Anand Priya Deo’s career has taken him from the corporate sector to international development and community initiatives in India. In his memoir, Follow Your Heart, the author reflects on the choices and uncertainties that shaped this unconventional path.
Deo is scheduled to launch the book at the Frankfurt International Book Fair on 11 October 2026, followed by a special launch at the United Nations premises in Geneva on 13 October and a Book Talk in Venice on 16 October.
His engagement with the United Nations includes an invitation to speak as a panellist at the UN Social Forum in 2024. He also completed an internship with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva after pursuing two Master’s degrees in the UK and Europe.
Before entering the development sector, Deo spent nearly a decade working with Airtel and PepsiCo. He later joined organisations including Medic Mobile, Grameen Foundation and Karya, contributing to work across Africa and Southeast Asia. His travels have taken him to more than 70 countries.
Yet his story is not defined solely by international exposure. In 2022, he established the Ananda Foundation in his ancestral village of Sikaria in Nawada, Bihar. The organisation focuses on women’s empowerment, health and hygiene, and livelihood opportunities.
The memoir traces the personal side of these transitions, exploring what happens when familiar definitions of achievement no longer feel sufficient. Deo’s upcoming appearance at the United Nations premises in Geneva adds another chapter to a journey that connects professional experience with a continuing search for purpose.
