SURINA piyadasa
​CEO & FOUNDER, DYNAMICALLY SPEAKING
​motivational speaker, business strategist and professional actor

As a Coach, Surina's joy is helping leaders and senior teams fast-track presentation success.  Clients include thought leaders as Featured Keynote Speakers at Deutsche Bank Leveraged Finance Conference, Cisco, LinkedIn and the Hoover Institution.  

Executives trust Surina when they need to deliver thought leadership on media interviews. Clients have appeared on Bloomberg Technology, MSNBC, CNBC, Nightly Business Report and WealthTrack. 

Before launching Dynamically Speaking, Surina held Vice President positions in Corporate Finance, Structured Finance and Institutional Sales.  Employers include The Brenner Group, Coast Partners Securities and Union Bank Capital Markets Group.  As Advisor, Surina has helped fast-growth companies raise over $1 billion in funding. 

Present and Past Affiliations:

• Commercial print model, professional actor and SAG-AFTRA member since 2004
• ​100 Women in Finance, member
  
• Pitch Mentor, LexisNexis/Lex Machina Legal Tech Accelerator since 2017
• Ambassador (since 2011) and Board member (from 2008 through 2011) for Water for People (four-star rating by Charity Navigator)
• Financial ​Supporter, Otinoa Village Children's Orphanage, Uganda since 2015
• Business Advisor/Mentor Eden Area Recreational Occupational Program (Hayward, CA) since 2017
• Co-Chair, Executive Committee, Business Forums International (San Jose and San Jose, CA Chapters 2005 - 2012)
• Mentor, The Founder Institute (Palo Alto Chapter, 2011)

Keynote/Workshop Presenter: 

•  "Present with Focus, Relevance and Results" , SF CFA Society
• "Think and Speak Like an Inspired Leader" , Cisco Global Supply Chain
• "Think Like a Champion to Soar as an Eagle" , Eden Area ROP
• "The Entrepreneur's Journey: What You'll Need to Succeed", Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship
• "Turn Setback into Two Steps Forward" , Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship
• "Create a First Impression to WOW Your Audience", Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship
•  "Communicate to Influence" , Office of the CIO
•  "Deliver a Killer Elevator Pitch", Vistage International
•  "Clients X and Y Boardroom-style Presentations to Retail Executives" , StorePoint Retail

Surina understands the power of presentation to inspire audience action. Her undergraduate degree in Finance was fully funded through speech competitions, scholarships, grants and work at Macy's. An avid learner, Surina earned an MBA in Finance from Golden Gate University in the evenings while working full-time as a Unit Manager in Bank of America's Corporate Trust Division.
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PASSION.  CURIOSITY.  EMPATHY.