From Math Research to Trading and CTO

Find me on Substack: https://bogumilbaranowski.substack.com/

Ritavan is a bestselling author of "Data Impact," former CTO, and data transformation expert with a decade of operating experience across sectors including banking (Société Générale), energy trading, consulting, and real estate technology, who advocates for treating digital initiatives like value investments rather than following technology trends.

EPISODE NOTES

3:00 - Ritavan shares the fascinating story behind having only one name—his grandfather's generation dropped last names as part of a social reform movement to combat caste-based discrimination in India, as colonial systems had turned last names into markers of social hierarchy.

7:30 - Early career journey spans math research in Paris at École Normale Supérieure, market risk at Société Générale during the 2008 financial crisis obsession, and energy trading where he cleared his trading exam within six weeks despite not knowing what a megawatt was.

13:45 - The core thesis emerges: following technology trends destroys business value. Ritavan argues that constantly chasing AI, cloud, or the latest tech is like an investor jumping between market fads—you're not playing the long game or building real competitive advantage.

20:30 - Revolutionary perspective on value creation paradigms throughout history: hunter-gatherers relied 40-60% on traps (automation), agriculture depended on land, industrial age on machinery and raw materials, while the digital paradigm offers zero replication costs and near-zero personalization costs.

27:00 - Introduces the SLASOG framework: Save (capital preservation, avoid groupthink), Leverage (find asymmetric opportunities), Align (commander's intent), Simplify (remove clutter), Optimize (maximize returns), Compound (play the long game), Keep (retain gains).

36:30 - Roger Federer insight: He won only 54% of points but 80% of games due to tennis's nonlinear scoring system—a powerful metaphor for business success requiring asymmetric opportunities, not perfection.

41:00 - Teaching the first LLM-native college students: Traditional assessment is obsolete when AI can summarize and synthesize better than humans. The solution? Open-ended problems with no single answer, forcing genuine creativity and collaboration.

48:30 - Napoleon's battlefield genius: treating each battle from first principles, understanding the system, finding nonlinear advantages, and pioneering "commander's intent"—ensuring even illiterate foot soldiers understood strategic goals, not just tactical orders.

54:45 - The North Star metric concept: Legacy businesses obsess over EBIT (backward-looking), but digital-age companies need forward-looking metrics that quantify customer value delivery to enable rapid adaptation and compounding gains.

Podcast Program – Disclosure Statement

Blue Infinitas Capital, LLC is a registered investment adviser and the opinions expressed by the Firm’s employees and podcast guests on this show are their own and do not reflect the opinions of Blue Infinitas Capital, LLC. All statements and opinions expressed are based upon information considered reliable although it should not be relied upon as such. Any statements or opinions are subject to change without notice.

Information presented is for educational purposes only and does not intend to make an offer or solicitation for the sale or purchase of any specific securities, investments, or investment strategies. Investments involve risk and unless otherwise stated, are not guaranteed.

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