Jan 13 2025
Lakshmi Gopalkrishnan is a Fortune 5 tech veteran who uses her Outsider’s Edge™ framework to balance employee engagement with business imperatives like profitability and positive returns at leading companies around the world.
Lakshmi Gopalkrishnan (“Luck-sh-mee Goh-paal-krish-nun”) is the driving force behind The Outsider’s Edge™. A future-focused yet practical framework that enables leaders and teams to unlock the power of “different” to boost performance, profitability, and human connection. She is also well-known for her keynote and motivational speaking. Lakshmi Gopalkrishnan is available to be booked for corporate and private events. Contact the Mollie Plotkin Group today to inquire about Lakshmi Gopalkrishnan’s fees.
Contact the Mollie Plotkin Group at 215-510-6607 to book Lakshmi Gopalkrishnan for corporate or private events, keynote speeches, workshops, fireside chats, motivational speaking, or virtual appearances. Our agency will work directly with your organization and our keynote speakers to create an unforgettable event.
The Mollie Plotkin Group is the leading keynote speakers agency and entertainment bureau bringing excitement to audiences, clients, and employees. We represent subject-matter experts in every possible field, so whether we’re your partner in creating a memorable meeting, or your meeting planner’s secret weapon in securing the perfect keynote speaker, we’re in this with you.
Lakshmi knows what it’s like to feel like an outsider. But here’s what she’s learned: that outsider feeling is universal. When we reframe what makes us different as our strongest assets, we unlock what she calls The Outsider’s Edge™, a level of impact and fulfillment we didn’t think was possible.
A former business and people leader at Microsoft and the founder and CEO of The Infinite Impact Group, Lakshmi brings 30 years of experience navigating high-velocity corporate environments, over 12,000 hours coaching category leaders and teams, and the unique perspective of an immigrant and early female leader of color in high-tech who transformed the challenges of Outsider Syndrome™ into a competitive—and fulfilling—Edge.
Her approach to accelerating personal and organizational impact is built on decades of observation, study, trial, and error. Armed with her 3-step Outsider’s Edge™ framework, audiences transform their mindset so what makes them different doesn’t set them back…it sets them apart.
And the best part? They learn to scale their impact, unleashing a ripple effect that fuels performance, forges belonging, and creates cultures that win.
Lakshmi’s decades-long journey in leadership and speaking has touched the lives of audiences across the globe. In addition to working with giants like Google, Meta, Microsoft, YUM! Brands, Nissan, Starbucks, the US Military, and Amazon, Lakshmi has partnered extensively with best-selling author Dr. Brené Brown on Dare to Lead™, building courage at scale through public speaking, community mentorship, and program development and facilitation.
Deeply committed to her clients and partners, Lakshmi delivers thoroughly researched, customized keynotes designed to maximize audience relevance and impact. They are packed with disruptive insights, actionable tools, and memorable stories so that every attendee—from senior leaders to new hires—leaves your event feeling empowered and energized. If you want to discuss tailoring Lakshmi’s keynote to your audience, schedule a Zoom call with Lakshmi and the MPG team.
Find out how to hire Lakshmi Gopalkrishnan to appear at your next event. Contact the Mollie Plotkin Group to inquire about Lakshmi Gopalkrishnan’s availability and cost. When booking Lakshmi Gopalkrishnan for an event, we need to know the type of venue and location the event will take place. Lakshmi Gopalkrishnan is a popular choice for corporate events, private events, and virtual events. So, you can click the Check Availability button or contact us and an MPG Lakshmi Gopalkrishnan booking agent will get back to you within 48 hours.
How much to book Lakshmi Gopalkrishnan depends on the type of event. So, the cost to hire Lakshmi Gopalkrishnan for corporate or private events is available by contacting a Mollie Plotkin Group Agent. Notably, Lakshmi Gopalkrishnan is available for conferences, festivals, private parties and events. Just contact the Mollie Plotkin Group and tell the booking agent the proposed date, time, and location.
Our speakers are in high demand! View their upcoming events.
