Roy Clay: The Entrepreneur Who Transformed an Industry

Command Line Heroes

Roy Clay had to chase after opportunities. But landing a promising position wasn’t the finish line. Roy Clay pushed those opportunities beyond their mandate, transforming an industry in the process.

Kathy Cotton recounts how few opportunities Roy Clay had growing up—but how, later, talk of his genius helped him get his break in the tech industry. Chuck House describes how Clay’s qualifications and experience were just what Hewlett and Packard were looking for. Bill Davidow explains how Clay made his mark at HP building a department, and shaping the strategy for a revolutionary 16-bit minicomputer. And in Clay, Ken Coleman found a role model and mentor. He followed in Clay’s footsteps, and helped expand a legacy of inclusion.

Chuck House interviewed Roy Clay for his blog.

Kathy Cotton featured Roy Clay in her documentary "A Place at the Table."

Here is the full interview of Roy Clay with Dr. Barbara Canon and Rev. McKnight.

If you want to read up on some of our research on Roy Clay, you can check out all our bonus material over at redhat.com/commandlineheroes.

Follow along with the episode transcript.