Rupal Patel Keynote Speaker
- Former CIA Officer, awarded War Zone Service Medals and Meritorious Citations for “exceptional performance of duty” and “superior support to the President of the United States”.
- Author of 'From CIA to CEO: Unconventional Life Lessons for Thinking Bigger, Leading Better, and Being Bolder'
- Corporate strategist, executive advisor, and Entrepreneur in Residence.
Rupal Patel's Biography
Rupal Patel’s high-octane career has taken her from military briefing rooms in jungles and war zones to corporate boardrooms and international stages. During her thrilling career as an analyst and field agent at the CIA, she served in active war zones, advised Commanding Generals, and earned War Zone Service Medals and Meritorious Citations for “exceptional performance of duty” and “superior support to the President of the United States.”
After leaving the CIA, she earned her MBA from London Business School and started her first award-winning business over ten years ago. Called a ‘Power Woman’ by Harper’s Bazaar Magazine, Rupal is a sought-after international speaker who has spoken in front of thousands and worked with top-tier organizations like Accenture, AB Inbev, SAP, and Virgin.
Her trailblazing work has been incorporated into the MBA and Executive MBA programs at elite business schools across the US and UK where she serves as visiting faculty, and has been featured in USA Today, Business Insider, and other prominent media outlets. In 2023, Rupal was named “One of the Most Influential Women of the Year.”
As a sitting CEO, author, consultant, coach and mentor, Rupal helps visionary leaders, teams, and organizations make the seemingly impossible possible. Called a “super-strategist” by her clients, Rupal draws on her Ivy-League education (she holds a BA from Columbia University and an MA from The University of Chicago), MBA degree, and CIA training, and marries industry-leading theory with tactical experience in ways that transform every client she works with.
Her book From CIA to CEO provides a powerful new toolkit for living and leading that reveals how the techniques of the CIA can help anyone thrive in the world of business and unleash personal excellence without conforming to stale stereotypes or dated “best practice”.
From hour-long keynotes to multi-day masterclasses, her captivating speaking engagements are tailored to meet the needs of each audience – a skill honed at the CIA where she briefed everyone from ground force “grunts” to high-level dignitaries, and expanded through her work with executives and founders across the globe.
Rupal’s client-focused design and delivery is powerful and impactful, and her truly unique insights arm her audiences with the tools they need to remake the rules of success and become unstoppable.
She is the author of the international best-seller From CIA to CEO: Unconventional Life Lessons for Thinking Bigger, Leading Better, and Being Bolder, which has been translated into multiple languages and been hailed as an “essential manual” and “one of the best business books,” and and her TED talk explores the power of “owning your weird” to unleash personal excellence.
Rupal Patel's Speaking Topics
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• Leveraging Tactical Ignorance TM
Too often leaders and organizations are inundated with inputs and demands crying out for attention. Learn how to face this onslaught by developing Tactical Ignorance so you can cut through the noise, be more effective, and get important things done.
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• Building Resilience & Performing Under Pressure
Drawing on her experiences in the field and high-stakes settings, Rupal will train you how to become resilient and agile in the face of uncertainty, challenges, and intense pressure so you can keep going no matter the circumstances.
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• Unshakable: the Power of a Learning Leader
Too often leadership is conflated with having “the answers” when the reality is far messier. Learn how to move past the myth of an “all-knowing” leader to becoming a more powerful and effective Learning Leader that will make you and your organization unshakable.
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• Closing the Confidence Gap & Visibility Gap for Women
Much is made of the gender pay gap, and gender authority gap, but both are exacerbated by the confidence gap and visibility gap women confront. Learn tangible and transferable skills for building deep confidence and being seen and heard on your terms.
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• Leading through Failure, Uncertainty, and Challenges
Leaders and organizations must prepare and train for when the mission goes wrong. This session is your “basic training” for battling whatever comes your way.
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• Remaking the Rules of Success & Becoming Unstoppable
Eschewing stale “SOPs” and dated “best practices”, this session will show you how to challenge assumptions and question the fundamentals as you make the seemingly impossible possible for yourself and your organization.
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• Intentional Experimentation & the Pursuit of Excellence
Develop an “enlightened swagger” as you learn how to follow the leads, experiment intentionally, and unlock the excellence within yourself, your teams, and your organization.
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• Communicating with Power and Authenticity
Communication is an art and a science: the art comes from honing your style and the science comes from leveraging psychology and human nature. Learn how to uncover your personal “art”, learn the universal science, and communicate powerfully with anyone, anywhere, about anything.
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• Mastering Your Mind & Showing Up Powerfully
To be taken seriously, you need to show up powerfully and master the mental chatter that keeps you scared and small. Learn how to use Situational Awareness to your advantage and “go grey” intentionally so that no one can dismiss you or your message.
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