Can a book change the direction of your life? The answer is YES! On a airplane to India our guest Mandar Apt read the autobiography of Martin Luther King and discovered he had visited India to understand non-vioence as practiced by Mahatma Gandhi. This had such a profound impact on Mandar, he left Shell to create peace and harmony in the violent gangs of La and the world. How could he do this? Listen to his peace podcast and find out and it was recorded on the 4th anniversary of From India With Love initiative to reinvigorate the message of nonviolence (or ahimsa) in the world.

I must share Mandar’s background: Until 2016, he worked for 17 years at Shell International. In his last role, he managed Shell’s prestigious GameChanger social innovation program investing in ideas that create “shared value” – both business value and social impact. Mandar is an acclaimed expert on leadership, entrepreneurship and social innovation and has spoken on these topics at many prestigious forums including TEDx, Wharton Business School, Social Innovation Summit, Sustainable Brands, London Business School, etc. He is also the winner of the prestigious Ashoka League of Intrapreneurs for designing and delivering an innovation learning program at Shell to over 2000 colleagues using meditation practice. 

In 2019, Mandar started the Cities4Peace initiative – a unique peace consultancy that works with civic leaders to actively promoting peace and compassion in cities and communities worldwide. The flagship project of this initiative was recently completed in Los Angeles in partnership with the Los Angeles Police Dept (LAPD) and the LA Mayor’s Office for Gang Reduction & Youth Development (GRYD).

For nearly two decades, Mandar has taught leadership programs using meditation practices for the International Association for Human Values and the Art of Living Foundation.  Mandar is a Board Member of the Charter for Compassion, an international non-profit organization that promotes compassion in the world. He was also a Visiting Scholar at George Mason School for Conflict Analysis & Resolution.