I am a Professor of Management Science & Engineering at Stanford University, Co-Director for International Entrepreneurship at the Stanford Technology Ventures Program (STVP), and the W.M. Keck Foundation Faculty Scholar.
My research examines how institutional environments, industrial policy, export controls, and platform design shape entrepreneurial outcomes. Recent and ongoing work spans US export controls and the global reallocation of venture capital, the effects of the Inflation Reduction Act on cleantech entrepreneurship, China's industrial subsidies and prefecture-level entrepreneurship, the algorithmic financing of online misinformation (published in Nature), and a long-running collaboration with Bill Miller estimating the global economic impact of Stanford alumni-founded companies. My methods range from quasi-experimental causal inference to LLM-based text analysis of regulatory and policy corpora.
Through STVP's global programs I have taught and run field research across six continents, reaching more than 200,000 students. I teach MS&E 272 (Entrepreneurship Without Borders, co-taught with Vimbayi Kajese) and MS&E 379 (a PhD-level course on causal inference), and serve as faculty advisor to BASES, Stanford's largest entrepreneurship student organization.
Beyond Stanford, I am an independent non-executive director and Remuneration Committee chair at Vobile Group (HKEX: 3738), a Venture Partner and LP at Brave Capital, and an active angel investor. I co-founded NovoEd (acquired by Devonshire Investors/Fidelity) and co-founded the Zhou & Eesley Family Foundation with my wife Lijie Zhou, supporting computer science training, entrepreneurship training, and mission-related investments for underserved communities globally. I'm also an annual rider for the American Diabetes Association's Tour de Cure and the National MS Society's Waves to Wine.
PhD, Management - 2009
MIT Sloan School of Management, Cambridge, MA: Advisor: Edward B. Roberts
BS, Neuroscience - 2002
Duke University, Durham, NC
- Stanford Social Impact Labs Design Fellowship (2024)
- IACMR-RRBM Responsible Research in Management Award (2020)
- Technical University of Munich Research Award (2018)
- Industry Studies Association Giarratani Rising Star Award, Runner-Up (2018)
- W.M. Keck Foundation Faculty Scholar (2017)
- Inaugural Richard Schulze Distinguished Professorship (2015)
- Best Dissertation Award, Business Policy and Strategy Division, Academy of Management (2009)
- Kauffman Foundation Dissertation Fellowship (2009)
- National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine — GUIPRR Workshop participant, presenter on macroeconomics of research investment (April 2026)
- National Science Foundation — Advisor, Enhancing NSF's Impact on STEM Translation and Commercialization Success (Award #2337688) (2023–2026)
- National Science Foundation — I-Corps Pre- and Post-Program Trainer (2023–2026)
- National Science Foundation — Reviewer, I-Corps Program Special Project, Directorate for Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships (2024)
- National Science Foundation — Grant Review Panel Member, Future of Work at the Human-Technology Frontier (2020)
- Editorial Board, Strategic Management Journal (2014–present)
- Editorial Board, Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal (2021–present)
Professor of Management Science & Engineering
Stanford University · 2009–presentTenured faculty member at Stanford School of Engineering. W.M. Keck Foundation Faculty Scholar. Co-Director for International Entrepreneurship at the Stanford Technology Ventures Program (STVP). Faculty advisor to BASES.
Independent Non-Executive Director, Remuneration Committee Chair
Vobile Group (HKEX: 3738) · 2018–presentIndependent board director at a Hong Kong-listed technology company specializing in digital content protection and monetization.
Venture Partner & LP
Brave Capital · 2023–presentVenture partner and limited partner. Active angel investor across approximately two dozen early-stage technology companies.
Co-Founder
Zhou & Eesley Family Foundation · 2021–presentCo-founded with Lijie Zhou. Supports computer science training, entrepreneurship training, and mission-related investments for underserved communities globally. Foundation site.
Co-Founder
NovoEd (acquired by Devonshire Investors / Fidelity) · founded 2013Co-founded the online learning platform spun out of Stanford research, later acquired by Devonshire Investors, the private equity arm of Fidelity.
Co-Director
Advancing Technology Ventures Program (Stanford Engineering × ITRI) · 2013–presentA 12-week Stanford Engineering program developed in partnership with Taiwan's Industrial Technology Research Institute, mentoring deep-tech startup teams on commercial development and global market entry.
Faculty Director
Stanford BOSP Shenzhen Global Seminar · August 2026Faculty director for Stanford's Bing Overseas Studies Program seminar based at InnoX Academy in Shenzhen, examining China's innovation ecosystem.
Steering Committee Member
Stanford King Center on Global Development · 2024–presentSteering committee member at Stanford's hub for research on poverty alleviation and global development through entrepreneurship and policy.
Advisor
Blackbird Technologies (acquired by Etsy, 2016)Advisor to the AI/ML search and recommendation startup, founded by Nikhil Raghavan and Manju Rajashekar; acquired by Etsy in 2016 to power Etsy's search platform.
Associate
Flagship Ventures, Cambridge, MA · 2007–2009Associate at the early-stage biotech and sustainability venture capital firm, while completing PhD studies at MIT Sloan.
Associate
Lux Capital · 2006–2007Associate at the deep-tech venture firm. Worked on Lux's investment in Genocea Biosciences, the cancer immunotherapy and vaccine platform; Genocea later went public on NASDAQ (GNCA).
Founder
Lobby 10 Consulting · 2006–2009Founded Lobby 10, a strategy consulting practice, while a PhD student at MIT Sloan.
Early Employee
NeuroCog Trials / VeraSci (acquired by WCG, 2021)Joined as an early employee of the cognitive assessment company founded in 2004 by Duke psychiatry professor Richard Keefe, for whom Chuck had been a research assistant at Duke. The company developed standardized cognitive measures for clinical trials in schizophrenia and other neuropsychiatric conditions; rebranded from NeuroCog Trials to VeraSci, and acquired by WCG (now WCG VeraSci) in July 2021.
Evaluation & Benchmarking of the World Food Programme Accelerator
United Nations World Food Programme · 2024–2025Independent evaluation and competitive benchmarking of the United Nations World Food Programme's accelerator for food-systems and humanitarian-context startups. Engagement included program design review, comparison against peer accelerators in emerging-market and fragile-state settings, and recommendations on cohort selection, mentorship structure, and capital deployment. Engagement managed by a Big Four advisory firm.
- National Academies, GUIPRR Workshop — Washington, DC (April 2026)
- Nanyang Technological University — Singapore (January 2026)
- UNLV Troesh Research Conference (2026)
- Aramco Lab7 Corporate Innovation Program — multi-session keynote series
- Entrepreneurship & innovation
- Institutional environments
- Industrial policy
- Export controls
- Venture capital
- Platform design
- Causal inference
- LLM-based text analysis
- US-China comparative analysis
- Higher education & entrepreneurship