[rank_math_breadcrumb]

Vivek Wadhwa

About

Vivek Wadhwa is a Fellow at Arthur & Toni Rembe Rock Center for Corporate Governance, Stanford University; Director of Research at the Center for Entrepreneurship and Research Commercialization at the Pratt School of Engineering, Duke University; and Distinguished Fellow at Singularity University. He is author of “The Immigrant Exodus: Why America Is Losing the Global Race to Capture Entrepreneurial Talent”—which was named by The Economist as a Book of the Year of 2012, and ” Innovating Women: The Changing Face of Technology”—which documents the struggles and triumphs of women.

He was named by Foreign Policy Magazine as Top 100 Global Thinker in 2012. In 2013, TIME Magazine listed him as one of The 40 Most Influential Minds in Tech.

My Definition Of Success | Success means building something of value that benefits people—and that you gain value from in return. What good is profit if it comes at the cost of others and takes away from the world rather than enhancing it?

I Am Driven By | To do good for the world and to do my best to leave it a better place than I found it. To give back as much as I can.

My Highlights | The impact I have made on my employees and students, the people I have helped, and positioning my children for success.

The Difference Between Good And Great | The great people have truly earned their success—and made others successful. It isn’t enough to be good at doing a task. If you don’t make your team successful then you have achieved nothing.

A Key Talent | I have learned to listen as carefully as I can and to share my thoughts in a cohesive fashion.

Principles I Live By | Always give more than you take.

Critical Skills I Develop | Making others successful—in the organizations I have worked in and with the people I have been coaching and mentoring.

How I Use My Mind | I let life take me wherever it wants. No grand plans or big ambitions.

Lessons I Have Learnt | The more you give, the more you gain. Success means nothing if you don’t achieve it by making others more successful than yourself.

Dealing With Doubt | I have this all the time. I always worry about failing in the tasks I have performed, letting other people down, or everything falling apart. But I have learned to accept the good and bad. When things go wrong, you simply try to learn all you can from your mistakes and try to stop repeating these.

The Meaning Of Life | To learn all you can and to teach. If you give more than you take, you will rise to greater heights.

The Legacy I Would Like To Leave | That I have inspired others to give back and do good for the world.

Interview Questions

[everest_form id="26923"]

View further interviews.

The Legacy Project

Dr. Adisa A. Alkebulan is an Associate Professor in Africana Studies at San Diego State University. He is also the Director of Study Abroad Programs in the Department of Africana Studies. He takes teams of students and community members to locations all over the world to learn about their histories and cultures as well as […]

The Legacy Project

Vivek Wadhwa is a Fellow at Arthur & Toni Rembe Rock Center for Corporate Governance, Stanford University; Director of Research at the Center for Entrepreneurship and Research Commercialization at the Pratt School of Engineering, Duke University; and Distinguished Fellow at Singularity University. He is author of “The Immigrant Exodus: Why America Is Losing the Global […]

John Smit

John Smit TLP was one of Rugby’s most successful players of all time. He was the captain of the South African Rugby team (with an astonishing 111 caps), leading the Springboks to World Cup glory in 2007 and was inducted into the IRB Hall of Fame in 2011. He is currently the CEO of Sharks […]

  • South Africa
  • Keynote Speaker
The Legacy Project

Bruce Bueno de Mesquita is a political scientist specializing in international relations and foreign policy. He is a professor at New York University and senior fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution. Bruce is a former Guggenheim Fellow and founded the company Mesquita & Roundell, which makes political forecasts. My Definition Of Success | In my case […]

The Legacy Project

In 1984, at a time when South Africa was beginning to feel the consequences of international isolation and sanctions, and when the tourism and hospitality industries faced bankruptcy and failure, Protea Hotels was launched – without a cent of capital and with just four hotels. Under the leadership of Arthur Gillis, the Protea Hotels Group […]

The Legacy Project

Roman Rezac is a prolific South African retail entrepreneur with 25 years experience in a constantly evolving environment. He was an International knee-board surfer before he made his passion for beach lifestyle into a career. He opened his first Surf store in 1993 in Durban with borrowed capital and with hard work and perseverance he […]

The Legacy Project

After an executive sales and strategy role for a large information technology company based in Germany, Brian returned to South Africa and founded TowerStone, driven by his desire to inspire others to seek greater meaning in their lives and help them to purposefully live a life that is fulfilling and meaningful, filled with love at […]

The Legacy Project

Lloyd Blankfein has been the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. since June 2006, and a Director since April 2003. He serves as a member of the Goldman Sachs Management Committee and Board of Directors. Previously, he had been the firm’s President and Chief Operating Officer and prior to that, […]

Disclaimer
The profiles and images embedded on these pages are from various interviews conducted by The Legacy Project.

These remain the property of its owner and are not affiliated with or endorsed by WeSpeak Global.

Our Mission

We are your partner creating memorable and engaging experiences that go beyond the event itself.

© All rights reserved 2025. Created using VOXEL THEME