Dinesh Melwani and Dr. Seema Desai have the sharp, insightful, and refreshingly real Rashi Kakkar for this week’s conversation that travels across personal ambition, parenthood, identity, and the art of living authentically in a noisy world. Rashi, a former management consultant turned learning and development leader at a top-tier global firm, opens up about what it means to grow, even when life is messy, uncertain, or just plain overwhelming. From her unexpected journey into motherhood to launching her newsletter, Decks and Diapers, Rashi shares how she embraced the “cringe” and found joy in the tension between ambition and presence.

This isn’t just another self-help pep talk. It’s a thoughtful, vulnerable exploration of how to chase growth without losing yourself, how to rewrite your story when old scripts no longer serve you, and why joy isn’t a luxury, it’s your birthright. If you’ve ever wondered whether it’s too late to start something new, or whether success and fulfillment can truly coexist, this episode will meet you exactly where you are and challenge you, in the best way, to step into more.

All opinions expressed are Rashi’s personal opinion and do not necessarily reflect the views of any organization that she is associated with.

About Rashi:

Rashi is a global portfolio leader within McKinsey’s Leadership & Development team. Rashi’s passion lies in building institutional capability through a skills-first approach and applying product management principles to creating human-centered - products, experiences, and services!

As a consultant, Rashi has advised Fortune 100 clients on complex strategic, operational, and organizational challenges. She has led digital transformations, enhanced organizational effectiveness, and redesigned operating models. Prior to McKinsey, Rashi worked at a boutique design thinking firm, where she honed her expertise in human-centered design, experience and service design, and product centric thinking.

Outside of work, Rashi enjoys writing, she authors a bi-weekly newsletter and has published 80+ opinion pieces in leading global publications. She is an avid golfer, a former varsity tennis player, and a newly minted pickleball enthusiast. She resides in Toronto and holds an MBA from the University of Toronto.

Connect with Rashi:

Newsletter: https://decksanddiapers.substack.com/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rashikakkar/?originalSubdomain=ca

BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/rashikakkar.bsky.social

Threads: https://www.threads.net/@rashi_kakkar8

X: https://twitter.com/rashi_kakkar

Links:

Dinesh Melwani http://www.dineshmelwani.com, IG @dineshmelwani

Seema Desai http://www.drseemadesai.com, IG @dr.seemadesai

Ambition without Apology with Rashi Kakkar