Keynote & TED Speaker Mohan Sivaloganathan

Too many billion-dollar ideas never see the light of day. Why?

Because only 23% of employees are engaged at work, while burnout is costing organizations $16,000 per employee each year. Disengaged teams leave innovation untapped, leaders burned out, and breakthrough solutions collecting dust.

That’s where Mohan comes in.

Known as the “Batman of Social Impact,” Mohan fuses authentic storytelling, hip-hop artistry, and actionable leadership frameworks to disrupt the false choice between performance and wellbeing. With experience leading award-winning teams at Our Turn and partnering with organizations like Procter & Gamble and the World Economic Forum, he has proven that cultures rooted in belonging and purpose drive exponential performance.

Mohan’s keynotes don’t just inspire.

They equip leaders to build environments where people feel agency, innovation thrives, and sustainable impact takes root. The experience is affirming, practical, and catalytic. His talks are a call to action: reimagine leadership, harmonize wellbeing and performance, and unlock the full potential of your people.

→ Book Mohan for your Next Event

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Speaking Reel

TED Talk on the Breakthrough Power of Young Leaders

Gartner C-Suite Summit: We don’t need a vitamin or aspirin to transform leadership, we need a vaccine

TNTP's The Village: Harmonious Leaders activate their agency and power for greater impact

Greenbiz 25: Keynote + performance highlights and testimonials

Synergos Institute David Rockefeller Bridging Leadership Awards: Performing Interstellar

The World Economic Forum: Leaders must embrace their manifestos during breaking points

IFC Opening Plenary: Performing Our Time

Work with Mohan

Keynote Topics

Amidst a tidal wave of economic, political, and cultural volatility, we are facing a workforce crisis. Emerging leaders and executives alike are demanding greater purpose and wellbeing in their work, but antiquated leadership philosophies force false choices between wellbeing and performance, leaving teams depleted and game changing ideas without catalysts.
The leaders of today and the future demand a new set of rules, where they can harmonize doing their best with feeling their best to expand the aperture for what’s possible in organizations. Based on Mohan’s experience from adhering to and then defying the old model of leadership, and as a successful CEO and advisor, Harmonious Leadership will unlock the strategic potential and joy of your team.
Attendees will gain insight into:
- A shift in mindsets from traditional leadership to Harmonious Leadership
- The characteristics of Harmonious Leadership within leaders and teams
- How to activate Harmonious Leadership within organizations
- Nurturing and sustaining a Harmonious Leadership culture
“I don’t know how to work with Gen Z.” Leaders across industries are challenged by the audacity of emerging leaders, compelling them to resist change and perpetuate old practices. As a result, organizations miss out on the transformative characteristics demonstrated by young leaders, limiting their ability to hire, innovate, and grow.
Based on Mohan’s TED talk, he will pull back the curtain on the game changing leadership blueprint of the emerging workforce. Discover how you can maximize the impact of emerging leaders by elevating their differentiated characteristics, so your organization can evolve and thrive during a moment of dramatic change.
Attendees will gain insight into:
- The case for leadership transformation
- A new set of data-backed leadership characteristics
- Actionable, people-centered strategies to evolve practices and cultures
- Tactics to ensure lasting success for the entire organization
The ground is shifting beneath our feet. Political upheaval, cultural transformation, and workforce evolution are colliding to create unprecedented uncertainty. When leaders and employees are lost, disengaged, and constantly reacting instead of being proactive, they become unable to generate the agency and ingenuity they need to drive outcomes and growth. Because of this reactive cycle, it becomes extremely difficult to innovate and sustain progress, leaving even the most promising organizations struggling to thrive.
Yet too many leaders are still reaching for yesterday's playbooks, hoping that inspirational speeches and surface-level change initiatives will carry them through. Your people don't need another pep talk—they need a roadmap. They need leaders who can show up authentically in the chaos, co-create the future they want to see, and turn disruption into their greatest strategic advantage.
Drawing from his experience navigating massive organizational transformations—including M&A integrations, restructuring initiatives, turnarounds, and rapid scale and growth phases—and his work with leaders across industries, Mohan reveals how the most effective leaders don't just survive disruption, they weaponize it. Through authentic storytelling, the dynamic rhythms of hip-hop, and battle-tested strategies, this keynote transforms how you think about and lead through change.
This isn't about managing change; it's about making disruption your strategy for breakthrough impact.
What Attendees Will Gain Insight Into:
- How to show up as a leader when the ground is shifting
- The roadmap people actually need (not just inspiration)
- Strategic frameworks for uncertain times
- Tactical moves that accelerate change adoption
- Sustaining momentum through the messy middle
Leadership is not a title. Too often, people are thrown into positions where they need to identify and tap their strengths so they can influence others toward urgent priorities…with limited consciousness of who they are as leaders, and how their approach might impact others. They turn to surveys and other tools that tell them who they are, as opposed to writing their own story.
The most effective leaders are clear in who they are, and their teams aren’t stifled by the mystery of what their leader might think, say, or do. This clarity inspires the highest levels of collaboration, innovation, and impact. Through the insights garnered from deep reflection and groundbreaking team design, Mohan will help you to hold a mirror to who you truly are and shape a Manifesto that unlocks your ability to communicate, influence, and innovate.
Attendees will gain insight into:
- Why a Leadership Manifesto can catapult how they feel and operate
- The under-the-radar inputs that influenced how they were shaped as leaders
- Their distinguishing values, expectations, and approaches
- Shaping a Leadership Manifesto that serves as an anchor for impact and long lasting growth
Throughout our lives, we’ve been taught that trouble is “bad.” However, when leaders are hungry for a healthier brand of work and living, and organizations are starving for revolutionary ideas, shaking up the status quo - aka trouble - is desperately necessary.
Disruption and innovation can’t be wished for; they require us to lean into our inner troublemaker spirit. Mohan takes you on his journey from navigating trouble in classrooms and boardrooms so organizations can untether the outside-of-the-lines potential of their teams. By embracing trouble, organizations unlock a new level of creativity, resilience, and bold solutions that drive lasting, transformative impact.
Attendees will gain insight into:
- Perceiving personal and professional forms of the status quo that require dramatic change
- The steps they can take to embrace trouble and build support
- How to sustain a culture of purposeful disruption - aka trouble - for yourself and your team

