Formats
However long you have.
Keynote (45–60 min) · fireside conversation · moderated panel · half-day or full-day leadership session · closed-door board session. In person or virtual; every talk adjusted to the room.
Avinash speaks on resilience, leadership and how business and media work together, drawing on what actually happened to him as a CEO. He co-authored The Next Mountain (HarperCollins, 2026), which reached #1 on Amazon.in in six categories and went into reprint within ten days of launch.
At seventeen, he was forced to leave Kashmir with almost nothing. He went on to run the Indian homes of CNN, CNBC, Forbes and History, then walked away at the top. A story of conflict, ambition and reinvention for anyone climbing their own mountain. Draws on three of his five mountains: adversity, ambition and reinvention.
Ideal for: International conferences, leadership summits, resilience and change programmes.
Leadership from the inside, told by someone who reached the top without a map or a mentor. Avinash is honest about the parts nobody sees: the calls you make alone, the teams and systems you build so the work outlasts you, and how quiet the top can get.
Audience takeaways: how to lead when you arrived without a pedigree, and why reaching the top leaves you more exposed rather than more protected.
Ideal for: High-potential programmes, CXO forums, leadership academies.
Drawn from his book, this talk asks the question most high achievers avoid: what happens after the summit? Avinash looks at why we climb in the first place, when turning back is the wiser move, and why the way down deserves as much thought as the way up.
Audience takeaways: every summit is a base camp for the next one, and turning back is sometimes the right call.
Ideal for: Boards, succession conversations, annual conferences, senior leadership retreats.
Business and media need each other and rarely agree. A business channel has nothing to say without companies coming to talk, and a company has no platform without the channel. That tension is built in, and it can be managed. This talk is practical advice on how: how to build a relationship with the media that is human and consistent through good quarters and bad, through crisis, and beyond any one CEO's tenure, so that both sides win. Drawing on twenty-eight years in media, seen through a business lens.
Ideal for: CEOs, boards, founders, CXOs and corporate communications teams; business and industry conferences.
His five mountains: adversity, ambition, leadership, reinvention and purpose. The full five make a half-day or full-day leadership session.
Building, selling and leading in a market of 1.4 billion people, from three decades of doing it.
Keynote (45–60 min) · fireside conversation · moderated panel · half-day or full-day leadership session · closed-door board session. In person or virtual; every talk adjusted to the room.
Audiences don't write about the résumé. They write about the room.
"If I had to list the 25 best moments of my life, this moment would definitely feature in it, and Avinash, who came in as Chief Guest, is one of the biggest reasons."
Aaditya Sain, The LIT School
"What a powerful and positive speech. Hats off to you. What a journey."
Lav Kumar, Chandigarh University
"What struck me most was his warmth, his clarity of thought and how generously he shares what life has taught him. I came back genuinely inspired."
Vikas Bagaria, Founder, PeeSafe
"Hearing about your own career journey gave me confidence that where we begin doesn't define where we can reach."
Student, Xavier Institute of Communications
"A brilliant session!"
Sherilyn Shackell, Founder & Global CEO, The Marketing Academy
"An inspiring and high-impact gathering."
Vitesh Barar, Director Marketing, BMW Group India
"A standout closing session… His perspective truly hit home."
Student, Chandigarh University AI Fest
Coming up: Orange City Literature Festival, Nagpur (Nov 2026) · Thane Literature Festival (Dec 2026) · Mathrubhumi International Festival of Letters, Kerala (Jan 2027).
"Some self-help books give you a list of things you should do. This one makes you want to climb."
"Like sitting across from someone whose life has been shaped by hardship, resilience, and quiet wisdom."
"Far more than a memoir of professional success."
Reader reviews, Amazon.in · 4.6 out of 5 from 92 ratings
Chief Guest address, Chandigarh University AI Fest
NDTV: Kashmir Refugee Camps To CEO
Long-form: The PVT Show
Long-form: INDmoney
Podcasts and media: The PVT Show, TS POD, INDmoney, NDTV, exchange4media, Samachar4Media, BIG FM, Red FM. Nearly 130,000 views of his long-form interviews on YouTube.
From 10th fail to CEOTS POD
Fear of losing makes a man weakTS POD
Can anger become your strength?TS POD
The night of 19 January 1990TS POD
Kashmiri Pandits lost everythingTS POD
Treat your work like a love storyUmar Nisar
Before the podcastThe PVT Show
The 24-hour ruleThe PVT Show
The motivation hack nobody talks aboutThe PVT Show
AI won't replace you — this mindset willThe PVT Show
Why I left Kashmir at 17The PVT Show
Launching The Next MountainThe PVT Show
Invest in yourself firstUmar Nisar
Fall in love with your workUmar Nisar
On the state of Indian mediaNDTV Loves Books
Careers aren't built by plugging in AirPodsNDTV
The idea of controlled demolitionUmar Nisar
On The Next MountainUmar Nisar
Who is Avinash Kaul?Mashq Records
Tell me about the event, who'll be in the room and what they're dealing with. I reply to these myself.
To book: ak@avinashkaul.in · avinashkaul.in/speaking · In person or virtual
Photos for hosts: avinashkaul.in/press