Empowering Decisions, Transforming Leadership
The Sounding Board by VRM enables a connection with your inner wisdom—aligning mind, body, and heart to make conscious decisions with complete clarity. After all, isn’t true happiness about alignment of the head and heart?
About Vishakha
Life is a journey of seasons. There’s a time to learn, a time to build, and eventually, a time to give back. After many successful years as a CEO, with an abundance of experiential learning, I find myself at a stage where I desire to find meaning in the success of others.
In India, our scriptures define life’s journey through the varnashramas—stages that guide our purpose over time. I stand at Vanaprastha—not yet ready for renunciation (Sanyasa) but prepared to step back and invest in others. Arthur Brooks calls this the transition from fluid intelligence to crystallized intelligence—a phase where depth of understanding, the ability to connect the dots, and the power of mentorship matter more than raw knowledge.
Looking back, I see a life rich in opportunity, but more importantly, rich in the people who shaped me. I rose from modest beginnings, from being an above-average student – to a qualified professional. My 37 year long corporate journey began as an AAO at New India Assurance Co. Ltd to culminate as the MD & CEO of IndiaFirst Life Insurance—balancing leadership, family, and personal growth along the way.
But I didn’t get here alone. I had mentors who saw my potential before I did and a coach who unlocked hidden beliefs and enabled new perspectives. I had the support of sounding boards to overcome challenges and provide encouragement. That support shaped me.
And now, it’s my turn to be that person for someone else.
I believe that the best answers are not given; they are discovered. They already exist within you, waiting to surface when doubt and fear are set aside. My role is not to tell you what to do, but to be the sounding board – to listen, to challenge, and help you find clarity, alignment and direction.
If you are interested, Let’s explore your next step together!
COACHING
A Space to Think, Feel, and Lead with Intention
Step away from the noise and reconnect
with what truly matters.
Leadership isn’t about having all the answers or following a formula. It’s about navigating complexity, making choices that align with your values, and knowing when to lead and when to listen. Striking that balance isn’t always easy, but it’s what makes a great leader. The challenge is sharper when you are in the minority, or when you are the one questioning convention. I have sat on boards, in meetings and at sales conferences as the only woman in the room. I bring that lived experience, of learning to navigate and find my balance, to every leader I coach.
Family businesses carry a complexity no boardroom can match. The person across the table is not only your business partner; they are your parent, your spouse, your sibling, your child. That makes the tough conversations on growth, finance, roles and succession the hardest ones to have objectively. So they get postponed, softened, or carried home to the dinner table.
Through family business coaching, I work with family members individually and together, creating a neutral space where every voice is heard and business questions are discussed as business questions. I bring a former CEO’s experience and a coach’s care for the conversation. The decisions remain yours. My role is to ensure the family decides well for the business, and stays a family while doing it.
Everyone needs a safe space to reflect, to explore challenges and gain clarity – without pressure or judgement. That is what I offer.
If you are seeking that space, let’s talk!
CONFLICT RESOLUTION
Resolve Differences Before They Become Disputes
An honest conversation today costs far less
than arbitration tomorrow.
Most business disputes do not begin as legal problems. They begin as conversations that never happened: an expectation left unspoken, a decision that felt unfair, a hurt nobody named. By the time lawyers and arbitrators are involved, positions have hardened, costs have mounted, and relationships are often beyond repair.
Coaching offers an earlier, quieter route. As a neutral sounding board, I help people step back from their positions and understand what each one truly needs. I do not judge, take sides or impose a solution. I hold the space, ask the questions that are hard to ask each other, and help the parties reach an agreement that is their own.
✔ Co-founders and partners – differences on direction, roles and exits
✔ Boards and management – where trust has worn thin
✔ Family businesses – succession, ownership and money
✔ Leadership teams – conflict that is slowing execution
Everything shared remains confidential. And because the resolution is yours, it lasts.
If there is a conversation you have been avoiding, let’s begin there.
Coaching is not a substitute for legal advice, mediation or arbitration.
COURSES
Thought-Provoking, Transformational, and Deeply Personal
Shift your mindset. Strengthen your leadership.
Redefine your path.
We live in a world overflowing with information and knowledge – But real power comes from understanding and applying what matters most.
My courses aren’t just about learning – they are about assimilating. They are about giving you the space to pause, reflect, and think differently.
I currently offer three interactive courses designed for professionals (ages 25 to 45) but valuable and meaningful at any stage.
• Wellness in the Workplace – Go beyond corporate buzzwords and build a work culture where well-being is real.
• Cultivating Wisdom – Move beyond black-and-white absolute thinking to make conscious decisions based on real-life context.
• Being Human in the Age of AI – Stay ahead of AI while keeping your unique human edge.
These are not lectures—they are conversations. Spaces where we unpack complexity, challenge assumptions, and explore the deeper questions that shape our lives. Because the answers you seek? They’re already within you. Sometimes, you just need the right space to find them.
If you are ready to explore, let us begin
CONSULTING
Thought Partnership for Meaningful Change
Make decisions that align with your values and
create lasting impact.
Every leader wants clarity. Every team wants alignment. Every organization wants a strategy that actually works—not just on paper, but in the real world. But strategy without people is just a document. And people without clarity are just motion without direction. That’s where I come in. I work with organizations and leaders to align strategy, leadership, and execution. Not with rigid frameworks, but through meaningful conversations that cut through the noise and uncover the path forward.
My consulting focus includes:
✔ Big-picture Thinking – Crafting sustainable strategies that work in the real world.
✔ Change management – Helping teams adapt with confidence.
✔ Risk & financial advisory – Making decisions with clarity and foresight.
My role isn’t to give you pre-packaged solutions. It’s to help you see more clearly, challenge your assumptions, and make decisions that truly align with who you are and what you want to build. Leadership isn’t about following formulas—it’s about making conscious choices, rooted in clarity.
If that’s the kind of conversation you’re looking for, let’s start.
Blog
Letting Go!
Letting go is not about skipping preparation or ignoring the details. It’s about doing the work—researching, planning, making an informed decision—and then trusting the process.
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Who arrives first to the room?
I have started classes across multiple schools at the University and one of the things that really strikes me...
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Mother's day has come and gone
So, this Mother's Day, I asked my now grown up children to tell me their experience of a full time working mother...
Read >Testimonials
Certifications & Awards
Your Next Step Starts Here
Let’s create a path to purposeful growth, conscious decisions and lasting impact.