Allison Lami Sawyer became an engineer because her high school math teacher told her she'd be "stupid" not to. He was right: she studied engineering physics and loved it. After getting a masters degree, she decided she'd get bored doing a PhD, and went to business school instead. She was hoping- although she didn't say it out loud- that she'd find a co-founder to start her own business. Her physics background let her read a very technical paper about a new optics technology and immediately see its potential. The author and she became business partners.
Seven years later, Allison is the CEO of Rebellion Photonics, the company they built. Her technical background has been crucial to her success as CEO of a company that helps oil and gas companies identify leaks at its fields and refineries. She tells us about growing as a CEO, finding her tribe of women leaders, and what's next for her.
For the past seven years, Allison Lami Sawyer has been the CEO of Rebellion Photonics, which makes hyperspectral video cameras to detect leaks at oil and gas fields and refineries. Allison talked with us about how her role as CEO has evolved as Rebellion photonics has grown, how her physics and engineering background have been critical to her success as a tech CEO, and that "the hardest part of starting my own company was finding the starting line."
