My story
I started by studying how cells work together. Now I help people and AI do the same.
I'm Dani Botaro — scientist by training, culture builder by experience, and AI adoption leader today. Every chapter taught me the same thing: transformation doesn't happen in technology. It happens in people.
- 01
2011 – 2015 · The scientist
I learned to see systems, not parts.
My PhD in Biophysics (UFRJ & TU München) taught me that you can't understand a living system by studying one cell at a time. As a postdoc I led Plataforma CpE, connecting 25,000+ researchers and educators across Brazil — my first lesson that knowledge only matters when people can use it.
- 02
2015 – 2018 · The consultant
I took that lens into companies.
At ImpulsoBeta I advised 30+ enterprise clients on inclusion, built KPIs and assessments, ran mentoring for 80+ pairs and spoke at 20+ conferences. I found that culture change follows the same rules as biology: change the conditions, and behavior follows.
- 03
2018 – 2025 · The culture builder
I proved people change can be measured.
As Head of Culture & Inclusion for Oracle in LATAM & US, I led a team of 7 and a $2M budget. Using workforce data, we cut female attrition by 30%, lifted Black Brazilian hiring from 5% to 17%, raised engagement of women in tech by 30+ points, and grew 12 employee groups reaching 6,000 people a year.
- 04
2025 – today · The AI translator
Now I help people make AI part of their work.
As AI Culture & Adoption Director at Oracle, I own AI adoption and literacy for 4,000+ employees. I built the AI IMPACT framework, led change management for the GenAI rollout, founded a 42-person champions community, and cut AI usage cost 45% in one quarter by reusing what works. I translate between technology, people and the C-suite.
From my writing
What a Ph.D. in Biophysics has taught me about system thinking
For most of my career, my background was the thing I had to explain. A biophysicist in HR. A scientist running culture and inclusion, and now AI adoption. But biophysics is the study of an ecosystem: you measure a piece, then learn the piece told you almost nothing — what matters lives in how the pieces affect each other.
When I look at my resume, I don't find a ladder. I find questions:
- How do we produce more and better protein for a growing population? Master's, 2005
- How do we do it cleanly, without wrecking what feeds us? PhD in Biophysics, 2010
- How do I communicate science so people can decide about their own health? Postdoc, 2012
- Where were the women in science? Gender research, 2015
- How do we change the system so opportunity reaches more talented people? Corporate career, 2016
- How do we bring more people into the AI revolution? AI adoption leader, 2025
Every one has the same shape: it can't be answered from inside one specialty. At Oracle, problems arrived as program requests — run a training, fix the hiring funnel. But attraction, selection, onboarding, pay, sponsorship, promotion, belonging and exit are a loop, not a funnel.
Today, the AI failures I see are almost never about the model. The real question is the same one as always: who does this system actually reach — and who quietly falls out while the numbers look fine?
“The scarce skill was always the one nobody had a job title for. Mine was never a path. It was a list of questions, and they were all the same question.”
How I work
Systems thinker
I look at the whole: how roles, tools, incentives and habits interact before redesigning any one piece.
Builder & mover
Behavioral assessments describe me as an innovative, “outside the box” thinker with a strong sense of urgency — undaunted by setbacks.
Agile under change
My leadership assessment's standout strength: adjusting approach, working within constraints and rebounding fast — the profile of leaders who guide transitions.
Persuasive communicator
From TEDx stages to MIT Sloan Review Brasil columns, I turn complex ideas into stories people act on.
Education
PhD, Science/Biophysics — UFRJ & TU München
MBA certificate, Human Resources Management — BSP São Paulo
The next chapter
I'm open to senior roles leading talent and workforce transformation with AI — and to helping growing businesses do the same.
Let's talk →