Aparna Piramal Raje

Aparna Piramal Raje is an award-winning writer, public speaker, facilitator and educator.

Her most recent book, Chemical Khichdi: How I Hacked My Mental Health (Penguin 2022), is about her firsthand experiences of living with a serious mental health condition for the last two decades. Part memoir and part self-help, Chemical Khichdi presents a pathway for healing and recovering for anyone living with a mental health condition and all those who love and care for them. It is a national best-seller, was shortlisted for the AutHer literary awards, and led to global acclaim for Aparna’s authenticity and courage.

Her column, Head Office, was the longest-running column in the Mint newspaper, a leading Indian business daily. It looked at leadership through the blended lens of workspace design and management workstyles. Over 100 CEOs from India and globally were featured in Head Office. The column led to her first book, Working Out of the Box: 40 stories of leading CEOs (Random House 2015). She has also previously contributed to the UK’s Financial Times Weekend.

With a unique background in leadership, design and mental health, Aparna is a popular keynote speaker and LEGO Serious Play facilitator, in diverse forums including blue-chip companies, TedX, networks such as YPO, nonprofits, the Indian Army and more.

A visiting faculty member at the Anant National University in Ahmedabad, she teaches a module called ‘Netflix and the Art of Design Writing’. Former CEO of BP Ergo, one of India’s largest modular office furniture companies, Aparna studied politics, philosophy and economics at Oxford University and earned an MBA from Harvard Business School.