Roger Rohatgi

Roger Rohatgi (born May 19 in Houston, Texas) is an American executive and design leader specializing in user experience design, user interface design, graphic design, film, and television and has contributed to a myriad of design projects over his career. He is also a member of the Design for Good Alliance, which includes Chief Design Officers from several companies.

Rohatgi is currently the Vice President and Global Head of Design at bp, overseeing the company's global human experience design organization. Since taking on this role in February 2020, Rohatgi has been involved in developing and implementing the bpCore design system.

Rohatgi has delivered keynote addresses at several UX and UI design conferences, including UX Istanbul, The Royal College of Art's session on Social Sustainability, and Harvard Business School's "Leading with AI: Exploring Business and Technology Frontiers" summit.

Early life, family, and education
Roger Rohatgi was born and raised in Houston, Texas. His father, originally from Delhi, India, spent fifty years working as a mechanical engineer in the energy industry, specifically with Technip. From Monterrey, Mexico, his mother worked in education as a teacher in the Houston Independent School District (HISD) and later as an adjunct professor at the University of Houston Downtown.

Rohatgi attended the University of Houston and remains connected to his alma mater as a member of the Jack J. Valenti School of Communication advisory council.

Rohatgi married his wife, Heather, on February 14, 2006, in Houston, TX, at Minute Maid Park broadcast on Sunny 99.1fm KODA (iHeart Radio).

Early career
Rohatgi's career was marked early on as a graphic designer, independent film producer, and screenwriter. On October 16, 2005, he received recognition at the Bare Bones International Film Festival in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where his film "Waterwalker" won the "Best-of-Fest" award. The Atoka County Times reported on April 27, 2005, "Waterwalker is a chapter in Rohatgi's career. A student of film-making, he is also an actor and director with several independent careers to his credit. Rohatgi is an emerging force in Hollywood and New York, at the same time at home in Atoka."

Beyond his work in film, Rohatgi worked in other areas of public engagement, becoming a motivational speaker, actor, and ordained minister. He has appeared on various television and radio shows, such as KTUL's "Good Day Tulsa" on November 2, 2005, where he appeared alongside Nicholas Sparks, the author of "The Notebook".

In 2012 and 2013, he hosted "Trailerific" on YTA TV (formerly Youtoo TV). Rohatgi was Vice President of Creative for Youtoo TV, the first U.S. Social TV network which was supported by Mark Burnett and others.

Rohatgi, as part of a team at Object Edge Inc., received the Oracle CX Innovation Award for developing technology solutions designed to assist individuals with autism, like his son. These solutions aim to improve daily living through supportive reminders and functions. Rohatgi stated, "We started thinking: What if Oracle could help solve some of these problems for people just like my son, where if we're not there, technology could be there for us to help him?".

Current career
In February 2020, Roger Rohatgi was appointed as the Global Head of Design at bp, In this role, he focuses on integrating human-centered principles into design practices. His work was featured on the podcast "Design Meets Business."

Rohatgi led bp's #NetZeroUX initiative, which encouraged the bp design team to decarbonize existing designs and prioritize decarbonization in new projects. His approaches also include using artificial intelligence to augment the design process.

Rohatgi frequently participates as a speaker at design-focused events. In April 2023, he was a keynote speaker at UX LIVE, part of Product Design Week, a UX event in Europe. His pre-event interview with Tech Circus highlighted his work at bp and the future of energy technology. In September 2023, Rohatgi discussed the future of Customer Experience (CX) Design, focusing on Human Experience (HX), at the Digital Customer Experience: Case Studies event. In March 2024, he presented at the Economist Business Innovation Summit, speaking to the role of AI in transforming business strategies and fostering sustainable advancement.

Rohatgi is a recurring speaker at the Economist Enterprise Metaverse Summit, contributing to discussions about AI and design within the Metaverse.

Rohatgi has advocated for technologies such as the Metaverse and was an early adopter of Microsoft Mesh through his company. He has supported its potential for creating a more digital and collaborative future through immersive visualization environments.

Rohatgi has discussed the application of Generative AI using innovative user research design methods with WIRED, highlighting AI's capabilities in generating diverse ideas.

Rohatgi appears on panels that explore the evolution of human experience design in contexts such as The Economist Space Economy Summit, and the IoT World and AI Summit.