As the first Chief Innovation Officer for the Central Ohio Transit Authority (COTA), Sophia brought a keen understanding of the rapid transformation of the global transportation industry.

Since joining COTA in September 2019, Sophia has focused on expanding the use of technology to reimagine and advance mobility. She has played a key role in rolling out the first bus on-demand service in North America as well as an effort to share artificial intelligence data regarding traffic, infrastructure and connected vehicle data across Central Ohio.

Sophia comes to COTA from the private sector, having worked 17 years at NetJets, a Berkshire Hathaway company headquartered in Columbus. She joined NetJets in 2002 as a business analyst and became the company’s first director of product development, and then its first vice president of owner experience design and strategy. Prior to NetJets, Sophia started her career as a human factors design engineer for IBM, then served as a consultant and manager for a global technology and consulting company.

A Columbus native, Sophia earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in industrial and systems engineering from The Ohio State University, with a specialization in designing systems and services for people.