Expert on Connecting Well-Being and Performance; Healthcare Entrepreneur; Bestselling Author; Host, American Express Business Class Docuseries; Visiting Scholar, Harvard Medical School
Suneel Gupta: Biography at a Glance
- Suneel Gupta is a leading expert in connecting well-being and performance known for pioneering the strategic balance of energy management to foster emotional resilience, engagement, and organizational success.
- A bestselling author and Harvard Medical School visiting scholar, Suneel offers a transformative approach to work that challenges the unsustainable hustle culture with science-backed habits for sustainable innovation and fulfillment.
- As a healthcare entrepreneur and the founding CEO of RISE, Suneel's expertise lies in guiding individuals and organizations from burnout to balance, emphasizing personal alignment for peak professional performance and joy.
- His international bestseller, Backable, uncovers the mindset and practices of influential innovators, while his latest work, Everyday Dharma, provides a practical blueprint for aligning one's work with their true self, enhancing well-being and effective leadership.
- Suneel's research at Harvard Medical School is focused on the intersection of inner well-being and impactful leadership.
- Beyond academia, Suneel is the dynamic host of the Webby Award-winning American Express Business Class docuseries, showcasing stories of entrepreneurial resilience and innovation.
- A pioneering investor in companies like Impossible Foods and Airbnb, Suneel is a sought-after speaker on leadership, building cultures of innovation, and igniting passion among teams.
Videos
Biography
As the founding CEO of RISE, a breakthrough wellness company, Suneel Gupta helped thousands of people build better habits for life and work. Now as a bestselling author and Harvard Medical School visiting scholar, Suneel has taken his mission one step further – helping people reset, reignite, and find meaning in their work by bolstering emotional resilience and engagement. Suneel asks, “How can an organization excel on the outside if its people are exhausted on the inside?” Grit and hustle are simply not a long-term answer to dealing with nonstop change and stress. Suneel offers leaders and teams a better way to work; one that results in sustainable innovation, productivity, and fulfillment. He arms people with science-based habits that will avoid burnout, boost energy, and improve their professional and personal lives.
Suneel is a business survivor and the author of the international bestselling book Backable (2020). That book is rooted in his inner journey from a twice-failed entrepreneur to becoming a leader behind two IPOs and being named “The New Face of Innovation” by the New York Stock Exchange. The book reveals the mindset shifts and hidden habits of people who are extraordinary at pushing new ideas forward.
His transformative book Everyday Dharma (2023) codifies Suneel’s mission to help people reset, reignite, and re-engage through a timeless practice called Dharma. Simply put, Dharma brings “who you are” and “what you do” into alignment. When we’re aligned, we’re able to produce our best work and lead ourselves and others effectively, experiencing true joy along the way.
As a visiting scholar at Harvard Medical School, Suneel researches and teaches the interconnection between inner well-being and outer leadership. He is also an emissary for Gross National Happiness between the United States and the Kingdom of Bhutan.
As CEO of RISE Suneel helped thousands of people establish a way to personalize their physical and mental health journey while connecting with certified nutritionists and trainers at an affordable price. The company was named “App of the Year” and partnered with then-First Lady Michelle Obama before being acquired by the NASDAQ-listed company One Medical Group. In 2022, with its acquisition of One Medical Group, RISE is now part of Amazon.
Suneel is the host of Business Class, a 2023 Webby Award-winning docuseries created by American Express (streaming on Amazon Prime), where he showcases entrepreneurs and business visionaries who embody struggle and resilience. He is joined on the show by guests like Top Chef’s Tom Colicchio, former monk Jay Shetty, and Martha Stewart.
He has partnered with The Second City comedy theater to teach students and executives how to innovate "on-your-feet'' during times of rapid change.
Suneel has also personally backed ventures including Impossible Foods, Airbnb, 23andMe, and SpaceX. He was one of the very first investors in CALM, which now helps millions of people achieve a greater sense of work/life balance.
When a reporter once asked Suneel about his purpose, his response was to “find good people, and inspire them to do what inspires them.”
Topics
MOMENTUM: THE ENERGY TO KEEP GOING
We can’t create more time – but we can elevate our energy. Understanding that is the first step to increasing our capacity – personally and professionally – to build momentum and keep up with daily demands without succumbing to exhaustion. “People who fall short of their goals rarely run out of time or talent – they run out of energy,” says Suneel Gupta. As founding CEO of RISE (now part of Amazon), Suneel helped thousands overcome challenges with physical and mental health. Now, he’s committed to bringing a sustainable solution to the energy crisis at work. Grounded in his exclusive teachings at Harvard Medical School as well as over a decade of studying the work habits of extraordinary leaders, Suneel delivers insights about the “why” and “how-to’s” of strategic energy management – showing people practical ways to unleash momentum crucial to performance, innovation, collaboration, and overall well-being.
Sample takeaways tailored for each audience:
• Why managing energy is as important as managing time.
• 4 ways to build “emotional runway” and avoid burnout using science-based practices.
• Master everyday habits to boost momentum, engagement, and morale.
• Reframe failure as a pathway to success.
• Remain resilient and balanced in the face of constant change.
HEAD, HEART, AND HANDS: A NEW WAY TO LOOK AT LEADERSHIP
Leadership has changed. To get things done and drive bottom-line results, leaders must embrace a striking truth: they don’t just impact people’s work, but their overall health and well-being. Leaders who understand how physical, mental, and emotional health drives business performance will build trust, become magnets for exceptional talent, and elevate overall productivity. Suneel Gupta’s ‘Head, Heart and Hands’ framework empowers leaders with new strategies to create a work environment where well-being drives outstanding outcomes. Drawing on over a decade of experience as a healthcare CEO, bestselling author, and host of an award-winning television show on leadership, Suneel empowers audiences through interactive experiences and demonstrates how a focus on purpose (head), well-being (heart), and action (hands) transforms organizational performance.
You’ll learn to:
- Motivate your people to be “all in” without burning out, by teaching them how to manage not just their time, but their energy.
- Learn the art of aligning “who you are” with “what you do” so you can inspire your team and carve result-oriented paths for their daily work.
- Cultivate a meaningful sense of belonging in your team, whether in-person or remote.
- Discover the key drivers of emotional resilience and how to deal with daily setbacks.
- Renew a sense of commitment and momentum in your team’s day-to-day life.
PURPOSE IN ACTION: BRINGING WHO YOU ARE TO EVERYTHING YOU DO
More than ever before, people are struggling to find meaning in their work. In this talk, Suneel Gupta helps people reset, reignite, and re-engage through a timeless practice called Dharma. Simply put, Dharma brings “who you are” and “what you do” into alignment. When we’re not aligned, we become exhausted, depleted, and burnt out. When we are aligned, we feel creative, energized, and lit up. We’re able to produce our best work and lead ourselves and others effectively, experiencing true joy along the way.
Suneel first learned the practice of Dharma from his grandfather on a porch in New Delhi. Years later, when he was lost and exhausted — struggling to find a sense of meaning in his own work — he returned to the playbook his ancestors left behind and related it to today’s fast-paced, changing world of work.
Suneel shares deeply personal stories of how he found a path back to purpose and joy – and how others have done the same. By the end, you’ll be inspired with actionable tools to re-engage in your work and life with a renewed sense of vigor and meaning.
You’ll learn how to:
- Rediscover your “essence” and express that through your work
- Be “all in” without being “always on”
- Find comfort in the most uncomfortable of situations
- Deal with failure and use it as a pathway to success
- Find yourself by losing yourself through leading and lifting up others
- Blur the lines between work and play to reach your highest potential
- Forge ahead and take decisive action, even in the face of uncertainty
