Tarun Galagali

Founder & CEO

Tarun Galagali is the Founder & CEO of Mandala, an AI-powered leadership development platform, a Forbes contributor, and the co-author of an upcoming book on neuroscience and leadership.

The child of Indian immigrants, Tarun grew up in Cupertino, California, studied English and Economics at Dartmouth College, spent time at the University of Oxford, and earned his MBA from Harvard Business School. His career has spanned Bridgewater Associates, Google, Verily, Talkspace, and Parthenon-EY, as well as six years as Senior Political Advisor to Congressman Ro Khanna, where he built grassroots organizing infrastructure in Silicon Valley and worked on mental health and economic policy.

Across those experiences, Tarun kept noticing the same pattern: talented people struggling not because they lacked skill, but because they couldn't access their best thinking under pressure. That observation became the foundation for Mandala, a SOC-2 Type II compliant AI coach that lives in Slack, combining management training, neuroscience-based tools, and real-time coaching support. The platform has trained over 2,000 leaders across Google, Microsoft, Grow Therapy, Flatiron Health, UC Berkeley, and Ohio State — with a Boston College study showing 54% improvement in team effectiveness and an estimated 19% reduction in turnover among participating managers.

Tarun writes about leadership, neuroscience, and the future of work for Forbes, and is co-authoring PAUSE: Leading with Parasympathetic Intelligence with Dr. Michael Platt, head of neuroscience at Wharton, forthcoming from Basic Books (Hachette) in 2027. He also delivers The Power of Pause, a workshop on nervous system regulation for executives, students, and educators worldwide. He is based in San Francisco, California.