Oii.ai CEO Bob Rogers Shares Insights on Leadership, Future of AI
We had the delight of sitting down with Bob Rogers, CEO and Co-founder of Oii.ai, to discuss leadership, what inspired his career in tech, what trends or emerging technologies he believes will significantly impact the industry, and more.
A veteran in tech and former chief data scientist at Intel, Bob is also an author and changemaker. His company’s AI-powered simulation platform, Optii, ensures that enterprises achieve their product availability service goals with the lowest capital requirements possible.
We learned that Bob is a surfer, an ex-soccer player, a physics nerd who fell in love with the power of computers early on – and a thoughtful leader who believes mutual respect and trust is key to inclusion. Read on to learn more about his journey in life and in tech:
1) Q: What is a phrase that most defines you as a leader?
A: I’m an ex-soccer player. That means I know how powerful a team in synergy can be, so I want to create big goals for the team and make sure everyone knows they have an important role to play in achieving those goals together.
2) Q: What inspired you to pursue a career in technology?
A: I was a physics nerd who discovered that it was easier to model complex systems (like ultra-massive black holes in other galaxies) on a computer, rather than to work out the equations the hard way! Once I got a taste of this power, there was no turning back. I also realized early on that it was a great way to get paid for doing work I enjoyed anyway.
3) Q: Share an example of a risk you took that helped shape your career path.
A: I left my physics postdoc at a respected research center to co-found a quantitative futures hedge fund, based on forecasting models I hadn’t developed yet. Looking back, I guess that was a risky move.
4) Q: Tell us about a job that you hated.
A: Haha. As a 12-year old, I was asked to pick “big” rocks out of a recently rototilled yard. The problem was, I didn’t know the threshold for what a “big” rock was. As the sizes got smaller, the number of rocks got larger and I spent a lot of time at it. In the end, the boss was irritated that I spent so much time on such a “simple” task. It was a great lesson about making sure everyone understands the definition of success before starting on something.
5) Q: What’s a pivotal challenge you faced? How did you navigate it?
A: Early in my career, I didn’t know the difference between a technology and a product. I built an amazing technology (a trading platform that had made money eight years in a row) – but when I tried to market it to institutional investors, it took me a year to realize that their specific needs weren’t served by the way I had structured the company. Great tech, no product. That lost year cost me a lot.
6) Q: Wow – can you share a bit about the lessons you learned about how to effectively productize?
A: Understand what your customer needs. It seems obvious that every investor wants high returns, but that's not enough. My institutional investors needed a futures-based investment vehicle that fit their compliance and legal requirements. That meant a very specific instrument called a "managed futures account," rather than an LP or other vehicle.
More generally, to learn what your customers need, listen to their storytelling, walk a mile in their shoes, and watch them work with your prototypes. You will see where you are on track and where you have drifted off course. Critically, it's not what they say they need, but what you observe they need that will guide you to success.
7) Q: Tell us about a moment you are most proud of in your career.
A: When I was Chief Data Scientist at Intel, I co-led an amazing program called “Intel Inside: Safer Children Outside.” We built AI automation models to help the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) process millions of reports of online child exploitation. When we started, there was a 30-day backlog for processing reports and getting crucial information to the authorities. My proudest moment was two weeks after we deployed our AI: I learned that the NCMEC backlog had been completely cleared, and law enforcement was able to receive information the same day the crime was reported. The impact on child safety has been measurable.
8) Q: How do you approach building a company culture that encourages innovation and inclusivity?
I encourage respect and mutual trust among my team members and between them and me. Don’t second guess your team when they take risks, regardless of the outcome. At the same time, to ensure that environment of mutual respect and trust is supported, immediately call out (privately) anyone who breaks the trust and respect paradigm.
9) Q: What mindset do you want to instill throughout your team?
We are changing the world for the better. We might have some moments where we are working harder or longer than we’d like, but we’re doing it for a reason. Also, part of making the world a better place is ensuring that team members have the time and mental space to be present with their families, so these two things have to work hand-in-hand.
10) Q: What trends or emerging technologies do you believe will significantly impact your company or the industry?
AI is only at the beginning, and there will be a next generation of AI coming soon. Right now, GenAI “doesn’t know anything…it just talks a good game.” When AI knows things for real, and can take a position and reason on it, that will dramatically change the utility of AI in our work and our lives. I’m paying close attention to the tech and building for that future.
