Arun Rathod | Ep 01
Most people who lead movements don't start with a vision. They start with a broken room and a choice. Arun Rathod walked into a dying Yi (Young Indians) chapter in Chennai in 2015, with almost no council members, no momentum, and no reason to believe it would work. He stayed anyway.
Today, Arun leads Young Indians as the National Chair 2026 across 72 chapters, representing over a lakh young people who are building this country. But the story between then and now is not a leadership story. It's a human one. We talk about building from zero, the personal loss that reshaped his entire relationship with purpose, why he was ready to leave India entirely, and what made him stay. CHAPTERS: 01:49 Introduction: Most Leaders Don’t Start With a Vision 02:28 Meet Arun Rathod: The Man Behind the Mission 03:33 Who Was Arun Before Yi? Life in 2014 04:36 The Dubai Dream, the Oil Price Crash, and the Chennai Floods 06:44 How Arun Accidentally Ended Up in Yi 08:57 Member to Chapter Chair in One Year: What Actually Happened 10:19 Walking Into a Reset: Yi Chennai in 2016 11:15 What Made Him Stay: Finding Purpose in Road Safety and Masoom 12:33 Zero Members. One Year. Seven Future Chapter Chairs. 13:27 What Yi Taught Him About Leadership That Business Never Could 17:01 A Decade in Yi: How Many Times He Almost Quit 19:16 The Loss That Changed Everything: His Daughter, 2021 23:04 Did Yi Fill the Gap When She Was Gone? 23:44 One Bharat, One Spirit: Where the Theme Really Came From 26:10 Pathbreakers: The Story Behind the Word 30:35 Why Bet on India's Youth? The Uncomfortable Reality 39:20 Building the National Team: The Chess Board Approach 43:07 The Joy of Unconditional Giving 44:38 What Would 2015 Arun Think of 2026 Arun? 49:02 Closing Thoughts: The Story Behind ABOUT ARUN RATHOD Arun Rathod is the CEO of Flosil Group of Companies, a diversified conglomerate operating across Oil and Gas, Defence Technology, Infrastructure, FMCG, Renewable Energy, and Manufacturing, exporting to 52 countries globally. A Stanford GSB alumnus, he currently serves as National Chair of Young Indians (Yi) 2026, an initiative of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). Young Indians operates across 72 chapters in India, working with members, college students, school students, and rural communities under four stakeholder groups, driving change through projects in Road Safety, Health, Climate Change, Accessibility, Masoom, and initiatives in Innovation, Learning, Entrepreneurship, and Sports. ---
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