Roy Clay: The Entrepreneur Who Transformed an Industry

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Roy Clay | Command Line Heroes

About the episode

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.

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It's a hot summer day in Ferguson, Missouri. Early 1940s. A young man hired to mow lawns is taking a break, drinking a Coca-Cola outside a local shop. But he's a Black young man, and he's taking that break on the wrong side of town. He's picked up by the police and handcuffed and taken to the station. 70 years before Michael Brown was shot and Ferguson was rocked by protests, conflicts with the police were a regular part of life for the city's Black population. Documentary filmmaker, Kathy Cotton of "A Place at the Table," explains. The name of the house and a name of the people in the house, they don't care. They take him to jail because he is on the wrong side of town. That was a normal occurrence for a lot of Black people if you were walking in a white neighborhood. There's a mindset that has been in this country from day one. Hopefully we're going to try to change that somehow, but we'll see. We'll see how it goes. This is a story about opportunities, who gets them and who doesn't. That teenager the police picked up? His name was Roy Clay. And years later, when he was finally given an opportunity to shine—when he was finally allowed to show the world what kind of work he could do—Roy Clay would remake one of the world's most powerful tech companies. And when he did, he also lifted up a whole generation of tech pioneers. I'm Saron Yitbarek and this is Command Line Heroes, an original podcast from Red Hat. All season long, we're celebrating the leaders and inventors that the history books sometimes leave out. Tech trailblazers, who had to fight against the tide while working to change the world. And the story of Roy Clay's phenomenal career doesn't just matter because of his personal accomplishments. When he finally got a chance to do the work he came to do, he was going to bring a lot more people along with him. That's why his story matters. Roy Clay reshaped and redefined Silicon Valley itself. Years before the U.S. Supreme Court made segregation illegal, Roy Clay's parents, who saw their son's potential, worked to get him into an all-white high school. He became the top student, despite facing challenges being the only Black kid in school. His parents encouraged him to excel wherever he could. He shined, especially in math. Next, Clay graduated as the first Black person to earn a mathematics degree from Saint Louis University. This was 1951. And brilliant as Clay was, searching for meaningful work in tech was at first pretty futile. Hiring managers liked the way he looked on paper, but they balked when the interview happened and a Black man walked through the door. For a few years, teaching math at high school was his best option. But Clay persevered. The space race with the Soviet Union was in full swing and math wizards like Clay were crucial for the nation's high tech engineering efforts. So, in 1956, he managed to get a job as a computer programmer at McDonnell Aircraft Corporation. A couple years after that, he was working at the Lawrence Livermore Lab, developing a computer program to track radiation fallout from atomic bombs. Next, he was building mainframes, and even a Fortran compiler for Control Data Corporation. The word got out, they had this Black man who was a math genius, and through conferences or meetings or whatever, his name is still out there as this little genius. And then an opportunity—an opportunity that matched Roy Clay's potential—began to take shape. The age of vacuum tubes and punch cards was coming to a close. The age of the microprocessor was just beginning. Combined with advances in transistors and core memory, those new microprocessors opened a world of possibilities. Computers didn't need to be jumbo, room-sized mainframes anymore. Suddenly, it was possible to build a minicomputer, about the size of a hotel mini bar. Which—I know—not so mini by today's standards, but it was a game changer at the time. Smaller computers meant they could be placed in new environments. And that, combined with shrinking prices, meant a world of new practical uses. Digital Equipment Corporation produced the very first minicomputer in 1965, an $18,000 bargain compared to old mainframes and even more affordable minis were on the way. This was going to revolutionize the computer landscape. Meanwhile, over at Hewlett-Packard, one of the guys in charge wanted in on that emerging marketplace. Dave Packard became interested in the idea of computers. Which was strange because... Hewlett-Packard was an instrument company. It was not a computer company. Chuck House worked at HP during those crucial early years. HP had been founded in 1939 and by 1966, 1967, was a very solid, $200 million a year company building oscilloscopes and voltmeters and frequency counters and things like that. But Dave Packard was convinced that HP needed to expand into computers. The problem was, nobody at HP really knew how to build computers. They were going to need some help. Bill Davidow was working at HP at the time. We really didn't have any computer expertise. We had some people who understood digital circuits, but we didn't have any computer expertise. So, HP went hunting. They were looking for the right person to come in and lead their computer division. Now, you know where this is going. They were looking for somebody like Roy Clay. The question was, would they be smart enough to actually hire him? Some of the senior computer people