11) Q: How do you handle setbacks or failures, both personally and as a leader?
Just keep putting one foot in front of the other and present as positive an interface as possible. My first wife died suddenly at age 51. To help my children get through that, I just had to keep going every day and model resiliency for them. Setbacks in a startup require the same mindset.
12) Q: What attributes do you most admire in others that you wish you had?
Ability to clearly and immediately see the right action, take it, and communicate it, regardless of how angst-y it might be. This is especially true with personnel: You want to give people a chance to course correct, but your instincts are usually right, and the longer you wait to make a personnel change, the more you hurt everyone else in your organization.
13) Q: Name a role model or mentor and a key thing you learned from them.
Shahin Hedayat, my co-founder at Apixio and an incredibly successful startup CEO, is always firm, calm, and clear. He never leaves room for ambiguity and makes sure that every goal is well-defined. He can be firm and kind simultaneously.
14) Q: What practices or habits do you rely on to keep your mind sharp and your energy up amid the demands of being a CEO?
Exercise is crucial. I surf whenever I can, even though I’m a pretty rough surfer (in Hawaii they would probably call me a kook). Inland, swimming and low-key cycling are good substitutes.
15) Q: What advice would you give your 23-year-old self?
Ask more questions and listen. In school, you get the mistaken impression that what you know is the most important thing. In life, being able to ask questions, and knowing what you don’t know, are even more important. It took me a while to learn that, but when I did, it was a game-changer for me.
16) Q: On a personal note, what team(s) do you root for?
SF 49ers, SF Giants, Man City
17: Q: Where would people find you on a typical Saturday?
Home Depot
18) Q: What is the book that you most recommend?
A: You mean, other than my own books? Lol. I loved The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. Think Again by Adam Grant, and How to Read Water by Tristan Gooley are also thought-provoking.
19) Q: What’s at the top of your playlist?
A: Anything hard rock.
20) Q: What superpower do you have that people don’t know about you?
I’m a “night thinker.” I’m pretty slow to figure things out during the day, but if I think about a problem before I go to sleep, I will often have the entire solution worked out when I wake up the next morning. It’s not 100% reliable, but it’s pretty handy when it works!
We had the delight of sitting down with Bob Rogers, CEO and Co-founder of Oii.ai, to discuss leadership, what inspired his career in tech, what trends or emerging technologies he believes will significantly impact the industry, and more.
A veteran in tech and former chief data scientist at Intel, Bob is also an author and changemaker. His company’s AI-powered simulation platform, Optii, ensures that enterprises achieve their product availability service goals with the lowest capital requirements possible.
We learned that Bob is a surfer, an ex-soccer player, a physics nerd who fell in love with the power of computers early on – and a thoughtful leader who believes mutual respect and trust is key to inclusion. Read on to learn more about his journey in life and in tech:
1) Q: What is a phrase that most defines you as a leader?
A: I’m an ex-soccer player. That means I know how powerful a team in synergy can be, so I want to create big goals for the team and make sure everyone knows they have an important role to play in achieving those goals together.
2) Q: What inspired you to pursue a career in technology?
A: I was a physics nerd who discovered that it was easier to model complex systems (like ultra-massive black holes in other galaxies) on a computer, rather than to work out the equations the hard way! Once I got a taste of this power, there was no turning back. I also realized early on that it was a great way to get paid for doing work I enjoyed anyway.
3) Q: Share an example of a risk you took that helped shape your career path.
A: I left my physics postdoc at a respected research center to co-found a quantitative futures hedge fund, based on forecasting models I hadn’t developed yet. Looking back, I guess that was a risky move.
4) Q: Tell us about a job that you hated.
A: Haha. As a 12-year old, I was asked to pick “big” rocks out of a recently rototilled yard. The problem was, I didn’t know the threshold for what a “big” rock was. As the sizes got smaller, the number of rocks got larger and I spent a lot of time at it. In the end, the boss was irritated that I spent so much time on such a “simple” task. It was a great lesson about making sure everyone understands the definition of success before starting on something.
5) Q: What’s a pivotal challenge you faced? How did you navigate it?
A: Early in my career, I didn’t know the difference between a technology and a product. I built an amazing technology (a trading platform that had made money eight years in a row) – but when I tried to market it to institutional investors, it took me a year to realize that their specific needs weren’t served by the way I had structured the company. Great tech, no product. That lost year cost me a lot.
