Shruthi Vijayakumar is a woman shaped by many worlds—raised between cultures, anchored in ancient wisdom, and fiercely focused on transforming our systems to serve life, not just profit. As a leadership coach, systems change strategist, and co-founder of Fire Circle, she holds space for conversations that stretch beyond boardrooms—into the bush, around the fire, and deep within the self.

​

Her path has taken her from the halls of Oxford, where she completed her MBA in sustainability and social entrepreneurship, to community gardens in Aotearoa and wisdom gatherings with Indigenous and Elders. Today, Shruthi works with business leaders, foundations, and communities across the globe to design and facilitate experiences that nurture regenerative leadership—from team retreats and innovation programmes to transformational gatherings guided by nature.

​

One of the teachings that deeply informs her approach comes from the pōhutukawa tree. When its branches grow heavy, they don’t break—they reach toward the ground, take root, and rise again. It’s a metaphor for leadership that Shruthi lives by: “Growth doesn’t always look like upward motion. It’s about sinking deeper roots, returning to the Earth, and rising with new strength.” In her Indian heritage, the banyan tree echoes a similar truth—holding vast networks of interdependence and resilience. For Shruthi, sustainability is not a separate discipline, but a way of being in right relationship—with self, with others, with Papatūānuku.

​

A key moment in her journey was returning home to Aotearoa after her time overseas. Teaching business and sustainability at AUT, she encountered worldviews often absent in global institutions. “What my Māori colleagues shared with me—about whakapapa, wairua, and deep time—those teachings became some of the most transformative parts of my education.”

​

Shruthi sees the disconnection between humans and nature as one of the core challenges in shifting our systems. “So much of business still treats nature as an externality. But when leaders begin to understand that we are nature—that our wellbeing is bound to the health of the Earth—it changes everything.” Her work often involves guiding people out of fear and into possibility. “Fear leads us to cling tightly to old systems. But hope, empathy, and deep listening? These help us reimagine.”

​

She brings this spirit of listening to every space she holds, whether one-on-one coaching or cross-sector gatherings. “There is so much wisdom already here—within our communities, within our ancient traditions. But we need to learn to listen—to what is said and unsaid, to the rhythms of nature, to our elders and our children.” This is the heart of Fire Circle, a global community Shruthi co-founded to connect Elders and emerging leaders in regenerative dialogue.

​

Shruthi’s mantra is borrowed from Gandhi: Be the change you want to see in the world. But her interpretation is deeply embodied—it’s not just about action, but the state of being that underpins it. “If we rush through life—even our activism—we can unknowingly bring harm. As Thich Nhat Hanh reminds us, how we walk matters. We must carry peace and presence in every step.”

​

When asked what Aotearoa’s superpower is in shaping a sustainable future, she doesn’t hesitate: “It’s the strength of our Indigenous voice. The values of kaitiakitanga, intergenerational thinking, and collective wellbeing are deeply rooted here. We have a chance—not just to ‘lead the way’—but to model how diverse worldviews can reshape our economy, our leadership, and our lives.”

​

Her advice to rising changemakers? “Learn to listen: to Nature, to your body, to the wairua of Life. Learn to listen to what is being said and unsaid, what is being felt. Listen to our Elders and our children, to the individual and the group as a whole.”

​

Read Shruthi Vijayakumar’s full kōrero in Blooming Sustainability—and consider this your gentle invitation to pause, reconnect, and root your leadership in something ancient, tender, and true.

​

BLOOMING  Sustainability Questionnaire

Name: Shruthi Vijayakumar

Company & Title:

• Leading Systems Change, Leadership Coach and Systems Change Strategist

• Fire Circle, Co-Founder

Websites & LinkedIn Profile: 

• www.leadingsystemschange.org

• https://firecircle.earth/

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/shruthivijayakumar/

​

​* Guiding Values | Kaupapa 

If sustainability were a flower blooming in your life, what would it look like? What nurtures it?  

The Pohutakawa is one tree that comes to mind - one of the beautiful aspects of it, when the weight of the branches get very heavy the trunk falls to the Earth, sinks new roots into the ground and then keeps rising upward. This tree is a great teacher of resilience, that growth doesn’t always look like moving upwards and the importance of deep and strong foundations and roots. We have a similar tree in my own Indian culture, the mighty Banyan, which at times can grow to be hundreds of metres wide, with roots sinking to the Earth from many branches - it is a wonderful playground and a great teacher!

​

A quote, personal motto or whakataukī that reflects your vision:  

“Be the change you want to see in the world” - Mahatma Gandhi

​

If you could mentor a rising change-maker in Aotearoa, what advice would you share?  

Learn to listen: to Nature, to your body, to the wairua of Life. Learn to listen to what is being said and unsaid, what is being felt. Listen to our Elders and our children, to the individual and the group as a whole. There is so much wisdom, so much to be learnt about how to move through these challenging times all around us, but too often our heads are so full, and our arrogance - thinking we “know - prevents us from picking up on the cues and nuggets that life and Nature is constantly offering us!

​

* Leading Change | Arataki

A key moment in your journey that shaped your path:  

I had the opportunity to study an MBA over at Oxford University with a focus on sustainability. It was deeply enriching learning from pioneers in the space such as Kate Raworth, author of Doughnut Economics and the founders of the B Corp movement among other leaders in sustainability. Working, studying, traveling abroad is so valuable to get out of our little Kiwi bubble in Aotearoa! Though I must say it was also very interesting to come back to humble Aotearoa, and teach business and sustainability to undergraduate students at AUT. My colleagues here, particularly those with Māori connections taught me so much that one could never discover in the famed halls of Oxford! The learning and doors opened at AUT have been some of the most cherished and impactful in my education. It also taught me how often the voices not showcased in the mainstream or mainstages are sometimes the ones we need to listen to most!