at CDC said, "There's this guy. His name is Roy Clay. He's really sharp and he's looking for an opportunity." Clay had been working at Control Data Corporation for several years by then, building mainframe computers. But he had one foot out the door because he wanted more independence and more control over his projects. When we checked around, everybody said Roy was really, really good. He had worked on large computers, mainframe computers, and he certainly understood the architecture and how to build computers. Roy Clay was invited to Palo Alto. He met with Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard themselves. And these guys really did their homework. At that point in time, Hewlett-Packard was very careful about hiring anybody in a very senior position. They made sure that they knew this person and they knew they could work with them and they knew they were good. HP was known for the HP Way. The HP Way was this whole management philosophy developed by the company's founders, Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard. It was big on trust, it was respectful, it involved everybody in decision making. And it was pretty revolutionary for the 1960s. Roy Clay was exactly the kind of person who would thrive in that environment. And Roy was perfect. He was this kind of collaborative guy that really fit the HP Way. And crucially, Hewlett and Packard were the kind of leaders who could see past Roy Clay's skin color and recognize his talent. The year was 1967. Civil rights was very much front and center in the country. And HP was taking a step that a lot of companies frankly weren't brave enough to take. This was a pretty big step to make Roy a section manager. Section managers at HP were pretty significant people in the organization. Roy Clay was hired to develop HP's very first computer. It was an enormous responsibility. It was really a startup within a larger company. Roy was really like the president of a startup. Clay was made the director of HP's new computer research and development department. And he threw himself into the work. HP's computer was going to be an instrument controller. Its job was going to be getting data from scientific instruments, and then analyzing that data and presenting the results. Think about it. This machine was going to be working on a factory floor maybe, or out in a field somewhere, places where the traditional mainframe could never survive. We decided to call our computers instrument controllers because we didn't think anybody would buy a computer from Hewlett-Packard. But we thought they might buy an instrument controller. But Clay wasn't interested in just making an instrument controller. He was interested in making a real computer. Something robust and flexible. Something that could do a whole lot more than control instruments. Roy convinced us that what we needed to do was build a minicomputer, not an instrument controller. Roy Clay was seeing the bigger picture. He understood that smaller, cheaper computers were the future. Clay managed a team of about 15 engineers. And while he was managing, he was also hands-on. He was writing software, working on the hardware, thinking through the entire system architecture. Not only was he a manager, but he was a very good technologist. He could write code and design digital circuits. The computer Roy Clay had in mind was going to have some revolutionary features. This was 1967, and most computers were still using punch cards and paper tapes. But Clay wanted to give his machine the power to connect with other devices. He wanted it to have interrupts and priority interrupt systems. Features that seem obvious today, but were groundbreaking back then. That interrupt structure allowed the computer to go do lots of different things and prioritize what was important. Picture a computer that could suddenly handle multiple tasks, a computer that could receive a signal from a scientific instrument and immediately drop whatever else it was doing to handle that priority. That was revolutionary. Roy really architected that machine and he really built the team that executed it. Clay's computer was designated the HP 2116A. And when it debuted in November 1966, it was a game changer. Here was a computer built to survive real world conditions. It was fast, it was rugged. It could be programmed in Fortran, which was a really big deal back then. And you could buy it for $25,000. That was way less than a typical mainframe. When we announced the 2116, the world noticed and it was a huge success. It really was a huge success. The 2116A put HP on the map as a computer company. Clay's design made it possible for HP to compete against much larger companies, like IBM and Digital Equipment Corporation. And Clay was not done. He moved up to director of Computer Operations, responsible for the manufacturing of all HP computers. Roy had built an organization and a strategy and a great team. And he really transformed HP from an instrument company to a company that was very effective in the computer business. Think about that for a second. Roy Clay almost single-handedly transformed Hewlett-Packard from an instrument company into a computer company. That's a pretty extraordinary legacy. But what Roy Clay did next was maybe even more important. Once he'd built himself a power base at HP, he was determined to bring more diversity into the company. This was still the 1960s, remember. And the tech industry was, to put it mildly, not very diverse. I was working at a place called Raytheon Computer. Ken Coleman was a young computer programmer and he'd heard about this Black manager over at HP. And Roy Clay was like a