Leaders Creating Rukus

Leaders Creating Rukus

Welcome to "Leaders Creating Rukus" hosted by Aashi Arora. Here we dive into the minds of innovators, disruptors, and change makers who aren't afraid to shake things up. Tune in as we converse with leaders who are challenging the status quo and making waves in their industry. Get ready to be inspired, challenged, and even a little uncomfortable as we explore what it takes to create a positive "rukus" in today’s world.

Episodes

People-First Leadership with Ivan Gonzalez

July 26, 2026 • 42 mins
Many business owners put profits first to survive, but long-term enterprise growth requires shifting your focus entirely toward your people and the quality of your product. In this episode of Leaders Creating Rukus, we welcome award-winning director and entrepreneur Ivan Gonzalez. Drawing on over 26 years of grueling, boots-on-the-ground film industry experience, Ivan grew from an ambitious production assistant to the owner of IG1 ...
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From High-Stakes Cardiology to AI-Driven Healthcare Quality with Dr. Saurabh Gupta

July 19, 2026 • 44 mins
Most AI tools are built for general consumers, but very few are sophisticated enough to handle the massive, messy reality of enterprise healthcare data.This Sunday at 4 PM PST on Leaders Creating Rukus, we welcome cardiologist and entrepreneur Dr. Saurabh Gupta. With decades of leadership experience at OHSU and the Oregon Medical Board, Dr. Gupta is tackling the fractured healthcare data head-on.

Tune in to hear how his com...
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    AI, Finance, and Career Insights with Joe Lessard

    July 12, 2026 • 44 mins
    Most accountants are trained to look backward at your numbers, but very few are taught how to look forward at your business.


    This episode on Leaders Creating Rukus, we welcome Joe Lessard, a CPA and specialized healthcare consultant. He is one of the financial world's most refreshing voices, working at the intersection of operational strategy, medical practice growth, and relational business. With years of experience gui...
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    The Health Gap Nobody Talks About with Vasanta Pundarika

    June 28, 2026 • 46 mins
    Women live longer than men but they spend 25% more of their lives in poor health.

    This realization made Vasanta launch a movement.

    In this episode of Leaders Creating Rukus we welcome Vasanta Pundarika, CEO & Founder of Lotuspring. She is one of healthcare's most distinctive voices working at the messy intersection of women's health, behavioral health, and business strategy.

    With nearly two decades as a hea...
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    Sheik Ali

    June 14, 2026 • 49 mins
    What if building your career meant amplifying who you already are instead of starting over from scratch? In this episode, we’re revisiting one of our favorite conversations on Leaders Creating Rukus with keynote speaker, entrepreneur, and LinkedIn authority Sheikh C. Ali. A former medical student who pivoted away from a traditional path, Sheikh is now the Founder and CEO of SC Medical Media, where he helps clinicians and heal...
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    Matthew Emerzian

    June 7, 2026 • 47 mins
    He had the dream job. The music industry. Celebrity clients. VIP events. Success by every traditional measure.Then at 31, while tying his shoes on a Monday morning, Matthew Emerzian thought he was having a heart attack.It wasn't a heart attack. It was the beginning of a battle with severe anxiety, depression, and a life-changing realization: everything he thought mattered didn't. In this episode of Leaders Creating Rukus, Aashi sit...
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    Leilani Quiray

    June 1, 2026 • 49 mins
    She built an HR company that leads with compassion instead of corporate scripts. Traveled the country alone during the pandemic to rebuild her life from the inside out. And turned her own healing journey into a mission to create workplaces that are both human and impactful. In this episode of Leaders Creating Rukus Aashi sits down with LeiLani Quiray, founder and CEO of be the change HR, social entrepreneur, speaker, and conscious ...
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    Ashar Ahmed

    May 25, 2026 • 52 mins
    Ashar Ahmed has spent more than two decades navigating high-stakes litigation, business disputes, and complex legal battles, but behind the courtroom success is a story built on grit, reinvention, and relentless growth. Born and raised in Karachi, Pakistan, Ashar came to the U.S. in 1991 to study engineering at Purdue University. After realizing engineering was not his path, he pivoted to business and accounting, graduating summa c...
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    Michael Trust

    May 17, 2026 • 46 mins
    Michael Trust spent more than 35 years navigating the realities of workplace leadership before becoming a California employment attorney. Today, he brings both worlds together, helping businesses and employees solve complex workplace challenges with a rare blend of legal expertise and real world HR insight.

