Roger Rohatgi - Chief AI Officer (Former VP Global Head of Design at BP, with past work with brands such as Verizon, Twitter, MTV, Motorola Solutions, Oracle and more)

What happens when a motion designer turned creative director becomes one of the world’s leading voices in Human-Centered AI?

In this episode, Roger Rohatgi takes us on a remarkable journey from lifeguarding and cleaning gas pumps to leading multi-agent AI systems and 86,000-component design systems at global scale. We talk about the messy human side of creative leadership - how putting on gloves with your team changes everything, the power of “designing together,” and how the UX of today is shaping the AI of tomorrow.

This one goes deep: responsible design, Synthetic Humans, social TV, the importance of feedback, and the personal moment that made his dad proud.

He also shares what it means to be “already approved” - and why that idea might just change your whole career.

You can connect with Roger on LinkedIn here

I'll be releasing an end of season 'thank you' next week - but for now, I want to say a huge thank you to Roger for ending Season One of Awaiting Approval Podcast with such insight, and thank you to every guest and listener who has supported the show. And a very special thank you to Jasmin Egner who through her support, patience and invaluable insight has helped make this podcast what it is. We’ve built something special together.Keep your eyes and ears peeled for a special season bonus episode dropping soon!

Special thanks on this episode to Steve and Stu at Mantis Broadcast for their last minute help on my audio for this episode, and to Sam at Curzon Cinema for letting me film the pre-roll insert there.

This is Awaiting Approval. A podcast about the messy, human side of creative leadership.

Hosted by Adam Jennings - a creative leader with three decades of experience leading teams and projects for global brands including Microsoft, Salesforce, 20th Century Fox, Paramount Pictures, Ancestry, Dolby, BBC and many more - this show features honest, unscripted conversations with the leaders shaping design, storytelling, and innovation today.

These are the conversations you don’t hear in keynotes. The ones about imposter syndrome, trust, failure, confidence, and finding your voice as a leader.

Whether you’re just stepping into creative leadership or you’ve been at it for years, Awaiting Approval is your place to feel seen, challenged, and encouraged.

Awaiting Approval is a Cordial Fox production.Hosted by Adam JenningsProduced by Adam Jennings & Jasmin Egner© Cordial Fox Limited, 2025.

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