legend. Everybody in the Valley knew about Roy, you know, what he had done. Not just Black folks, but everybody. Coleman had finished the computer science program at UC Berkeley, but he was having trouble getting the kind of job he wanted. Then he heard Roy Clay was looking for people. In 1970, Roy came and recruited me to come to HP. Ken Coleman joined HP's computer division. And he was part of something pretty special. Roy was trying to make sure that competent Black people were brought into the computer industry, because at the time, there were very, very few. Roy Clay was using his position to hire African Americans whenever he could find them. People like Ken Coleman, who had the skills and the education, but weren't getting opportunities elsewhere. Roy would go out of his way to find and identify qualified Black people to bring them into this company and into this industry. Roy was very deliberate about that. Clay didn't just hire people and then forget about them. He nurtured their careers. Roy was a good manager. He was very supportive. He created a good environment for his employees to work in. I think all of us who worked for Roy really enjoyed working for him. Coleman describes Clay as a leader who got the best out of people, regardless of their race. Roy had high standards and high expectations for all of his employees. I mean, he didn't bring you in just because you were Black. He brought you in because he felt you could do the job. But once you got there, you had to perform. And Clay's team did perform. They developed the next generation of HP computers, including the 21MX series. And Clay's dedication to diversity was having a real impact. During the early 1970s, Clay had built one of the most diverse engineering teams in all of Silicon Valley. I would say we had by far more Black engineers than anybody else at the time. It was not even close. Remember, this was during the era of affirmative action, but Clay's hiring wasn't about meeting quotas. It was about recognizing talent that other companies were missing. We weren't hiring people who were unqualified. We were just saying there are a lot of qualified people out there that are getting ignored and let's go get them. Clay's influence went beyond HP, too. Other companies started taking notice. If you look around the Valley, there are a lot of Black people who at some point worked for Roy, either directly or indirectly. Clay was changing the culture of Silicon Valley itself. But success came with a price. By 1973, Clay was feeling burnt out. The pressure of being one of the few Black executives in tech was intense. Plus, he had dreams of starting his own company. I think Roy felt like he was under a microscope. Roy did a lot of community activities. So on top of his HP job, he was serving on various boards and committees. Plus, he had to be a role model for all of us. It was a lot of pressure. In 1973, Clay left HP to start his own company, ROD-L Electronics. The company specialized in safety testing equipment for electronics. And Clay did something pretty remarkable. He made sure his new company was diverse from day one. At one point, ROD-L had a workforce that was 50% Black, 25% Latino, and 25% white. That was practically unheard of in Silicon Valley. Roy's company was probably more diverse than anything today. I mean, he really walked the walk. Clay ran ROD-L for 20 years, and the company became a major supplier to Silicon Valley manufacturers. But Clay's impact extended beyond business. He got involved in politics, serving on the Palo Alto City Council and eventually becoming vice mayor. Roy was also involved in a number of community organizations. He was on the board of trustees at Stanford University. He was involved with the Urban League. He was just very active in the community. Throughout his career, Roy Clay proved that diversity makes companies stronger. The engineers he hired went on to have successful careers at HP and other tech companies. And his example inspired other managers to take diversity seriously. Roy proved that you could have a successful, diverse organization. And that diversity actually strengthened the organization rather than weakened it. Clay's legacy at HP continued long after he left. The computer division he built became the foundation for HP's transformation into one of the world's largest technology companies. Roy really put HP on the map in the computer business. Without Roy, I don't think HP would have ever become the computer company that it became. And the computer Roy designed, the HP 2116A, became the ancestor of an entire family of HP computers. Computers that powered everything from air traffic control systems to factory automation. The 2116 was this wonderful computer that really launched HP's computer business and made HP a credible computer company. Today, Roy Clay is recognized as one of the pioneers of Silicon Valley. But for the people who worked with him, his greatest achievement was showing that the tech industry could be inclusive and successful at the same time. Roy believed that if you give people an opportunity and you support them, they will succeed. And he proved that over and over again. Roy made a difference not just in my life, but in the lives of a lot of people. And I think that's his greatest legacy. The computer revolution that Roy Clay helped launch at HP went on to transform the world. And along the way, he proved that diversity isn't just the right thing to do—it's also good business. When we give talented people opportunities, regardless of their background, everybody wins. Roy was this amazing person who really contributed to HP, contributed to the