o9 Solutions, a leading software company that is powering enterprise planning and decisioning models across 30-plus industry verticals with its groundbreaking Digital Brain platform, announced the promotion of Dr. Ashwin Rao, a multi-faceted leader with experiences across Wall Street, industry and academia, to the role of Chief Technology Officer (CTO).
Dr. Rao’s appointment signals o9’s commitment to the breakthrough innovations it is pioneering to transform enterprise decision-making for the new normal of VUCA (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity) in the age of AI. This 10x innovation is APEX – short for Agile, Adaptive, Autonomous Planning & Execution.
o9’s original breakthrough 10x innovation – the Digital Brain platform – was designed to optimize enterprise value by bridging functional, process and knowledge silos of enterprises and drive more agile planning and execution in response to market risks and opportunities. APEX builds on this innovation, recognizing that the next big 10x problem to solve is making change simpler, and transformations faster and more reliable in delivering value. To make this happen, the constraint is not just better planning and decision-making technology. The constraint is the traditional operating models themselves: Organization structures, processes, people skills, data all must be reimagined for the AI age.
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APEX is powered by a scientific knowledge-powered method and model that understands the complexity of enterprise business models, and how enterprise planning, decision-making and execution work at scale in volatile and uncertain business environments to drive enterprise value. Powered by that knowledge, APEX has powerful “Adaptive” capabilities that are constantly learning and identifying where and why value leakages occur in enterprises of all types across industries, how to measure and diagnose the root causes, and systematically and continuously improve and transform every planning and execution process, organizational skill, and capability to maximize enterprise value. APEX also systematically helps processes become more “Autonomous” with Agentic AI, automating routine analysis and actions, and augmenting human capabilities in higher-value decision-making and actioning.
The goal of APEX is to make the transformation journey much more simpler, faster, and more continuous to ensure that every decision, every process, and every function of the organization is constantly improving, and focused on optimizing enterprise value.
Rao, who operates at the intersection of AI, deep domain expertise, and industry experience, has already made immeasurable contributions to the advancement of APEX since joining o9 in November 2025 as Executive Vice President, Next-Gen AI and Technology. His pioneering work in neuro-symbolic AI – combining the pattern recognition of neural networks with the structured, domain-specific intelligence of o9’s Enterprise Knowledge Graph – is the differentiated, proven technology powering the APEX model. Rao has been building a strong technology team with several top-tier architect appointments, driving fast innovation of next-generation AI capabilities throughout o9’s technology organization.
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“Enterprise decision-making has never been more complex, or more volatile,” Rao said. “By combining the power of neuro-symbolic AI with deep industry and enterprise domain knowledge, APEX is systematically transforming how enterprises detect risks and opportunities, plan, decide, execute and learn at scale. This is the future of enterprise intelligence, and I am thrilled to step into the CTO role at such a pivotal moment for o9.”
Previously, Rao held executive positions at QXO, Target, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. He is currently an adjunct professor at Stanford University’s Institute for Computational and Mathematical Engineering, where he researches in the field of reinforcement learning and teaches graduate-level courses in AI.
“Ashwin is an outstanding technologist because he understands the constraints and opportunities for true business value generation,” said Chakri Gottemukkala, Executive Chairman, Co-Founder and CEO, o9 Solutions. “His conviction in neuro-symbolic AI, combined with an approach that connects vision to daily practical innovation and execution, will increase o9’s value creation potential and speed for our customers.”
