With a diverse set of credentials and over 10 years of I.T. business ownership under his wing, Rohan Roger is the newest member of Optistar Technology Consultants and is based out of Boston, Massachusetts. He will be supporting our global portfolio of clients, providing strategic advice and engaging stakeholders in the delivery of our proven process and consulting solutions. Rohan enjoys creative problem-solving and championing complex projects; a certified Project Management Professional and holder of international credentials as a Chartered Engineer, amongst his passions are “improving the lives of teams, corporations, and citizens.”
Rohan attended college in Massachusetts, where he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Applied Engineering Physics, Mathematics, and Management. His curriculum mirrored his interests in science and technology and included a number of computer programming and electronics electives. Heavily involved in- and out-of-the classroom, he held appointments as a teaching assistant, student technician, and student researcher, winning a number of school travel grants. Starting from his first semester, Rohan was elected to Student Council, going on to serve on the executive board disbursing a $725,000 student activity fee, and to numerous leadership positions on university committees and clubs.
A key component of his education was the effective practice of skills learned in coursework; he engaged in a variety of summer programs at Harvard University, the University of Oxford, and the University of Cambridge, alongside various internships at Fortune-100, Big-4 consulting, and engineering conglomerates.
Although, these were far from among his first ‘real-world’ experiences.
In his early teens while growing up in New Delhi, India, Rohan identified a unique dilemma that left him perturbed: disparities in access to education based on geographic location. In 2009, with a goal to reduce these disparities, he began seeding his start-up which would eventually launch in 2012 and promote free virtual and mass media access to a metropolitan education. The technological platform, developed in-house and under Rohan’s supervision, quickly racked up government contracts and private interest, grossing over $1.6m in revenue and over 2,500,000 users from Grades 6-12.
His key learnings informed his business acumen and understanding of the real-world dynamics involved in being an information technology c-suite executive, “This was when I first realized the very real impact Information Technology can have on an organization’s mission and success. The importance of streamlining processes and ‘getting it right’ is often understated against KPIs, but the sooner IT and business goals are in alignment, the smoother the ride in the long-term.”
After graduating college, Rohan visited South Asia to complete a summer-long “Projects for Peace” awarded by the prestigious Davis Foundation where he would again use IT to seed a solution to a key dilemma. He engaged in this brief passion project, “Consent Across Borders,” for which his team was awarded a $10,000, before joining a boutique IT consulting firm based out of Massachusetts. As an Associate Consultant, he assisted with project delivery for a global elevator manufacturer and a wealth investment company.
More recently, Rohan served in a key leadership position providing essential response during the COVID-19 pandemic. His role as a core member of the Education Team at the Embassy of India, Washington D.C., championing the ‘Student Hub,’ a coordinated effort of staff and student volunteers to connect with 200,000 Indian students in the United States, quickly grew intense. The “experience was surreal and responsibility enormous,” Rohan reminisces, speaking of how U.S. universities transitioned to online learning in March 2020 alongside international border closures, leaving tens of thousands of students in housing unable to fly home.
“Providing clear communication and resources through student advisories and programs, in the midst of all the uncertainty, was perhaps our most important task.” To facilitate this, one of Rohan’s critical tasks was managing the Student Hub’s Information Technology assets; he singlehandedly deployed Zendesk to create student-triage “peer support line” for a daily phone and e-mail communication (which he supervised), Slack for internal communication, and the web platform for the Student Hub which he maintained with real time updates and kept secure. Part of a small leadership team, he helped direct tens of volunteers to execute fast-paced initiative, provided strategic advice, and in tandem with staff, drafted student advisories.
Every day he describes was ‘mission critical.’ “People were coming to our platforms at a time of great need, to find resources and information. It made our job all the more crucial: to be as clear, concise, and correct. Our website had to work right; our IT tools needed to be always operational and secure. Any ambiguity could give students false hope – or worse, take hope away – and any delays in getting the right information out could mean the difference between students who got to board a repatriation flight or need to wait for the next round of flights.”
“It was humbling to garner the trust of students and university offices alike, and a real privilege to be able to contribute at a time of such significance. We were, I think, the only Embassy responding in such a comprehensive fashion, and it is something to look back on and be extremely proud of. Every single person there really stood up and went above and beyond, showing a compassion and dedication that stood out.” As part of their efforts to communicate with their base, Rohan was part of interviewing the Ambassador of India live on Instagram as well as NASA Astronaut Sunita Williams who draw parallels between life in isolation on the International Space Station and in quarantine.
A number of Student Hub efforts received national acclaim, being featured by “blue-check” figures that included the Ambassador of India to the U.S., the U.S. State Department entities, the National Aeronautical and Space Administration, and John Krasinski’s Some Good News.
Outside of his professional life, Rohan enjoys travelling and has been to over 35 countries, having spent most summers and falls on tour. In his free time, he volunteers for “Strive for College,” a Deloitte Foundation initiative, plays tennis, is pursuing flying school to earn his private pilot wings, enjoys all things Star Trek, and is an advent foodie currently attempting a very daunting task: following a Keto diet. He aspires to “leave everything better than we find it.”
Optistar provides “a world of opportunity,” as Rohan describes, to combine his love for consulting and the Information Technology world. “I am ever so excited to be part of the ‘AllStar’ team and transition into a consulting role with Optistar Technology Consultants and The Vertex Companies, Inc. The people here are brilliant, some of the kindest and always happy to help.” Rohan’s exposure to different industries, cultures, and IT environments gives him a unique perspective in evaluating, streamlining, and transforming IT infrastructure to increase profitability in high-stakes environments.
He reports directly to Mark Jordan, the President of Optistar / CTO of Vertex. “It was clear from the early onset that Rohan was going to add tremendous value to our consulting team here at Optistar and more importantly for our clients. We’re very excited for Rohan to be part of our organization.”
Optistar Technology Consultants provides a full-service IT department; from managed IT services and cybersecurity to software engineering and forensics, we have you covered for every facet of your business and want to be a partner in your company’s success. Offering strategic advice during this time of crisis is one of our contributions to the small and medium enterprise community: schedule a free 15-minute consultation.