industry, contributed to the community. He was a pioneer in every sense of the word. Roy Clay's story is a reminder that innovation comes from unexpected places. And when we're open to talent wherever we find it, we create opportunities for breakthroughs that change everything. Roy Clay is a legend. He's somebody that I think every day. And the community is better for Roy. Not just HP is better, Silicon Valley is better because Roy walked this way and made a broad, lasting contribution to our industry and to our community. It's work that Coleman took on, too. In fact, when he left HP and worked for 14 years at Silicon Graphics, Coleman helped build one of the most diverse workplaces in tech. And today decades after Clay made those first inroads, Coleman still mentors and lifts up Black men and women in Silicon Valley. Because the work is far from finished. If you look at the 20 largest companies in America that do not have Blacks on the board of directors, 12 of those are technology companies, most of those headquartered in Silicon Valley. To me, that's an embarrassment for the area and for the industry. In the world of tech, we often like to imagine things are run as a meritocracy. But hiring practices tell another story. Studies show that biased decisions keep women and people of color out of management roles all the time. And that's a truth we've been living with since way back when Roy Clay tried to bring Hewlett-Packard into the computer age. It had been almost half a century, but Roy Clay was more clear than ever on some things. He knew exactly what kind of obstacles he would face. The town I was born in was Black owned. The town I lived around was white owned, and we were not permitted to go into the areas at different times. So, I always had to be prepared to support myself and defend myself when I was surrounded by my neighbors who didn't want me there. My parents were very supportive. They supported everything I did. In fact, they motivated me to go ahead. Who's left in charge can make all the difference. It changes the course of a person's life. It changes the course of a whole field of inventions. What Roy Clay hopes for these days, is an industry where more people are earning each other's respect. Not by simply accomplishing things, but by lifting each other up. Well, look at everything. And everything is related to everything else. That's all. Just keep that in mind, learn whatever you can and help others learn what they can. I do the best I can, and I tell everybody, "Do the best you can for someone else." It's very simple. Roy Clay can rest assured he's made that change in the lives of many others. He was the first of many things and set a great example for people, and he's still revered by people that came behind him. Not just me, not just Black people in HP, but Black people in the Valley. He was the icon, the person we all looked up to. He was a role model. And everything that I've done and achieved flows from him being a supporter and role model for me. Clay studied by candlelight when he was a child. And from the 1930s to today, he's seen massive change in the way Black people are given opportunities. He made his mark at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, at Control Data Corporation, at Hewlett-Packard, at his own company, ROD-L Electronics, and even at Palo Alto's City Hall. Because he was given a chance, he grew into one of the elder statesmen of his industry. A leader who could bring about real change. His accomplishments were recognized in 2003, when he was inducted into the Silicon Valley Engineering Council's Hall of Fame. I've had a great life, one that I enjoyed very much. Because I lived life, I gave respect. I gave respect and demanded respect in return. Of course, racism still plagues young Black people who want to make it in tech. But Clay's own life story is proof that it's possible to overcome. Some part of him has been hopeful in that way ever since he was a teenager getting harassed by the police. He reflected on that moment during a cable access show called Education in Our Community, back in 2013. I could have been another Trayvon Martin, and I told my mother what had just happened. And she said to me, "You're going to encounter racism for the rest of your life, but don't ever let that be a reason why you don't succeed." It was a mission Roy Clay held true—not just for himself, but for his whole community. His hope has been that Black lives are given a chance to thrive. When he was speaking to the interviewer about Trayvon Martin back then, and all the Black lives that have been cut short, he seemed especially hurt by the idea that their potential would never be known. Reflecting on his own impressive life today and all he's accomplished, Clay said: They should know that I don't want them to praise me for what I've done. This is what we can learn to do, and that is what all of us can do. This is Command Line Heroes, an original podcast from Red Hat. For more info on Roy Clay and the early days of Hewlett-Packard's computer line, check out redhat.com/commandlineheroes. Next time, we're learning about the woman whose work on flight trajectories helped NASA put Neil Armstrong on the moon. In the meantime: I'm Saron Yitbarek. Thanks for listening. And keep on coding.

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Command Line Heroes

During its run from 2018 to 2022, Command Line Heroes shared the epic true stories of developers, programmers, hackers, geeks, and open source rebels, and how they revolutionized the technology landscape. Relive our journey through tech history, and use #CommandLinePod to share your favorite episodes.