Today we’d like to introduce you to Karimah Hudda.

Hi Karimah, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.

My journey began in a small town in India, where I witnessed both abject poverty and the power of compassionate action.

My family’s commitment to serving others taught me early on that poverty and privilege aren’t birthrights, but consequences of multiple generations of chances, choices and circumstances.

This foundation shaped my core purpose: to defeat inequality so everyone can rise. My career has spanned working with street children, building Fairtrade coalitions, and leading sustainability initiatives in global corporations across 44 countries. Each experience reinforced my belief in human potential and the need for systemic change.

The urgency of our global challenges, particularly climate change, led me to found illumine.earth. Our mission is to illuminate leadership and accelerate systems change, recognizing these as critical levers for creating a world where all nature and people thrive.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?

While I wouldn’t characterize my journey as a struggle, it has certainly been filled with challenges that have shaped my perspective and approach. One significant challenge has been bridging the gap between what I’ve done and what I’m known for. Throughout my career, I’ve led highly creative and impactful leadership programs for diverse groups – from street youth to Fairtrade cooperatives to corporate teams, built coalitions that drove systems change, and led powerful, impactful Sustainability strategy inside the world’s largest corporations. However, I was primarily recognized externally as a Corporate Sustainability leader and practitioner.

Launching illumine.earth meant stepping out of this established identity and fully embracing my expertise in leadership development and systems change. It required courage to showcase these skills that, while central to my work, weren’t always visible to the outside world.

Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?

illumine.earth is a leadership, strategy, and systems change company. Our purpose is to accelerate a world where all nature and people thrive. We work with leaders, businesses, and solutionists to advance regenerative leadership and systems change towards this vision.

We specialize in three key areas:
-One-to-one leadership coaching, illuminating the leader’s path to rising in resonance with well-being and impact.
-Team development within organizations, amplifying team purpose, well-being and impact
-Forging visionary alliances among leaders across organizations

What sets us apart is our unique approach to helping leaders lead and rise in resonance with their inner light. Our methods realign leaders and teams with their deepest purpose and potential, amplifying personal well-being, growth and global impact in concert.

This approach allows us to generate bigger, bolder, faster actions in ways that regenerate rather than deplete.

I’m most proud of our ability to help leaders thrive while significantly elevate their positive impact. We offer a sustainable path to addressing global challenges, proving that we can create massive impact without sacrificing personal well-being.

We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?

My perspective on risk is deeply influenced by my diverse experiences. Growing up between India and the USA, and later working in various challenging environments worldwide, I developed a comfort zone that begins where many others’ end.

I see risk not as something to fear, but as an opportunity for meaningful transformation. Launching illumine.earth was indeed a calculated risk. Despite offers to continue in corporate sustainability, I chose to combine all I had learned – from unleashing the potential of street youth to influencing corporations and building coalitions for rapid systems change.

This decision embodies my belief that true impact often requires stepping beyond conventional paths. My approach to risk is about having the courage to follow my purpose and passion, even when it means charting new territories. It’s about trusting in the power of regenerative leadership to create transformative change on a global scale.

In essence, I believe that when we’re aligned with our deepest purpose and potential, what others might perceive as risky becomes a natural, necessary step towards creating the impact we’re meant to have in the world.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://illumine.earth
• Instagram: illumine.earth
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karimahhudda/