6) Q: Wow – can you share a bit about the lessons you learned about how to effectively productize?
A: Understand what your customer needs. It seems obvious that every investor wants high returns, but that's not enough. My institutional investors needed a futures-based investment vehicle that fit their compliance and legal requirements. That meant a very specific instrument called a "managed futures account," rather than an LP or other vehicle.
More generally, to learn what your customers need, listen to their storytelling, walk a mile in their shoes, and watch them work with your prototypes. You will see where you are on track and where you have drifted off course. Critically, it's not what they say they need, but what you observe they need that will guide you to success.
7) Q: Tell us about a moment you are most proud of in your career.
A: When I was Chief Data Scientist at Intel, I co-led an amazing program called “Intel Inside: Safer Children Outside.” We built AI automation models to help the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) process millions of reports of online child exploitation. When we started, there was a 30-day backlog for processing reports and getting crucial information to the authorities. My proudest moment was two weeks after we deployed our AI: I learned that the NCMEC backlog had been completely cleared, and law enforcement was able to receive information the same day the crime was reported. The impact on child safety has been measurable.
8) Q: How do you approach building a company culture that encourages innovation and inclusivity?
I encourage respect and mutual trust among my team members and between them and me. Don’t second guess your team when they take risks, regardless of the outcome. At the same time, to ensure that environment of mutual respect and trust is supported, immediately call out (privately) anyone who breaks the trust and respect paradigm.
9) Q: What mindset do you want to instill throughout your team?
We are changing the world for the better. We might have some moments where we are working harder or longer than we’d like, but we’re doing it for a reason. Also, part of making the world a better place is ensuring that team members have the time and mental space to be present with their families, so these two things have to work hand-in-hand.
10) Q: What trends or emerging technologies do you believe will significantly impact your company or the industry?
AI is only at the beginning, and there will be a next generation of AI coming soon. Right now, GenAI “doesn’t know anything…it just talks a good game.” When AI knows things for real, and can take a position and reason on it, that will dramatically change the utility of AI in our work and our lives. I’m paying close attention to the tech and building for that future.
11) Q: How do you handle setbacks or failures, both personally and as a leader?
Just keep putting one foot in front of the other and present as positive an interface as possible. My first wife died suddenly at age 51. To help my children get through that, I just had to keep going every day and model resiliency for them. Setbacks in a startup require the same mindset.
12) Q: What attributes do you most admire in others that you wish you had?
Ability to clearly and immediately see the right action, take it, and communicate it, regardless of how angst-y it might be. This is especially true with personnel: You want to give people a chance to course correct, but your instincts are usually right, and the longer you wait to make a personnel change, the more you hurt everyone else in your organization.
13) Q: Name a role model or mentor and a key thing you learned from them.
Shahin Hedayat, my co-founder at Apixio and an incredibly successful startup CEO, is always firm, calm, and clear. He never leaves room for ambiguity and makes sure that every goal is well-defined. He can be firm and kind simultaneously.
14) Q: What practices or habits do you rely on to keep your mind sharp and your energy up amid the demands of being a CEO?
Exercise is crucial. I surf whenever I can, even though I’m a pretty rough surfer (in Hawaii they would probably call me a kook). Inland, swimming and low-key cycling are good substitutes.
15) Q: What advice would you give your 23-year-old self?
Ask more questions and listen. In school, you get the mistaken impression that what you know is the most important thing. In life, being able to ask questions, and knowing what you don’t know, are even more important. It took me a while to learn that, but when I did, it was a game-changer for me.
16) Q: On a personal note, what team(s) do you root for?
SF 49ers, SF Giants, Man City
17: Q: Where would people find you on a typical Saturday?
Home Depot
18) Q: What is the book that you most recommend?
A: You mean, other than my own books? Lol. I loved The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. Think Again by Adam Grant, and How to Read Water by Tristan Gooley are also thought-provoking.
19) Q: What’s at the top of your playlist?
A: Anything hard rock.
20) Q: What superpower do you have that people don’t know about you?
I’m a “night thinker.” I’m pretty slow to figure things out during the day, but if I think about a problem before I go to sleep, I will often have the entire solution worked out when I wake up the next morning. It’s not 100% reliable, but it’s pretty handy when it works!