    In this episode of Leaders Creating Rukus Aashi sits down with Michael Trust, Esq., employment attorney, former HR exec...
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    Arun Chervu

    May 11, 2026 • 48 mins
    He trained at Princeton University, earned his M.D. from Weill Cornell Medical College, and built a decades-long career as a leading vascular surgeon. But behind the titles, accolades, and leadership roles is a story shaped by loss, reinvention, and an evolving definition of purpose. In this episode of Leaders Creating Rukus Aashi sits down with Dr. Arun Chervu, surgeon, systems thinker, and now a voice on what it really means to &...
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    Mridu Parikh

    May 4, 2026 • 49 mins
    She left a fast-paced corporate career. Moved cities with a newborn. Started multiple businesses that didn’t work before finding the one that did. And somewhere in the middle of all that, Mridu Parikh realized… being busy all day doesn’t mean you’re actually productive. If you missed Sunday’s Leaders Creating Rukus, go find this one. It is practical, honest, and surprisingly freeing.

    Five thing...
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    Veena Murthy

    April 27, 2026 • 51 mins
    She moved across continents as a teenager, alone, uncertain, and determined to choose her own path. She walked away from expectations, questioned success, and rebuilt her career more than once to find alignment. And through it all, Veena Murthy kept returning to one powerful question: Why? In this episode of Leaders Creating Rukus Aashi sits down with Veena Murthy, healthcare leader, strategist, and creator of the “Back to Me...
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    Shayla Higginbotham

    April 19, 2026 • 48 mins
    Shayla Higginbotham has spent 20+ years navigating the complexity of healthcare, building, advising, and challenging systems from the inside out. Raised in a small town in West Virginia, she learned early what it meant to be different and that success requires more than hard work. It takes thinking differently.A minority woman in male-dominated spaces, Shayla did not just find her voice. She created space for others to have one. To...
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    Priya Bathija

    April 12, 2026 • 50 mins
    She grew up the daughter of immigrant physicians in Ohio, expected to follow a traditional path.

    She didn’t.She tried finance. Pivoted to law. Fell in love with healthcare policy.

    And along the way, she kept asking one question: How do we actually make healthcare work better for women?This Sunday at 4 PM PST, Leaders Creating Rukus sits down with Priya Bathija, founder and CEO of Nyoo Health, healthcare strategi...
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    Dr. Bijal Patel

    April 5, 2026 • 50 mins
    He nearly lost his life to a sudden, devastating illness. He came back with a deeper understanding of what it truly means to lead, with humanity, not just expertise. In this episode of Leaders Creating Rukus Aashi sits down with Dr. Bijal Patel, board-certified nephrologist, healthcare leader, and a voice for redefining leadership through service, connection, and compassion.An executive leader with Balboa Nephrology Medical Group, ...
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    Parul Somani

    March 29, 2026 • 50 mins
    She was diagnosed with aggressive breast cancer at 31. She had a newborn. And she still found her way back to leading with purpose. In this episode of Leaders Creating Rukus, Aashi sits down with Parul Somani — speaker, author, and mindset coach who turned a career crisis into a roadmap for resilient leadership. MIT and Harvard Business School grad. Bain alum. Silicon Valley executive. And someone who knows what it means to l...
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    Maddy Viswanath

    March 22, 2026 • 45 mins
    What if the reason you’re not getting promoted isn’t your performance but how your leadership is being interpreted? In this episode of Leaders Creating Rukus, Aashi Arora sits down with Maddy Viswanath, career coach and former HR leader. With 20+ years in HR, Maddy shares how she went from being overlooked and underpaid to increasing her compensation by over 110 percent simply by changing how she communicated her value....
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    David Oates

    March 8, 2026 • 48 mins
    What if protecting your reputation in a crisis meant telling the truth faster, clearer, and louder than the chaos around you? In this episode of Leaders Creating Rukus host Aashi Arora sits down with crisis communications expert Dave Oates, founder of PR Security Service, whose career spans more than three decades of navigating some of the most high-stakes reputational challenges organizations can face. From his early days as a U.S...
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    Raihan & Azam Dadabhoy

    March 1, 2026 • 48 mins
    What if hiring felt less like a black hole and more like a human conversation powered by intelligence?In this episode of Leaders Creating Rukus, Aashi Arora sits down with brothers, founders, and AI innovators Raihan Dadabhoy and Azam Dadabhoy, co-founders of Sensiply, a fast-growing AI-powered hiring platform transforming how employers and candidates connect.Born and raised in Southern California and shaped by their time at the Un...
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    Dr. Katie Chu

    February 22, 2026 • 49 mins
    What if the most powerful pivot in your life wasn’t about doing more but about finally surrendering and listening? In this episode of Leaders Creating Rukus we sit down with Dr. Katie W. Chu, optometrist, author, speaker, and founder of Chu On What Matters, for one of our most heartfelt and transformational conversations yet.For nearly 30 years, Dr. Chu has served four and a half generations of families through her private pr...
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