Rathi Murthy is a trailblazing technology executive and the Chief Technology Officer at Varo Bank, the first fintech to receive a national bank charter in the U.S.
She has held influential leadership roles at global companies like Expedia, Verizon Media, Gap Inc., and American Express, consistently driving innovation across industries.
A passionate advocate for inclusive leadership, women in tech, and ethical AI, Rathi’s career reflects a powerful blend of purpose, resilience, and bold vision.
- Rathi Murthy: Leading from the Inside Out
- Inspirational Leadership
- Childhood: The Fan That Changed Everything
- Rathi Murthy’s Advice For The Next Generation
Rathi Murthy: Leading from the Inside Out
When Rathi Murthy stepped into the sleek San Francisco office of Varo Bank in early 2025, she brought with her more than a resume. She brought a philosophy.
It wasn’t just about engineering clean code or orchestrating digital transformations—it was about leading from the inside out. From Yahoo to American Express, Gap Inc. to Expedia, she had learned one central truth: technological innovation without inner alignment leads to outer chaos.
But no one could have predicted how deeply that philosophy would be tested.
It started with a silence.
Not the gentle kind that follows a group meditation—Rathi taught those every Sunday in Los Altos Hills—but the tense, digital kind: slack channels quieting, meetings going vague, teams slowing down.
By Q2 of 2025, Varo’s AI team had hit a wall. Productivity had dipped 19%, customer support tickets were bottlenecking, and the platform’s newest predictive savings feature was weeks behind schedule.
The team had talent. Vision. Funding. But something was off.
Rather than push harder, Rathi chose something radical.
She reserved an off-site space called “The Mirror Room,” a minimalist retreat center in Marin, and invited her twenty direct reports. No laptops. No phones. Just three days of what she called a conscious leadership reset.
Day one began with a question written on a whiteboard:
“What am I pretending not to know?”
Silence.
Then it began—slow, awkward sharing.
“I pretend I’m not burned out,” said one senior engineer.
“I pretend I’m okay with how we’ve sidelined ethics in our AI model,” said a machine learning lead.
“I pretend I don’t care that I never see my kids,” whispered a father of two.
Each sentence cracked something open.
Rathi didn’t lead from the front—she sat in the circle.
She admitted her own blind spots. Her drive. Her tendency to “fix” rather than feel.
Day two focused on listening, eye-to-eye. No interruptions. Just witnessing.
On day three, they walked trails in silence, journaling on a single prompt: “What do I want to be responsible for—not just at work, but as a human?”
When they returned, something had shifted.
They laughed more.
Two teammates who hadn’t spoken in weeks built a prototype together that night.
Another team rewrote their workflow, prioritizing ethics alongside speed.
One woman stepped forward and said, “I’ve never felt safe bringing my full self to work until now.”
The savings feature shipped four weeks later—and became the bank’s most-used tool. But what mattered more was that something invisible had changed.
Trust. Alignment.
The feeling that they weren’t just building tech—they were building each other.
Back in the office, Rathi installed a permanent “Mirror Hour” every Friday: a no-meeting block for reflection, restoration, or peer mentoring.
Attendance wasn’t tracked. But participation grew.
One month later, an intern posted a message in the general Slack:
“Feels like a different company. More…awake.”
Rathi never saw conscious leadership as soft. She saw it as the deepest kind of discipline.
Anyone can run sprints.
Few can sit in stillness.
Fewer still can lead others into it.
But she believed it was the future—not just for Varo, or fintech, or Silicon Valley.
For the world.
Because as the velocity of tech increases, it’s the anchored mind, the open heart, and the quiet center that will guide the greatest innovations.
And for Rathi, that’s the only kind worth leading.
Inspirational Leadership
In this inspiring interview, Rathi Murthy, CTO of Varo Bank and one of tech’s most accomplished leaders, shares the pivotal moments that shaped her leadership journey and purpose.
She opens by likening herself to Audrey Hepburn—confident, joyful, and free-spirited—and describes how an early startup role at WebMD taught her that timing matters as much as innovation.
Despite building a cutting-edge product, she realized adoption lags when the market isn’t ready. That experience taught her humility, collaboration, and the foundations of true leadership: creating conditions for others to succeed.
Another key chapter in her development came during her time at American Express, where she was selected for an elite leadership program.
Mentorship from senior executives helped her build confidence in public speaking, decision-making, and leading with authenticity.
