Colton Calandrella, Co-Founder and CEO of Barti, was honored with the Emerging Leader Award at Washington University in St. Louis (WashU) Olin Business School's Distinguished Alumni Awards ceremony on March 26, 2026, held at the Missouri Botanical Garden in St. Louis, Missouri.
About the Award
The Olin Emerging Leader Award recognizes recent WashU Olin Business School graduates who demonstrate exceptional leadership, innovative thinking, and meaningful impact on their organizations and industries. Colton was selected alongside a group of distinguished honorees spanning healthcare, finance, and construction — and received his award from Olin Business School Dean Anthony Johnson, himself a Distinguished Alumni honoree at the same ceremony.
Colton's Journey to Barti
Since graduating magna cum laude from Washington University in St. Louis in 2017 with majors in entrepreneurship and economics & strategy, Colton has built a career centered on technology that improves complex systems. At Barti, that means giving eye-care providers AI-powered tools — including AI medical scribes and practice management software — that reduce administrative burden and keep the focus on patient care. Under his leadership, Barti has raised $12 million in Series A funding and received a direct investment from AOAExcel, the for-profit subsidiary of the American Optometric Association, making Barti the only company to earn that distinction.
