Stan is an expert on the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). His mission with RTI is to make the world run better. By enabling a new generation of intelligent distributed systems, RTI boldly seeks to transform entire industries. We particularly seek applications that promote a sustainable, safe, green, and healthy planet.
Biography
Stan is CEO of Real-Time Innovations (RTI), the largest Industrial IoT connectivity vendor. RTI leads the edge autonomy market with over 1300 designs in Energy, Medical, Automotive, Transportation, Defense, and Industrial Control.
Stan is also Vice Chair of the Industrial IoT’s largest consortium, the IIC. He also serves on the advisory board for industry’s largest event, the IoT Solutions World Congress.
Stan sold his previous software tools company to Wind River (now Intel) in 2005. Before that, Stan managed a large Stanford robotics laboratory, led an embedded communications software team and built data acquisition systems for automotive impact testing.
Stan holds a PhD from Stanford in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science with a focus in autonomous systems.
Stan is rated in as a top 25 global Industrial IoT influencer by IoTOne and was named Embedded Computing Design’s Top Embedded Innovator Award for 2015.
Q&A
What defines a successful leader?
A successful leader is one who has (successful) followers. There are many, many dimensions to that. But most fundamentally, people follow visionary, competent, honest optimists. Why?
- Visionary: they have to know where you’re going
- Competent: they have to believe you know what you’re doing
- Honest: they must believe you
- Optimist: you have to inspire them to strive for a better world.
Culture and talent are important to any company’s success. How do you engage and inspire your workforce?
To inspire, you have to paint the bigger picture, and show people their role in that bigger picture. You have to present the technology’s value to the world, the company’s value to customers, the employee’s value to the company, and the management’s value to the employees. Inspiration is never about you; it’s about what you can do for others.
This is easy with RTI. By connecting AI to distributed networks, RTI is fortunate to have a unique role in enabling a new generation of smart machines. Our software runs the largest renewable power plants on the continent, controls over 200 autonomous vehicles, manages air traffic on three continents, drives a new generation of medical robotics, controls hyperloop and flying cars, and provides 24×7 medical intelligence to hospital patients and emergency victims. We enable a safer, healthier, and greener future. We quite literally make the world run better.
To engage, you must articulate your values, both as a leader and as a company. Then, you have to live those values. Ensure that you act with character. Build a transparency culture. Empower people to recognize each other, trust them to manage their lives, and expect them to be frugal with resources. Then make sure your values and culture match your market.
Our customers bet their futures when they rely on RTI for their fundamental infrastructure. They buy from us because they trust us with their future. Everything in our culture revolves around the imperative to be trustworthy.
Innovation and disruption are reshaping industries every day. What do you see as the number one game-changer facing businesses today?
The number one factor in business is the exponential increase in computing power. AI will disrupt every business in every industry. Intelligence will rewrite competition, re-arrange supplier chains, and reimagine labor relations.
Historians will look back on our time and wonder how we got by without smart machines.
Challenges abound in today’s fast-changing business environment. What keeps you up at night?
Recruiting, retaining, and affording talent. The incredible cost of awareness. Deciding on a financial future plan for the company. And building a robust culture that can survive growth.
Why did you join Bloomberg Breakaway?
I thrive on “outsight”. I was impressed with the list of attendees and the agenda. I have a lot to learn!
Even CEOs need downtime. How do you recharge?
I take a “real vacation” every year, defined as at least 2 wks with no work contact at all. In fact, that is now company policy. I like to travel around the world to new cultures.
I run 3x/wk (about 16mi), and work out in the gym 1x/wk. I also ski, mountain bike, hike, rollerblade, and snowshoe. I’m an amateur photographer; see www.flickr.com/stanshots
I’m also a Game of Thrones fan, but who isn’t these days?
In the news
RTI Earns Frost & Sullivan’s 2019 Global Product Leadership Award
RTI Announces the First Medical-Grade Connectivity Framework
RTI Announces the First Connectivity Software for Highly Autonomous Systems
eBook: The Rise of the Robot Overlords: Clarifying the Industrial IoT written by Dr. Stan Schneider
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