On Saturday, July 19th, the WZCC-NY chapter and ZAGNY hosted a discussion with Rohan Doctor [ LinkedIn ] entitled “Using AI to Connect People, Not Replace Them” at Hunter College’s Silberman Campus. Mr. Doctor is the Founder and CEO of Louisa AI, a networking platform for corporates and organizations that automatically creates user profiles from clients’ databases and pulls in newsfeeds to proactively connect people who may know each other. This allows colleagues across geographies and job functions to leverage each other’s connections to generate and close deals.
Event Reported By Jeh Mory
Mr. Doctor, a 17-year veteran of Goldman Sachs who most recently served as Managing Director and Head of Bank Solutions in the company’s Hong Kong office, founded Louisa within Goldman’s internal incubator before spinning it out in 2023.
Moderated by Jivahn Moradian, himself a project manager at an AI cosmetics startup, the discussion began with Mr. Doctor explaining how he developed the idea for Louisa after a chance encounter at a water cooler led to the closing of a large transaction. When asked how he closed the deal and, more importantly, how he might replicate it, he responded: “systematize serendipity with data.” Louisa was created to do just that.
Goldman seeded the company within its internal incubator, leveraged its technology for use within its own business, and spun it off in 2023, allowing it to develop relationships with corporate clients across the finance and consulting sectors. In Mr. Doctor’s view, Louisa’s niche and experience at the intersection of Wall Street and Silicon Valley offered a key differentiator—allowing the company to better understand and focus on the needs and preferences of its unique client base.
Other key discussion points centered on Mr. Doctor’s views and perspectives on entrepreneurship and AI, the latter of which was particularly intriguing. His implementation of AI as an explicit connector of people—prompting Person A that her colleague, Person B, and her ex-college roommate, Person C, could potentially do business with each other halfway around the world (if only they knew the other existed)—stands alongside the equally explicit reality that productivity gains from AI could allow four individuals to do the work that once required forty. Platforms such as Louisa demonstrate that innovation allows us to do new kinds of work, rather than merely perform old tasks more efficiently—just like how one person with Excel cannot be replaced by forty people with calculators.
Throughout the discussion, Mr. Doctor referred to his Zoroastrian faith and Parsi identity, musing about how a Zoroastrian instance or cluster on his platform might allow the community to similarly leverage the knowledge and connections of our far-flung, high-achieving members.
The event concluded with a brief demonstration of the platform, allowing the audience to experience the user interface and visualize how a news article or user profile might unlock second- or third-degree connections—whether in a professional or personal capacity.
Catch the Full Talk + Help Grow Our Community Impact
📺 Watch the full video recap here:
👉 https://youtu.be/XbPf1rKvGL0
🎓 Apply for internships at Louisa AI (New York & Mumbai):
👉 www.louisa.ai/careers
💡 Refer a potential client (senior professional at a finance or consulting firm) and unlock a $10,000 donation to a Zoroastrian organization of your choice — WZCC, ZAGNY, FEZANA, WZO, ZTFE, etc.
🌱 Support the future: Louisa AI has donated a seed-stage stake to WZCC, meaning the Zoroastrian community will benefit directly from its future success.
🙏 Thank You to:
- Rohan Doctor, Speaker
- Jivahn Moradian, Moderator
- Dr. Shahriyour Andaz, Event Sponsor
- Hunter College, Venue Host
- Our 70+ attendees, volunteers & organizers!
Want to stay in touch or ask questions?
📬 Contact us: https://ny.wzcc.us/contact-us