Kyla Shawyer, CEO, The Resource Alliance

“When Mohan took the stage at the opening of IFC in the Netherlands, no one knew what to expect. Including Mohan. One thousand leaders, thinkers, visionaries, strategists and other changemakers from over 60 countries sat waiting in their seats as the lights dimmed and he made his way up the center aisle, microphone in hand. Very few of us knew who he was or what he would have to say. But six short minutes later, we were his. And we were moved, many of us to tears. Ahmen’s passion, his bare-naked honesty, his courageous storytelling – beautifully entangled in the rhythm of his infectious music – bewitched us and set the tone of the next three days of learning, inspiration and collaboration about changing mind sets and the role that each person can play in making the world a better place.”
Rob Acton, Principal and Founder, Cause Strategy Partners

“I had the privilege of sharing the stage with Mohan at a social justice conference in New York City and, thank goodness, they had me go first. I would not have wanted to follow his powerful act! Mohan took the stage and immediately enraptured the audience with his potent combination of social consciousness and keen intellect, flavored by an outstanding performance capacity. I would be hard-pressed to think of someone better suited to motivate a crowd of activists (or would-be activists) than he is: an impressive next generation leader in the social good sector.”
John Valverde, CEO, YouthBuild

“Mohan delivered a message that grounded us in who we are and what we stand for—centering young people and their power to transform themselves and their communities, while reminding us that we matter in that process. While we know those closest to the problems are closest to the solutions, young people need our support to realize their visions for a world that works for all.
Mohan’s ability to integrate spoken word and engage the audience through creative storytelling was refreshing. He shared practical tools and moments of self-reflection that our leaders could use immediately—and carry forward as takeaways beyond the keynote.”
Katie Ryan, VP Sustainability & Program Content, Trellis Group

“We look for mainstage speakers who can share reality and aspiration with big energy -- and we found it all in Mohan. Mohan brought both his professional and personal experience as well as his musical talents to the stage, capturing the attendees exactly where they were. His message resonated and we all came away with a better sense of purpose and inspiration.”
Laurie Mulvey, Executive Director, World in Conversation Project

“Mohan has been evolving himself and the people around him for decades. His speaking is 100% real talk and his heart is in his words. Mohan exudes integrity and trustworthiness because he is a performer who is not performing; he is showing you who he is. That is why when you are in his presence, you feel refreshed and expanded–and you actually reconnect with the possibilities within yourself. You are lucky if you’ve had the chance to take in what Mohan has to offer. If you haven’t, change that. :-) Mohan is so much more than a talented speaker. He is a passionate communicator who connects to his audience with a unique blend of confidence, humility, playfulness and wisdom.”
Derek Humphries, Creative Director, DTV Group

“Mohan's performances, in our opening keynote presentation and at our key social event simply wowed people. Mohan drew on his own family heritage, contemporary politics, the emotions and experiences of his audience, and the deep heritage of social struggle to create a mesmeric fusion of rap and spoken word performance. This was the solution he generated within our event to the challenge of having to bring together and unite a global audience of incredibly varied cultures, mindsets, and expectations. This included some people who may have felt that they have been to too many changemaker events and have seen it all before. After hearing Mohan, they were clear that they had not heard it all before!”
Jason Vare, Sleeping Bag Studios

“Mohan aka Ahmen is that champion music so sorely needs right now…a confident voice, powerful inspiration and serious light of hope in what threatens to be an ever-darkening planet. Our world needs heroes like this, more now than it ever has before…he’s created an insightfully brilliant, highly-relevant and important record that advocates strongly for change and demonstrates the unity and strengths that exist between us all at every possible moment.”
Kurt Waywood, Manager of Leadership, The Mind Trust

“We were honored to have Mohan Sivaloganathan as our keynote speaker, setting the tone for an inspiring and energizing experience. His powerful message on embracing the role of a “troublemaker” for good challenged us to rethink how we show up as leaders and changemakers in education.
Mohan’s energy was contagious, immediately engaging our team and reminding us why we do this work. His passion for driving change reinforced our shared commitment to serving students and communities with courage and urgency.”
Kim Lieberman, MS, Fifth Grade Teacher/Team Leader

“We were honored to welcome Mohan as the keynote speaker at our Leadership Breakfast, where he delivered an inspiring and heartfelt message to our fifth graders and their mentors. Mohan’s speech beautifully captured the essence of leadership through the lens of creativity, curiosity, collaboration, and communication…
Mohan’s message resonated deeply with both students and adults alike, leaving us all feeling empowered and ready to lead with authenticity and courage. We are grateful for the lasting impact of his message and the energy he brought to our community.”