Scott Charter on Adventures in AI

In this episode of the Nomad Futurist podcast, co-hosts Nabeel Mahmood and Phillip Koblence welcome Scott Charter, Ambassador for the Nomad Futurist Foundation and Director of AI & Cloud Strategy at Oracle. Charter offers a refreshingly honest and human perspective on tech leadership, sharing the unconventional journey that took him from law school student to entrepreneur to AI strategist, with a few surprising detours along the way.

Charter begins by recounting his unconventional entry into technology, driven by necessity while living out of his 1971 Volkswagen bus and attending law school:

“I got a job working in technology for no other reason than they needed someone that spoke Spanish... Because of that, I was able to get into an apartment, get out of my VW bus, finish up law school, and stay in tech.”

From there, Charter went on to found WBS Connect, building the business from the ground up. Despite its success, he offers a candid look behind the scenes of entrepreneurship:

“Entrepreneurship is not as cool as it looks from the outside. There's a lot of work on the inside, [for instance], on Christmas morning - when all of my staff around the world were opening presents with their family, I was taking Tier 1, Tier 2 support.”

His appetite for adventure and risk-taking is clear from stories like impulsively moving to Amsterdam and launching a travel business in Costa Rica. Today, at Oracle, Charter’s focus has shifted to the rapidly evolving world of AI and cloud strategy, where continuous learning is a must:

“I get to go around and talk about what's going on in AI and... spend more time than I even did in law school reading. I just can't believe how much time it takes to keep up with the AI trends that are going on.”

From living in a VW bus to shaping the future of AI strategy, Charter’s journey is a powerful testament to adaptability, risk-taking, and a relentless drive for innovation.

To follow Scott Charter on his next adventure, connect with him on LinkedIn.