The Story Of Black Knight Risk Management With Otuoze Baiye

Written By xavi umeh

Our guest in this episode of Ace Founder is Otuoze Baiye, founder of Black Knight Risk Management.

Otuoze is one of those founders you come across on LinkedIn and just have to get on the show.

A West Point graduate, former US Army Missile Defense Officer, and bank regulator who never planned to start a company — until the federal government gave him no choice.

In this conversation, Otuoze shares the story behind Black Knight Risk Management — a consultancy helping regulated firms and government agencies implement emerging technology, including AI, without falling foul of the regulators.

📚 What We Talk About:

  • 00:06 From missile defense officer to bank regulator to founder — a career nobody planned

  • 08:11 Why being in the bottom third at West Point led to one of the most unique career paths in cybersecurity

  • 16:00 The story behind the name — and why Black Knight means more than just a chess piece

  • 18:47 What Black Knight does — and why every AI implementation starts with the use case, not the tool

  • 25:30 Why bringing AI into a regulated firm is a cross-functional problem, not an IT problem

  • 32:51 What makes Black Knight different — and why nobody else has been both a missile officer and a bank regulator

  • 35:44 How he uses LinkedIn — and why getting over the cringe factor changed everything

  • 42:14 Final tip — say yes to more things and see where it takes you

💭 Key Quotes:

  • "I have never worked this hard in my entire life — and the Army is a 24/7 job."

  • "I don't come in and tell people to fire half their developers. I'm there to make the team they have better using technology."

  • "You have to just get over years of looking cringe on LinkedIn. That's the only way it's gonna happen."

  • "Whether people are talking about me good or bad — this is the only way I'm gonna make money."

  • "Make connections. Say yes to as many things as possible. Step out of your comfort zone and see where it carries you."

🔗 Connect With Our Guest:

xavi umeh
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