Business
Unleashing the power of intuitive leadership
OMMM co-founder Michelle Narciso makes the case for implementing conscious leadership in business.
30 September 2024
This article first appeared in our International Women’s Day 2026 issue of My Green Pod Magazine. Click here to subscribe to our digital edition and get each issue delivered straight to your inbox
The sacred sound of Om is said to be the essence of consciousness; it is also the foundation of OMMM, an organisation that exists to elevate global consciousness by deepening our connections and bringing ancient wisdom into modern life.
Founded by minority women Michelle Narciso and Maria Alphonse, OMMM creates meaningful experiences and immersive events that support personal growth and bring ideas to life. It relies on the wisdom of its network of ‘OMMMbassadors’ to extend impact all over the world.
OMMMbassadors are individuals who are living their purpose – working in different fields, but united by the conviction that everything is connected. Two new OMMMbassadors, Rebecca Irby and Tenzin Seldon, have recently joined the OMMM community to share their wisdom and expertise.
We look at how they are helping individuals and communities to live in harmony, guided by purpose and united through co-creation, in line with OMMM’s founding goals.
For a very long time, Rebecca Irby thought purpose was something you arrived at, like a destination. Over the years she learned that purpose is more like a North Star; it does not stay still, it guides you – especially when the path is unclear.
Rebecca remembers the moment in her life when she lost interest in chasing titles or approval, and instead wanted her work to feel honest and to matter. That realisation did not give Rebecca all the answers, but it gave her direction.
Rebecca’s North Star is creating more peace and balance in the world; whatever brings her closer to that is what she chooses to do.
Despite often being introduced by her roles or affiliations, she understands that these titles do not define her. At her core she is someone who believes deeply in human dignity and collective possibility.
In a very real way, we are shaped by the communities into which we are born and the resources to which we have access. Postcodes matter – they influence opportunity, exposure and expectation – yet it’s not a given that they should determine our trajectory.
Rebecca has seen what becomes possible when people are invited to imagine beyond the limitations placed on them; when they are trusted with responsibility and when they are met with belief instead of doubt.
One of the most powerful lessons of her life came through collective work to ban nuclear weapons. Many at the time believed it was impossible – too political, ambitious and unrealistic – and questioned Rebecca’s right to be speaking about it.
A small group of committed individuals thought otherwise; they believed that if they centred human impact, moral clarity and collective action, change could happen. They knew that by shifting the frame from militarism to humanitarian impact, they would be on a much stronger footing.
In 2017, that effort eventually led to a Nobel Peace Prize – not because of any one person, but because of shared conviction. It taught Rebecca that momentum is built when people align their energy, their values and their imagination towards a common goal. Belief, when held collectively, is not naive – it is catalytic.
Through that process, Rebecca also learned that joy is not a distraction from serious work – it is what sustains it. Love is not a soft concept but a strategy for endurance. When movements lose their capacity for joy, they burn out; when leaders disconnect from love, they lose their humanity.
The work Rebecca does is rooted in the understanding that how we move through the world matters as much as, and in her opinion far more than, what we are trying to change.
Joy creates momentum. Love builds trust. Together, they make transformation possible.
Everything Rebecca has learned has brought her back to one truth: we are deeply interconnected. None of us will change the world alone – we each carry a piece of the solution, whether we realise it or not.
When we choose to believe in our own agency and in each other, we will feel a shift in what feels possible. Rebecca’s work is simply an expression of that belief; an ongoing invitation to imagine differently, act collectively and move forward with courage and care.
Tenzin Seldon was born in a climate-vulnerable region of India, where she was a first-hand witness to melting glaciers, shifting monsoon patterns, displaced communities and other devastating consequences of global warming.
That early exposure taught her something most investors miss: the Earth is an interconnected system, and silos will not decarbonise the planet.
This realisation is why Tenzin built a career that moved between building companies, policy, entrepreneurship and now venture capital, always asking how we translate urgency into action that actually works.
Tenzin moved to the United States during her adolescent years. In 2012, she graduated summa cum laude from Stanford with highest distinction and Phi Beta Kappa honours. She became the first Tibetan-American Rhodes Scholar, and headed to Oxford to pursue a dual master’s degree.
After Oxford, Tenzin joined the UN at its Asia headquarters in Thailand, where she worked on disaster risk reduction and supported countries in building resilience. In 2016, she founded Kinstep, a B2B platform that matches pre-vetted immigrants with fair employment opportunities. The venture earned her a spot on Forbes’ 30 Under 30 List and reinforced a lesson she had been learning for years: the most effective solutions are built by people who deeply understand the problem. The human dimension can’t be separated from the business model; they are one and the same.
Tenzin carried that philosophy into The Plant, using net-negative infrastructure tech and adaptive reuse of historic buildings to create a global home for climate solutions. It taught her how to scale climate technologies in the real world, but it also surfaced a bigger question: how do we deploy capital to generate outsized financial returns while driving meaningful climate stabilisation?
Strong climate action could add up to $26 trillion to the global economy by 2030. Traditional venture capital consistently overlooks the most transformative solutions, particularly those led by people from climate-vulnerable communities. That’s bad business; Tenzin was quick to realise that lived experience creates competitive advantage.
In 2023 Tenzin founded Pulse Fund, which invests in scalable climate companies across four interconnected verticals: food and agriculture, energy, infrastructure and mobility. The fund focuses on high-growth, vertically integrated companies that deliver superior margins, outsized financial returns and supply chain risk mitigation.
Since founding Pulse Fund, Tenzin has built a portfolio of the fastest-growing companies positioned at the forefront of climate transformation. She co-led Twelve’s $200 million Series C, part of a $645 million total raise – one of the largest financing rounds in e-fuels. Tenzin also co-led Mast Reforestation’s $25 million Series B and holds board positions with Mast Reforestation, Endera, Twelve, BlocPower, Floodbase, Unravel Carbon, Nearshore and others.
Tenzin also serves on the board of Marathon Digital Holdings and advises Stanford’s Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence initiative, UN NGO Creative Visions Foundation and One Earth. Her work has been recognised with the UN Innovative Disruptor Award, designation as a Harry S. Truman Scholar by Congress, Forbes’ ‘Most Likely to Impact the Next Century’ and the 21st Century Icon Award from the London Stock Exchange.
People sometimes ask how Tenzin balances the urgency of climate action with the discipline of venture capital, but she doesn’t see them as separate things. The companies solving our biggest challenges are the same companies that are positioned for exponential returns; you just have to be willing to look in the right places and build with the right people.
OMMM co-founder Michelle Narciso makes the case for implementing conscious leadership in business.
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