Deepa Purushothaman to reflect on what success truly means. In a moving LinkedIn post, Deepa shared how a Pune based CEO, Gokul Hemmady, taught her a lesson she only understood years later, one that reshaped her understanding of ambition, identity, and the limits of nonstop work.
A Conversation That Stayed With Her
Deepa wrote in her LinkedIn post, that she received news of Gokul’s unexpected passing and the sudden shock made her revisit the years she spent advising leaders, often working 12 to 20 hours a day, only to drift apart once the project ended.
During her five-year association with Gokul and his company, she saw the human being behind the executive title. A Pune native and former public company CFO, he was known for his humility and sharp vision. He had a clear dream to lead a company and eventually take it public. Yet what stood out more than his ambition was his devotion to family.
It was during one of their late-night work discussions that Gokul offered her a candid observation. According to Deepa’s post, he asked her why she worked so much for someone else’s success and urged her not to miss out on a life beyond the office. “Life is much bigger than work,” he told her, a line that stayed with her long after she brushed it aside in the moment.
The Human Side of Leadership
Deepa recalled how Gokul often spoke about the joy of securing a dinner reservation for his family or spending time with his children. Even after she started dating fellow