Ashwin Rao
EVP - NextGen AI & Technology at o9 Solutions, Inc.
Palo Alto, California, United States
Summary
👤
Senior🎓
Top SchoolAshwin Rao is an executive technologist and founder with over two decades of experience translating complex business problems in finance and retail into high-impact AI and mathematical solutions. Currently EVP of NextGen AI & Technology at o9 Solutions and an Adjunct Professor at Stanford directing the Mathematical & Computational Finance program, he blends academic rigor—authoring a book on reinforcement learning for trading—with hands-on product leadership across trading, risk, forecasting, supply chain and personalization. He has led teams at Target, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs, founded startups including ZLemma and CX Score, and built open-source RL simulation work that underpins his research and teaching. Known for turning sophisticated algorithmic ideas into clear commercial value, he pairs deep theoretical training (PhD USC, IIT Bombay undergrad) with a rare track record of scaling AI into production in both enterprise and startup environments.
14 years of coding experience
25 years of employment as a software developer
Ph.D. Theoretical Computer Science - Algorithmic Algebra, Ph.D. Theoretical Computer Science - Algorithmic Algebra at University of Southern CaliforniaIndian Institute of Technology BombayHigh School Computer Science, High School Computer Science at Atomic Energy Central School, Bombay
Stackoverflow
445reputation
45kreached
6answers
6questions
Github Skills (18)
data-visualizations10
python10
matplotlib10
data-modeling10
time-series10
mathematical10
data-visualisation10
numpy10
data-visualization10
modeling10
data-analysis10
transpose6
xcode6
homebrew6
dictionary6
Programming languages (3)
Github contributions (5)
TikhonJelvis/RL-book
May 2020 - Oct 2022
Role in this project:
Data Scientist
Data ScientistContributions:7 reviews, 1161 commits, 363 PRs in 2 years 5 months
Contributions summary:Ashwin implemented several stock price simulation models using Python. The core contribution involves creating and comparing three distinct models with varying factors influencing price changes, including current price, previous moves, and historical data. The primary task involved defining states, calculating probabilities, and simulating price movements over time, culminating in visualizations to compare the model outputs.
coverdrive/technical-documents
Oct 2018 - Jan 2023
Technical documents on a variety of topics, created for the purpose of learning
Contributions:1 review, 563 commits, 1 PR in 4 years 4 months
purposetechnical-documentsvarietytechnical-writingedtech
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