For nearly three decades, Lakshmi Gopalkrishnan has been at the forefront of building, leading, and coaching high-performance teams, amassing tens of thousands of hours as a trusted advisor to category leaders. Her journey uncovered a powerful secret that sets the most successful teams apart: The Outsider’s Edge™—a unique approach to
harnessing the power of a diverse collective to drive extraordinary performance, unmatched profitability, and deep human connection.
In this high-energy 60-minute keynote that she tailors to each audience, Lakshmi reveals her transformative framework for building that coveted Edge. Rich storytelling fueled by her diverse background combines with practical, field-tested guidance to show you exactly how to build that essential yet elusive foundation of trust, create psychologically safe environments that foster peak performance; and maximize the relevance and impact of your hard-earned skills and experience in a shape-shifting
world.
Prepare to be energized, empowered, and equipped with proven strategies that aren’t just transformative—they’re also budget-free!
Let’s face it: Hiring diverse talent doesn’t automatically create inclusive workplaces, and today’s Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) initiatives are a rollercoaster of valuable progress and costly detours. While meant to drive belonging and productivity in tandem, the sheer complexity of the modern workplace often forces a choice—“or” instead of “and.”
The impact? Growing frustration, disillusionment, and the risk of sabotaging a long-overdue opportunity for meaningful change.
But what if we didn’t have to choose between belonging and productivity?
Lakshmi Gopalkrishnan’s Outsider’s Edge™ framework shows leaders a path to achieving both. Drawing on her experience as an early female leader of color at Microsoft, a master coach, and a trusted resource for category-leading companies, this keynote is packed with powerful stories and actionable strategies to ensure every team member feels seen, valued, and empowered to bring their best. It is also fully customizable to the unique context of your event.
Courage and adaptability to change are not optional anymore. They are essential skills that make or break success.
Today’s workplace requires leaders to navigate complex transformations, keep teams motivated, do more with less, make major decisions at warp speed, and the list goes on… While it’s natural to feel vulnerable and play it safe when the stakes are high, the world belongs to those who demonstrate adaptability, resilience, and optimism.
In this celebrated keynote, Lakshmi delivers a masterclass on how to lead with courage, adaptability, and resilience. She invites you to pick a current, real-life work challenge and “learn by doing,” applying her keynote takeaways to immediately get unstuck. Packed with practical tools and captivating stories, this keynote and proven toolkit will help you become not only the leader the world needs you to be, but the leader you’ve dreamed of becoming.
I was impressed with her research on our organization and her gift of tailoring her message to meet our leaders where they are. She was wonderfully relatable and insightful. What really resonated with our leaders is that she took a big message – Building Courage from the Inside Out – and broke it down into usable segments with tools for leaders to use immediately in their personal and professional lives. Her positive energy and engaging delivery of the message yielded some of the highest evaluation ratings for the year.
Leaders described her as an absolutely incredible keynote speaker; one of the best we’ve ever had. I would highly recommend Lakshmi as a keynote presenter when you want your expectations exceeded.” – Cassandra Crowe-Jackson, Chief Experience Officer, Sharp Healthcare
Lakshmi’s business and leadership experience coupled with her ability to connect with diverse audiences led to an exceptionally engaging keynote that resonated strongly with roughly 400 MSFT employees. Though relatable to all, it was somehow personalized in a way that left us feeling individually empowered and confident. Her recognition of our unique community values reinforced our sense of belonging and equipped us for future growth. Her message was optimistic, her storytelling was memorable, and feedback has been resoundingly positive, earning her one of the highest event evaluations in years. – Pedro Gutierrez, Senior Director, Microsoft
I had high expectations. You exceeded them. Thank you for being an outstanding partner and an absolute PRO at what you do. Inspired is the word that comes to mind, but it almost doesn’t feel strong enough. – Susie McNamara, Vice President Talent Management & HR Transformation, Fortive
It was amazing to see all of the comments come through on our chat wall during the keynote, in the satisfaction survey, hallways, and breakouts after – and there were several that commented that this was the best keynote ever! It was clear that there were significant takeaways as well and our attendees have been talking about it all day- all week! – Kristina O’Hare, Director, Talent Development, Mid-America Apartments