At Varo, Rathi finds purpose in building inclusive technology that serves the underbanked and transforms lives.
Beyond the mission, she thrives on creating high-performing, risk-tolerant teams where innovation flourishes—and where failure is celebrated as part of the process.
Her leadership philosophy centers on conscious inclusion and psychological safety.
She’s proudest not just of the products she’s launched, but of the culture she’s built: one where people feel safe to challenge norms and bring their whole selves to work.
As a long-time Art of Living practitioner and meditation teacher, Rathi grounds herself daily in stillness, using mindfulness to face the chaos of leadership with calm and compassion.
She sees inner clarity as a critical leadership tool.
On the future of AI, Rathi emphasizes both its promise and its ethical risks.
She warns that if women aren’t part of shaping AI models, systemic bias could be amplified.
She calls on women leaders to influence both the technology and the values behind it.
To young women entering tech, she advises: know that you belong, even when you’re the only one.
Don’t wait to be an expert—curiosity, adaptability, and authenticity matter just as much. And most of all, lead in your own style.
Because when one woman rises, she has the power—and responsibility—to lift others with her.
Childhood: The Fan That Changed Everything
I must have been around ten when I tried to fix my first machine.
It was a scorching afternoon in Bangalore, and our old table fan sputtered, groaned, and then gave up entirely—right as I sat down to do my homework. The house felt like an oven. My father, a civil engineer, had promised to take a look at it when he came home from work. But I couldn’t wait.
I remember kneeling on the red tile floor, staring at the fan like it was a riddle begging to be solved. Its back cover was held on by three rusted screws. I ran to my room and grabbed the little screwdriver set Appa had given me on my birthday. It was my favorite gift—tiny tools in a neat case, just like his.
As I loosened the last screw, my mother called from the kitchen.
“Rathi! Don’t touch that! Appa said he’ll fix it!”
“I’m just looking!” I lied.
But I wasn’t just looking. I wanted to understand it—why it stopped spinning, what was hidden behind the blades. I had no formal knowledge, just raw curiosity and a willingness to get my hands dirty. I remember seeing a frayed wire and thinking, Maybe that’s it.
Of course, when I put it all back together and flipped the switch—nothing happened.
I felt my stomach drop. What if I broke it worse?
Just then, the front door creaked open. My father stepped inside, briefcase in hand, and saw the fan lying in pieces. I froze.
“Did you open this?”
I nodded. “I thought I could fix it.”
He didn’t scold me. Instead, he smiled—this quiet, proud smile—and said, “Come, let’s figure it out together.”
We sat on the floor, side by side. He explained continuity, how to test circuits, how to be careful. I was mesmerized. When we finally connected the right wires and the fan sputtered back to life, I nearly cried from joy.
That moment changed me.
It wasn’t about fixing a fan—it was about realizing I could try. That I didn’t need permission to be curious. That problems—even electrical ones—were puzzles, and I loved puzzles.
Looking back, that afternoon set my life in motion.
Because I didn’t wait to be told I belonged in tech.
I just started.
Rathi Murthy’s Advice For The Next Generation
Throughout my journey—from tinkering with broken fans on the floor of my childhood home in Bangalore to leading global technology teams—I’ve learned that leadership isn’t just about what you know, but how you grow.
We’re all constantly evolving. And no matter your background or where you start, there’s room for you at the table.
If I could pass on a few guiding principles, here’s what I’d share:
- Start before you feel ready.
Don’t wait until you have all the answers—because no one ever does. Curiosity is more powerful than certainty. - Know that you belong.
Even if you’re the only woman, the only minority, or the youngest voice in the room—your perspective matters. Claim your space. - Lead with authenticity.
Trying to fit into someone else’s mold will only dilute your impact. Your unique story, style, and energy are your strengths. - Take risks—and celebrate failure.
Growth happens in the uncomfortable spaces. If you’re not failing sometimes, you’re not stretching enough. - Surround yourself with people who challenge you.
Seek out mentors, allies, and teammates who push you to think bigger and stay grounded. - Build up others.
When you rise, look for ways to lift others with you. That’s how we change systems—together.
Above all, stay connected to your why. Technology evolves fast, but your purpose is what keeps you steady. Mine has always been about building solutions that make life better—for real people, in real moments.
So, whether you’re writing your first line of code or leading a major product launch, remember: you already have everything you need to begin.
Just start.