Pinaki Kathiari
Speaker Profile
Pinaki Kathiari
CEO & Co-Founder, Local Wisdom · Co-Founder, Resource Hero
Co-Host, Human at Work Podcast · International Speaker
Internal Communications Employee Experience Leadership Digital Workplace SaaS & Technology Workshop Facilitation

Pinaki Kathiari is the CEO of Local Wisdom, a leader in digital communications, an international speaker, and the co-host of the podcast Why Does It Feel So Wrong to Be Human at Work? He is also the co-founder of Resource Hero, a 5-star-rated Salesforce SaaS product aimed at helping managers optimize their team's workload.

With two decades of experience working with global Fortune companies, conglomerate interactive agencies, and startups, Pinaki has mastered audience awareness and employee engagement skills to boost brand reputation, sales, productivity, and quality.

As the first member of his family to be born in the U.S., Pinaki adopted his family's pioneering spirit — delving into tech at the beginning of its boom. He graduated from Rutgers University with a Bachelor of Science in computer science and a minor in psychology.

Organization
Local Wisdom · Resource Hero
LinkedIn Following
4,800+ followers
Podcast
Human at Work — 31,000+ plays
Topics
IC Strategy · Digital Workplace · Leadership · Co-Creation · AI & Comms
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Available Sessions

What Pinaki brings to your stage.

Monique Zytnik and Pinaki Kathiari on stage at The Dance Floor Doesn't Lie
Interactive Keynote · With Monique Zytnik 4.71 / 5 at IABC 2026
The Dance Floor Doesn't Lie

What communicators can learn from club DJs — reading the room, crafting emotional journeys, and building shared experiences that move people to action. High-energy, music-infused, deeply interactive.

With Monique Zytnik, Owner, Monique Zytnik Consulting
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Pinaki Kathiari and Chuck Gose presenting Communications in Motion
Keynote · Interactive Session · With Chuck Gose 4.00 / 5 at IABC 2026
Communications in Motion: The Science Behind Messages That Move People

A physics-inspired playbook for modern internal communicators. Newton's Laws, resonance, E=MC², and gravity reframed as practical tools for building employee messages that create motion, not just awareness. Interactive, fun, and built for frontline and hybrid realities.

With Chuck Gose, Founder, ICology
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Pinaki Kathiari presenting Unseen Levers of Change at Transform 2026
Keynote
Unseen Levers of Change: Leading People Through Change When Nobody Has a Map

Change is not a logistics problem, it is a feeling problem. Five levers for moving people through a change they did not choose: why the worst part feels permanent, why everyone sits at a different point on the same curve, and why the frame you pick decides whether people support it.

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Teresa Palase and Pinaki Kathiari presenting the Vitality Hub case study
Case Study · With Teresa Palase
Making Your Intranet Impossible to Fail: The Story of Vitality Hub

A behind-the-scenes case study of a launch where the gotchas showed up anyway — and failure still wasn't on the table. Seven chapters on why culture has to come before technology, and how to treat an intranet as a product rather than a project.

With Teresa Palase, Director of Communications, Pharmavite
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Pinaki Kathiari and Alexa Rudin in a fireside chat
Fireside Chat · With Alexa Rudin
From Utility to Culture to AI: How Alaska Airlines Built Frontline Comms That Scale

A fireside chat with Alaska Airlines on how to intentionally sequence a frontline comms capability stack — from utility to culture to AI — so new technology amplifies a strong foundation instead of magnifying noise.

With Alexa Rudin, VP of Communications, Alaska Airlines
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Pinaki Kathiari presenting Combo Meals at ALI 2022
Interactive Session 4.75 / 5 at IABC 2022
Yes, Chef! Serving Up Comms Combo Meals for Internal Communicators

A session for internal communicators drowning in urgent requests. Build a menu of pre-packaged communication playbooks — "combo meals" — that cover roughly 80% of what your team handles, so you stop reinventing the plan every time. Attendees build their own during the session.

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Pinaki Kathiari and Amanda Todd presenting the IC Team Maturity Model
Interactive Talk · Workshop · Solo or With Co-Presenter
Never Have the Value of Internal Comms Questioned Again: A Practical Framework You Can Use Today

Walk through the Local Wisdom IC Team Maturity Model — a field-tested framework used by global organizations — complete an in-session assessment to find your team's strengths and gaps, and leave with a one-page leadership pitch template that's helped teams secure new investment, tools, and headcount.

Solo, or with Amanda Todd, Sr. Director of Strategic Communications at Temporal Technologies
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A host moving among the round tables during the un-panel
Live Un-Panel · With Chris Lee
Why Does It Feel So Wrong To Be Human At Work? Live "Un-Panel"

Pinaki and Chris Lee, as a duo or with Bree Bartos, co-host an unpanel where the audience is the panel. They guide the conversation, moderate the discussion, and share insight while calling on the real-world experiences of attendees. A session unlike any other.

With Chris Lee, Vice President, Communications at Gallagher, and optionally Bree Bartos
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Keynote · With Chris Lee
Human at Work: Why Belonging and Communication Are Your Business Advantage

In a world where AI, hybrid work, and burnout dominate headlines, Chris and Pinaki explore how authentic connection, psychological safety, and meaningful communication can transform culture and drive bottom-line results. Audiences leave rethinking how they lead, connect, and communicate.

With Chris Lee, Vice President, Communications at Gallagher
Paper airplanes flying across a room during the session
Interactive Session · Workshop
Paper Airplanes and Ideas that Fly

A hands-on ideation session where attendees anonymously share their biggest business challenges — then solve each other's problems using paper airplanes and design thinking. Collective wisdom, zero hierarchy, real results.

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Pinaki Kathiari and Rich Dome with a full room at the Lower Bucks County Chamber of Commerce
Interactive Workshop · Keynote
Six Sales Tips That Will Make You Stop and Say, "Wait, What?!"

Communicators have to influence constantly, and were almost never trained to. Six counter-intuitive tips that salespeople actually use — and attendees leave with a written plan for a real pitch they need to make.

With Rich Dome, Sr. Director of Partnerships at Local Wisdom
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Live Workshop
The 6 Dos and Don'ts of Co-Creation

Co-creation is about producing something better and faster together than you could alone. In this live workshop, Pinaki helps attendees discover the versatility of co-creation and how to incorporate these techniques across departments, employees, customers, suppliers, and personal lives.

Additional Formats

Pinaki is also available as:

Conference Host / MC
Panel or Roundtable Moderator
Podcast Guest
Workshop Facilitator
Fireside Chat Participant
Background DJ
Pinaki speaking
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Bring Pinaki to your event.

Pinaki is already speaking at the events we partner with. Get in touch to discuss availability and what a collaboration could look like for your conference.