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 organizations reach sustainable peak performance by bolstering their people’s emotional resilience. He asks the question, “How can an organization excel on the outside if its people are exhausted on the inside?” Suneel challenges our reliance on grit and hustle, which are also scientifically associated with exhaustion. Instead, he offers leaders and teams new, science-based ideas for the changing world of work – habits for beating burnout and boosting long-term creativity, innovation, and productivity.
Suneel is a business survivor and the author of the international bestselling book Backable (2020). The book is rooted in his inner journey from 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 next book, due in 2023, will unveil the habits of high-pressure performers, explaining why some people burn out, while others reach new levels of resilience, productivity, and momentum.
As visiting scholar at Harvard Medical School, Suneel researches and teaches the interconnection between inner well-being and outer leadership. He is also 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 successfully acquired by the NASDAQ-listed company One Medical Group.
Suneel is currently the host of Business Class, a podcast and docuseries created by American Express where he showcases leaders 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, 23&Me, 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.”
