Headshot of Charles (Chuck) Eesley

Charles Eesley, PhD

  • Associate Professor of Management Science and Engineering at Stanford University
  • Faculty Affiliate at the Stanford Center on China's Economy and Institutions

Biography

Chuck Eesley is an Associate Professor and W.M. Keck Foundation Faculty Scholar in the Department of Management Science and Engineering at Stanford University. As part of the Stanford Technology Ventures Program, his research focuses on the role of the institutional and university environment in high-growth, technology entrepreneurship. Prof. Eesley was selected in 2015 as an Inaugural Schulze Distinguished Professor. His National Science Foundation of China and Kauffman award supported research focuses on rethinking how the educational and policy environment shapes the economic and entrepreneurial impact of university alumni. Over the past three years, Prof. Eesley has been playing a growing role in national and international meetings on fostering high-tech entrepreneurship, including advising the U.S. State Department in the Global Innovation through Science and Technology (GIST) program, Chile (CORFO), Taiwan (ITRI), and the Korean Ministry of Science and Technology. He is a member of the Editorial Board for the Strategic Management Journal. Before coming to Stanford, Prof. Eesley completed his Ph.D. at the M.I.T. Sloan School of Management in 2009 where he won BPS Division and Kauffman Dissertation Awards for his work on high-tech entrepreneurship in China.

He started his first company while earning a Bachelor's degree from Duke University in 2002 (Biological Basis of Behavior). Prof. Eesley spent 2002-2005 doing research at the Duke University Medical Center (schizophrenia) and Duke’s Center for Health Policy (vaccine innovation). His work has been published among other places in Organization Science, Strategic Management Journal, Research Policy, and Biological Psychiatry. Prof. Eesley previously was an entrepreneur (Lobby 10, Sun Dance Genetics, Learning Friends), early employee (NovoEd.com), board member/advisor (Blackbird - acquired by Etsy, LessonFace.com), and investor (Flagship Ventures, Lux Capital). NovoEd.com launched around his online course, which was the first entrepreneurship MOOC and has taught over 200,000 students in over 100 countries. He currently serves as an independent board director on public as well as private companies in online education and AI/Deep Learning. He has given invited talks in forums with the Prime Minister of Slovenia and keynote addresses in Taiwan, China, and Brazil. His research findings have been featured in outlets such as Forbes (2011, 2012, 2013, 2015), Bloomberg, Smart Money, Stanford News, 2012, 2016, Wall Street Journal, SFGate, The Independent, Boston.com (Bill Gates), Inc. magazine, and the Chronicle of Higher Education.