Chike Aguh
Head of Innovation & Strategy, Kapor Center
Chike Aguh (pronounced Chee-kay Ah-Goo) works at the intersection of innovation, economic opportunity and the future of work. First in his family born in America, his family’s journey—from a village without electricity to him serving an American president—shaped his commitment to ensuring that the economy that opened doors for his family does the same for everyone else.
Today, Chike works to ensure America equips its people for the industries of the future and sees that those industries benefit every American. He serves as the inaugural Head of Innovation & Strategy at the Kapor Center— founded by Dr. Freada Kapor Klein and Lotus founder Mitch Kapor. Reporting to Co-Chair Kapor Klein, he operates across philanthropy, impact investing and policy to scale gap-closing startups using frontier technologies to address America’s biggest challenges like the future of work and economic mobility. Partnering with leading mayors, governors, and civic leaders, these efforts will transform American lives through better jobs, education, housing, and healthcare.Previously appointed by the president on day one of his administration during the height of the COVID-19 crisis in 2021, Chike served as Chief Innovation Officer at the U.S. Department of Labor using emerging technologies to benefit American workers. He helped lead a $2 billion modernization of the unemployment insurance system, co-created the Department’s first enterprise data strategy, and served as its lead to the National Space Council. He was the first Black person to serve in the position.
In Chike’s cross sector career, he has worked as a teacher and policy official in the country’s largest public school system, led a national nonprofit connecting more than 500,000 low-income Americans to broadband and digital skills, and held corporate-strategy and future-of-work leadership roles at EAB, the McChrystal Group (founded by Gen. (Ret.) Stan McChrystal), and Accenture.
A Fulbright Scholar and Senior Advisor at Harvard’s Project on Workforce, Chike holds degrees from Tufts University (B.A), Harvard (MPA, Ed.) and Wharton (MBA). He is a board member at Britebound (formerly American Student Assistance), a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a Presidential Leadership Scholar.
Chike serves as Vice Chair of the Maryland Higher Education Commission, appointed by Gov. Wes Moore. He, his wife, and their children are proud Marylanders and Prince Georgians, spend significant time in Greater Baltimore, and are members of Zion Church in Greenbelt, MD.