​

What’s the main challenge you face in driving sustainability within your sector?  

In my work coaching leaders, one of the biggest challenges is how entrenched worldviews are where we see Nature as separate from us - a resource to use or perhaps conserve and care for - but still very much separate from us. Science, and Indigenous worldviews point to how we are Nature, we are embedded and exist within the Earth, we are deeply interdependent with Nature. At times, leaders grasp this intellectually, but to really imbibe this, to feel and know it deeply is a major jump for many, particularly given how much our education, societal conditioning and business practice is geared in the opposite way. As leaders realise our interdependence with Nature, their approach to sustainability and ESG radically changes. Caring for nature is then seen as caring for ourselves and thus takes much greater precedent in all business and life decisions.

​

An area you need more support with:  

Unlocking the conditions needed (particularly funding, partners, and readiness) for experiments and radical changes in how we educate and develop leaders of sustainability. Aotearoa presents so many opportunities to be a world leader in this space - with our stunning natural environment as a potent classroom, diversity of worldviews and knowledge systems grounded in te ao Māori, and number 8 wire culture of innovation and experimentation. There are many interesting institutions and academies innovating in this space around the world such as Schumacher College or Ecoversities or Presencing Institute and I feel there is so much untapped potential of what we could do and contribute from here.

​

An Indigenous perspective you admire and want people to be mindful of:  

Two whakatauki are as follows:

1. “Ko Au Te Awa, Ko Te Awa Ko Au” I am the river, the river is me.

2. Ka ora te whenua, ka ora te tāngata' When the land is well, the people are well.

​

These build on the earlier point shared, we are Nature. When the air, water and soil is polluted, our bodies become polluted too! Though it goes both ways, our small actions to restore balance in Nature, growing food or planting trees, through circular and regenerative business practice, have widespread ripple effects that ultimately benefit us!

 

Whilst we operate within a capitalist economic system built upon the belief that humans are separate and superior to nature - I get inspired by the potential of what an economic system look like, in this day and age, built upon the belief that humans are part of and deeply interdependent with all life.

​

Your best approach for engaging stakeholders in meaningful dialogue about ESG:  

Empathy is key, the more we can understand each other - particularly when there are strong emotions, and many diverse ideas about how to move forward, the better chance we have of moving together in harmony and unity. This might require us to hold our own views lightly and really try to see situations from others perspectives.

 

Also, watching when our conversations and decisions are being driven by fear. Fear naturally leads us to contract, think more narrowly, prioritise our own/our organisations survival. I don’t believe fear based solutions can take us to a really thriving future for all life. When fear arises or underpins decisions, naming it and addressing it is important. And then  finding ways to connect back to possibility, hope, inviting a more expansive approach will be key to find ways forward that take us to a shared future where all life can thrive.

​

What do you think is Aotearoa’s superpower in creating a sustainable future?  

The strength of our Indigenous voice and wisdom. Relative to many parts of the world, Indigenous values and worldview are much stronger in Aotearoa and also have a stronger economic voice  and base.

​

Aotearoa is modelling and showcasing different ways of doing business as we see in many organisations such as Wākatu, Whalewatch Kaikoura and the Ngati Toa economy. These businesses are led with a set of values not seen in our mainstream business, taking an approach that is very long term and intergenerational (eg 500 year strategies), considering holistic approaches to value, embedded in kaitiakitanga,  and guided by not just intellectual knowledge but by ancestral knowledge and the wisdom of the land. We have the possibility in Aotearoa to show how we can work within our current capitalist system and begin to shift it, perhaps even building entirely different economic system drawing from diverse values and knowledge systems.

​

​ * Surfing the Green Wave | Kakariki

Books, podcasts, courses or other resources that profoundly shaped your approach to sustainability

• Flourishing, John Ehrenfeld

• The Woven Universe, Reverend Māori Marsden

• Love Letter to the Earth & Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet, Thich Nhat Hanh

• Spending time with Elders from different Indigenous traditions and backgrounds - including diving into the wisdom of Vedanta & Sanātana Dharma in my own whakapara.

 

Events in Aotearoa or globally that you think are must-attend:  

Attend a Rongoā Māori wānanga with Titoki Education. Elders Pā and Donna are two phenomenal wisdom keepers of mātauranga of how to care for the whenua. Spend a weekend in the bush with them, listen to and learn from the ngāhere with them, it may just change your life.

 

A sustainable initiative or project in Aotearoa that deserves more attention:  

I am a big fan of grassroots initiatives strengthening the health of our communities and preparing us for impeding climate events - there’s some wonderful community gardens and and  initiatives in the food space around the country - for examples such as Vagabond Vege in the Wairarapa

​

Also, Tīwaiwaka - led by Pā Ropata, a movement and community around a powerful set of principles to care for our whenua.

​

The leader(s) you endorse for a future edition of Blooming Sustainability: 

• Louise Marra

• Rachel Brown

​

* One actionable takeaway for our readers to make a change today for a brighter tomorrow:

How we approach sustainability is as important as what we do. I recall the Zen Master and Peace Activist Thich Nhat Hanh’s words:”We walk all the time, but usually it is more like running. Our hurried steps print anxiety and sorrow on the Earth.” As we generate more peace within us, all of our actions are imbued with this - be it conversations with customers, employees, our own family members, let alone the strategies and decisions we take as organisations! How could you nurture and cultivate more inner peace to carry into whatever effort you are making to work toward a sustainable future? One simple practice I like is sitting quietly in Nature for half an hour a day!