Cultural Diversity Roster

Find a Presenter

speaker

Soraya Darabi

Soraya Darabi

Trendspotter, Serial Entrepreneur, Investor & Venture Capitalist

Soraya Darabi is an experienced entrepreneur and investor; the Founder of TMV.

See Below for Full Bio

Categories :

Add To My Speakers List Request Availabilty
[Sassy_Social_Share]

Bio

Full Bio

Soraya Darabi is an experienced entrepreneur and investor; the Founder of TMV, a successful early-stage holding company overseeing two venture funds and three investment vehicles all focused on ideas that will transform industries and inspire new ones. At TMV, Soraya serves as General Partner where she leads impact investments across the future of work, health-care and education technology.

Earlier in her career, Soraya served as the Manager of Digital Partnerships & Social Media at The New York Times, where she activated ground-breaking partnerships, established award-winning campaigns and spearheaded the positioning of the global media and news leader across social networks.

In 2009, she co-founded Foodspotting, named “App of the Year” by both Apple and Wired (later acquired by OpenTable, then Priceline).

Continuing her passion for creating innovative, mission-driven brands that change the way we live, Soraya co-founded a venture-backed start-up that helped facilitate the slow-manufacturing movement by demanding honesty and quality across supply chains.

Over the years, she has been named one of Fast Company’s “100 Most Creative People in Business” for which she was featured on the cover of the magazine. She has also been featured on the cover of Brand Week’s “Digital Best” issue. Other honors include being named an Inc. Magazine “30 Under 30” (2012), Fortune Magazine’s “40 Under 40: Women to Watch” (2015).

Soraya sat on the first digital advisory board of General Electric, is a World Economic Forum “Young Global Leader,” and a six-time mentor to TechStars New York for which she’s been named a three-time “Mentor of the Year.” A published journalist, Soraya has served as a pundit for ABC News and has appeared as a guest and subject matter expert on business networks like CNBC, CNN and Fox. She has also given keynote talks on innovation at work in over 15 countries as a result of her 12-year partnership with the American Program Bureau.

She is the host of “Business Schooled – a Podcast by Synchrony,” on its second season, which is a “Top 20 Business Podcast” where she interviews persevering founders who have made it past their startup days and reached new heights of success.

Soraya serves on the board of directors for the non-profit Yamba Malawi. She graduated with a B.A. magna cum laude from Georgetown University and completed the Global Leadership and Public Policy for the 21st Century program at Harvard Kennedy School. Soraya lives and works in New York City.

Check Availability

MM slash DD slash YYYY
Check Availability for

Topics

Topics

Seeing Trends Before Anyone Else

Internal Change from an Entrepreneur: Leading the Way with Intrapreneurship

How the World’s Most Innovative Companies Stay Young

Videos

Videos

Study What You Love: When Seemingly Impractical Advice Pays Off (Soraya Darabi Interview)
How to Craft a Modern Digital Strategy - Soraya Darabi

Books

Please Contact Us For More Information

News

Please Contact Us For More Information

TESTIMONIALS

CLIENT TESTIMONIALS

The American Psychological Association was thrilled to have Dr. Antonia Novello as our speaker for the 2024 APA Convention. Dr. Novello was fantastic, and her presentation was a tremendous success. Thank you, Peter, for all your hard work in making this event such a resounding success.

American Psychological Association

For our annual Native American Heritage Month celebration, PDA Group arranged for John Echohawk to join us for a virtual moderated discussion. The program was thoughtful, engaging, and highly impactful for our audience of lawyers and professional staff. We are grateful for their partnership and look forward to working with them again.

Debevoise & Plimpton LLP

We have partnered with PDA Group on multiple successful events, including our charity luncheon with Lisa Edelstein and our Women’s Philanthropy Kickoff Event featuring Allegra Goodman. Their professionalism, expertise, and commitment to excellence make them an outstanding partner. Thank you for your exceptional work and continued support.

UJA-Federation

We have received so much fantastic feedback following our virtual event. It was an absolute success, and Sylvia Fowles was excellent. Thank you again to Sylvia and the entire team for your partnership!”

U.S. Bank

Kurt Warner was spectacular—he completely wowed the audience and solidified major leadership points. He was an amazing partner, and we will be talking about this experience for years to come. We will definitely leverage the PDA team for all of our speaking needs!”

Sysco Corporation

The events over the past two years went very well — everyone had a great time with Dr. Mark Esper in 2025, and Sam Hinkie led a very engaging Q&A with our Principal, Jean Reynolds, in 2024. Thank you for working with us these last two years; your support has been instrumental to the success of our programs!

Investcorp Strategic Capital Group

It was an absolute privilege to have Dr. Sanjay Gupta as our keynote speaker for the 2026 GME Leadership Conference. He delivered an outstanding address that resonated deeply and left a lasting impression on everyone in the room. The entire planning process was seamless and collaborative. It was a pleasure working together, brainstorming suggestions, and ultimately selecting the perfect fit for our event. We couldn’t have asked for a better experience.

HCA Healthcare

We had a fantastic day with Inge! She was very engaging with all those that attended. Her personal stories about the holocaust were very special and we were moved that she was willing to share them with everyone. Thank you again, PDA for all your hard work and dedication to make this program such a success!

Salt Lake Community College

It was a great pleasure to work with PDA Group! The communication was always prompt, friendly and helpful. We loved the speakers and events we booked through Mr. Peter Walker (PDA Group).

Western Michigan University

On behalf of myself and my organization Entertainment Unlimited the Campus Programming Board of Ferris State University, we thank you PDA and Dan for a successful event!! Dan was magnificent! Students really enjoyed the presentation. I know I did. Can’t wait to bring in more programs with PDA Group.

Ferris State University

GET IDEAS

1 Hour or Less
914-940-0075 "America's Entertainment Leader"