– University of North Texas, Anika Khandoker
Thank you so much for your inspirational talk today. It gave me a chance to reflect and think about life and family, and we should always find time to do this. You gave me that time. Your session was undoubtedly the best of the seminar.
– Borden Ladner Gervais, LLP Wayne Cross, Director IT Security and Operations
Rashmi Airan is a gifted and truly motivational speaker. She is knowledgeable, entertaining, compelling, interesting, brave, inspiring and knows how to keep the audience’s attention by creating a space for self-reflection. Rashmi is a master at using storytelling to share her relevant personal experiences that our members have told us they find extraordinarily valuable and often life-changing. We are grateful to Rashmi for presenting on our site. Her course should be a requirement for all accountants and lawyers to view.
– CPA Academy, Scott Zarret, President
I invited Ms. Airan-Pace to speak to my class in September 2016. The students in my class were fascinated by her story and cautionary tale. The class had one of the most attentive groups of students that I’ve had this year. I am confident that the discussion in class with Ms. Airan-Pace will be remembered by the students throughout their legal careers. Ms. Airan-Pace speaks from a place of remorse and truly has owned the wrong that she committed. I imagine that this is a very difficult subject for her to address because of her actions. However, she opens herself and shares her lessons for the benefit of others. I look forward to inviting her to speak again next year to my class.
– University of Miami, School of Law Kendall Coffey, Adjunct Professor
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. She showed the students how involvement in fairly ministerial activities (house closings) could result in criminal liability. 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’ education that others cannot duplicate.
– Columbia University, School of Law John C. Coffee, Jr., Professor
What an amazing and incredible story. I am so grateful for Rashmi sharing her story and life lessons with our attorneys. I highly recommend every firm bring Rashmi in to help ensure young attorneys always ask the important and hard questions and put their careers and family first. Thank you Rashmi for sharing your story with us.
– Choice Legal Group, P.A. Ari Miller, Managing Partner

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